On August 1, 1879, Alexander Beatty sold the paper to Charles E. Cassell and Edgar L. Root, admitting in the October 30, 1879 issue that though "neither are practical printers," Cassell and Root were "well known both in social as well as in political circles" and would "leave nothing undone to make it one of the spiciest and best country papers in the State." Cassell and Root admit their inexperience again in their salutatory in the same issue, writing, "Although we are not tyros in the profession, yet...our determination to win, aided by an unsparing and intelligent criticism, may reasonably be expected to bear their fruit in due season." This promise ended up being fulfilled: as editor, Cassell became more active in local politics and continued to chronicle the economic growth of Mechanicstown. One of his most permanent legacies involved the change of the town's name from Mechanicstown to Thurmont in 1894.
