Do you know what the oldest continuously published periodical is in the U.S? It’s The Old Farmer’s Almanac and goes on sale every year on the 2nd Tuesday of September. Farmers everywhere race to get a copy. It was first published in 1792 during George Washington’s first term as president. The founder and editor was Robert B. Thomas and it sold for six pence or nine cents a copy.
It originally carried the name of Farmer’s Almanac but the word “Old” was added to the title in 1848 after several other farmers almanacs came out by different companies. They needed to set theirs apart so people would know which one they were buying.
Farmers and city dwellers alike have depended on the Old Farmer’s Almanac to know when to plant and what the weather for the next year will be like. It also tells fishermen when the fish will bite. A lot of people have found it indispensable.
Robert Thomas came up with a complex formula using his observations of natural weather cycles to predict the forecast. He had amazing results and was said to be uncannily accurate 80 percent of the time. (Even today, his formula is kept locked away at the Almanac offices in Dublin, New Hampshire.)
In 1858, it’s said that Abraham Lincoln, a lawyer at the time, used the Almanac to defend his client and refuting an eyewitness who claimed to have seen the crime by the light of the moon. The Almanac recorded the moon was in the first quarter on this night and riding low in the horizon. It wouldn’t have given much light at all. Abe Lincoln won the case.
The Old Farmers Almanac has only had fourteen editors since its existence, the latest of which is the second woman to take the helm. Her name is Carol Connare and she took the reins in 2023.
In the beginning, the book focused mostly on farming but it does much more now. It has advice on gardening, cooking, and fishing in addition to lunar cycles, and horoscopes. Sometimes there is a blend of trivia and human interest stories and even recipes. You can find most anything in one of these books from anecdotes to fashion predictions for the coming year.
In 1942, the almanac came close to halting publication when a German spy came ashore on Long Island, New York and was apprehended by the FBI. They found a copy of the 1942 Old Farmer’s Almanac in his pocket. It appeared the Germans were using the Almanac as a source of weather forecasts because it was so accurate. Indirectly the book was supplying information to the enemy. From then on until the war’s end, the editor quickly changed the format to only show weather indications, not forecasts.
In September 2018, they predicted that Texas and Oklahoma would have the driest winter on record and, Lord knows, that certainly came true. The Texas Panhandle went 192 days without any moisture. I was living up there then. We had very bad fires and dangerous winds that year.
It’s very gratifying to see something that’s been around for 232 years and still going strong. It’s a great resource for writers.
Today the Old Farmer’s Almanac comes in paperback, trade size, and hard back and sells between $6.94 to $14.24 for hard back. And there’s a Kindle editor. Folks swear by the information inside each copy because it’s rarely wrong.
Have you ever or anyone you know ever used the Old Farmer’s Almanac? I’ve always found it interesting and full of valuable information. There’s wonderful recipes in it as well. I’m giving away a $15 Amazon gift card to a commenter so leave me something.
