The Free Lance–Star

The Free Lance–Star is the principal daily newspaper distributed throughout Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States, with a circulation area including the city of Fredericksburg and all or parts of the counties of Spotsylvania, Stafford, King George, Caroline, Culpeper, Fauquier, Louisa, Orange, Prince William and Westmoreland.

The Free Lance was first published on January 27, 1885, when Col. John W. Woltz and William E. Bradley founded the paper as a twice-weekly publication to serve the news and advertising needs of the community. A one-year subscription that first year cost $1.50. In 1900, the Free Lance operation merged with its competitor, The Fredericksburg Daily Star. The two papers continued to be published separately until 1926 when, under the leadership of Josiah P. Rowe Jr. (a World War One fighter pilot with the 147th Aero Squadron November 1917 to November 1918), they were combined into The Free Lance–Star, a single newspaper published 6 days a week.

The paper has occupied three addresses in its history. The offices of The Free Lance, and later the Daily Star and The Free Lance–Star, were at 303 William St in Fredericksburg. In 1965 the newspaper moved to 616 Amelia Street where it remained until December 2016. Currently, the Free Lance-Star offices are located at 1340 Central Park Blvd. Ste 100. Charles and Josiah Rowe inherited the paper from their father in 1949, and in 1997, upon Charles' retirement, the family of Josiah P. Rowe III purchased total ownership of the business.

The Free Lance–Star was owned and operated by members of the Rowe family from 1926 until 2014, when The Free Lance–Star Publishing Co. filed for bankruptcy. The newspaper was purchased by Sandton Capital Partners on June 19, 2014, ending the Rowe family's involvement. BH Media acquired The Free Lance–Star in 2015. In 2020, Lee Enterprises purchased BH Media's papers.