Henry Duncan, minister of Ruthwell and creator of the savings bank, founded the Courier in order to compete with the Dumfries Weekly Journal, which he described as "an organ of public opinion" with "neither weight nor authority".
Duncan owned and edited the newspaper until 1817, when he requested that John McDiarmid take over the editorship and become a partner in the business.
Both editors displayed a moderate-to-liberal political stance, demonstrated by lengthy commentaries on prison reform, suffrage, Catholic emancipation and education.
In 1977, the newspaper, still owned by Dumfriesshire Newspapers Limited, restarted publication under the title The Dumfries Courier, sharing its online presence with DNG Media's other regional titles.
[5] The paper initially ran bi-weekly and was distributed on Tuesdays and Thursdays at a price of six pence, but became weekly from 1821.