In 1933, it was purchased by Herbert Cranston, longtime editor of the Toronto Star Weekly.
Southam, in turn, was absorbed by Hollinger, which sold the paper to Osprey Media.
The newspaper has won numerous awards, especially during the Cranston years.
Its reporters, including Paul Welch, Jacquie McLaghlan, Mark Bourrie, Debbie Levy and Susan Swan, who was a cub reporter for two summers in the 1960s, broke important environment, political and spot news stories in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Free Press published its last edition on Thursday June 20, 2013.