History of The Warren Group

Massachusetts newspaper, Banker & Tradesman, is founded by George T. Lincoln.

 The Boston Globe is founded by six Boston businessmen who jointly invested $150,000.

The Great Boston Fire destroys 776 buildings across 65 acres of land with an assessed value of $13.5 million.

The Commercial Record (originally Connecticut Real Estate Record and Building News) is founded by Willard C. Warren. Frank Dodge, founder of Dodge Report, becomes a partner in the venture.

The Tremont Street subway tunnel opens in Boston, becoming the first subway tunnel in North America.

Review & Record merges with Banker & Tradesman. The masthead of the new alignment lists the new owners as George T. Lincoln, F.W. Dodge, President of the F.W. Dodge Company (Dodge Report) and Willard C. Warren, for more than 15 years publisher of the Commercial Record.

Willard C. Warren buys out George T. Lincoln to become the sole owner of Banker & Tradesman as we know it today.

Bankers Magazine (founded in 1901 in New York) is purchased by Willard C. Warren and George T. Lincoln.

Keith F. Warren graduates from Yale and enters the family business, becoming the Assistant Editor for the recently acquired trade paper, Granite, Marble and Bronze.

Willard T. Warren buys out his business partner, George Lincoln, who wished to retire. Warren then forms a new company, incorporated as Warren Publications, Inc.

The following is a list of the papers in the Warren Publications Group in the early 1920s:

• The Bankers Magazine
• The International Banking Directory
• The Banking Law Journal
• Banker & Tradesman
• The Commercial Record, Record and Guide
• American Shoemaking
• Leather Manufacturer
• House Furnishing Review
• Fiber and Fabric
• Granite
• Marble

Clarence DeMar, a printer at Banker & Tradesman, won the Boston Marathon seven times in the years between 1911 and 1930. His time in 1922 (2:18:10) was an event record that stood for 34 years until 1956.

The new headquarters of Warren Publishing, Inc. officially opens. Located in Cambridge, MA, in the heart of Kendall Square, the ground floor of the building housed the company’s printing plant.

Willard C. Warren suddenly passes away.

The Great Depression – the longest and deepest economic downturn in the history of the United States – grips the country.

After a month-long-run on American banks, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaims a Bank Holiday, which shut down the banking system. During this time, banks were examined and reopened if found to be solvent.

New York operations cease and office closes.

Last issue of Bankers Magazine is published.

Timothy M. Warren joins family business after graduating from Bowdoin College and serving in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II.

The business is reorganized, with assets dividing between Keith F. Warren and his sister, Margaret Cross. The Warren family retains Banker & Tradesman and the book publishing business. The Cross family acquires The Commercial Record and the trade publishing business. Printing operation becomes Nimrod Press in Kenmore Square, owned by Jerry Cross.

Boston’s iconic Prudential Tower opens. The 907-foot skyscraper redefines the city’s skyline and ushers in what the New York Times calls “the New Boston”.

Timothy M. Warren, Jr. becomes 4th-generation Warren to be actively involved in management.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hits its historical peak at 16.63%

Timothy M. Warren, Jr. spearheads the reacquisition of the Commercial Record from the International Thomson Organization.

The Warren Group enters the digital information age with the acquisition of the monthly and annual Transfer Directory.

The Warren Group sells its book publishing business to the Bank Administration Institute, setting the stage for establishing a full suite of real estate information services over the next decade.

Boston’s Big Dig breaks ground. The project, marred by setbacks and overspending, is officially completed in 2007 at a cost of over $8.08 billion.

All operations moved to 280 Summer Street in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood

Meeting the demand for additional events throughout the Northeast, The Warren Group establishes an Event Production Division, which by partnering with banking and lending groups across the region, produced the highly-successful New England Mortgage Expo, BankWorld, Great New England Credit Union Show, and more.

Web-based property search tool, Real Estate Records Search, launches.

David Lovins is promoted to President and COO of The Warren Group.

The Great Recession grips the nation, pushing the unemployment rate to a peak of 10.6% while upending the real estate and mortgage markets.

A Time capsule originally buried in 1901 is unearthed at the Old State House in Boston. Among its contents is a copy of the Banker & Tradesman.

The Warren Group acquires the Registry Review, New Hampshire’s premier real estate and financial newspaper, from Real Data Corp.

Loan Originator and Mortgage MarketShare Modules launches. Almost overnight, both online tools provide to be invaluable to the mortgage and banking industries to track the performance of individual originators and lending trends.

In order to focus resources on Data Solutions, the Event Production and Custom Publications Divisions are strategically sold to American Business Media, LLC. The Warren Group’s headquarters moves to Peabody, MA.

Registry Review website launches with Editorial Content and digital real estate records in New Hampshire.

Perhaps the biggest shift in the company’s 150-year history occurs in 2019 when The Warren Group begins offering real estate and mortgage data for the entire United States. Current data sets include Property Data, Deed and Mortgage Data, Real Estate Listing Data, Foreclosure and Pre-Foreclosure Data, NMLS Loan Originator Data, HOA Data, Probate Data, and more.

The fifth generation of the Warren family joins the organization as a member of the board of directors.