HISTORY OF THE ARKANSAS PRESS FOR A HUNDRED YEARS AND MORE By Frederick William Allsopp ------------------------------------------------------------ Submitted by: BILL AND CHRISTINE MOORE Copyright (c) 2007 All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~arcrawfo http://www.usgenwebarchives.org ------------------------------------------------------------ USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Files may be printed or copied for Personal Use Only. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. ------------------------------------------------------------ History of the Arkansas Press for a Hundred Years and More --------------- FRED W. ALLSOPP --------------- Illustrated Parke-Harper Publishing Company Little Rock, Arkansas 1922 ------------------------------------------------------------ 122 H1STORY OF THE ARKANSAS PRESS CRAWFORD COUNTY. Alma. The Herald, at Alma, was founded in 1877, by M. L. Yeat- man. Two years later it was taken over by a stock company, composed of Col. M. F. Locke, J. T. Hollowell, L. C. Locke, D. W. Brodie, W. T. Black, B. P. Renfroe and F. B. Hassett. This company leased the newspaper for two years to Geo. S. Thayer, of the Van Buren Argus. He changed the name to that of the Crawford County Democrat. At the expiration of his lease, it was leased for another two-year term to John S. Renfroe and R. R. Wood, who changed the name of the paper to the Arkansas Farmer. Two years later Robert Stonecipher acquired control, and he and Frank Ibbotson were its joint publishers for a short time.. J. S. Renfroe again took charge, and during some of these numerous changes the name became the Leader, to be again named the Crawford County Democrat. In March. 1887, Mr. Renfroe sold to Col. M. F. Locke, who then replaced "Crawford County" with "Alma" in the title. In June, 1888. D. B. Locke and J. A. Garner assumed control. J. W. Higgs later took charge, and continued the Democrat until 1902. It has since gone out of existence. Col. M. F. Locke was State Commissioner of Mines, Manufactures and Agriculture from 1889 to 1892, and then made his home in Little Rock. When G. S. Thayer retired from the Herald, in 1881, he started a paper called the Independent at Alma. It ceased to exist in 1882. The name of the Leader was revived in a paper at Alma in the early 90's. R. A. Ramsden was conducting it in 1896, when it was removed to Mulberry. The Alma Effort was started by J. W. Higgs, in 1902. It was not a successful effort. The Alma Tribune, founded in 1902 by R. H. Burrow, is being published by J- R. Webster. ------------------------------------------------------------ FOR A HUNDRED YEARS AND MORE 123 The Crawford County News was started, at Alma, in 1912. R. H. Burrow became its editor and continued with it until some time in 1916. The News had a good slogan, which was, "Here Shall the Press and People's Cause Maintain, Unawed by Influence, Unbribed by Gain;" but it appears to have availed it nothing. Mulberry. The Mulberry Weekly Times was started by Frank Ibbotson in 1886. The Crawford County Siftings was started at Mulberry in 1905. and was printed at the Alma News office. It suspended in 1909. The Mulberry Democrat was started in 1911 by J. B. Lawless & Son. R. H. Burrow soon became its owner, and was succc2ded by A. Lawless, who had been connected with the Van Buren Argus for two years. W. C. Harris and Tom M. English were connected with this paper for a wJiile, up to 1917, after which year the paper appears to have been discontinued. The Mulberry Times is a new newspaper. It was started in 1921, by Ed J. Higgins. The Mulberry Messenger was the name of a short-lived news- paper. Van Buren. The Arkansas Intelligencer, at Van Buren, is said by Judge W. F. Pope to have been started in the month of January, 1842. by Van Horn & Stern, afterward to be published by Washburn & Pryor. The editor in his salutatory said of the paper: "It goes east from a point farther west than paper was ever before published in these United States." The Intelligencer is said to have been neutral in politics when first published. but it after- wards espoused the Democratic cause, and was then edited by Mr. Ceo. W. Clark, a very able editor, who had attained prominence in Kansas during the contests between the abolitionists and the pro-slavery men before coming to Arkansas. He retired from the Intelligencer upon receiving a government appointment to the ------------------------------------------------------------ 124 H1STORY OF THE ARKANSAS PRESS Pottowatomie Indian agency, and was succeeded by his brother, Anselm Clark. George W. Clark after the Civil War removed to the City of Mexico, where for a number of years he published a newspaper named the Twin Republics. He died in the City of Mexico, and was buried there. Anslem Clark died in 1859, and the Intelligencer was discontinued, the plant being bought by Gen. A. G. Mayers, who moved it to Fort Smith, to be used in starting the Thirty-Fifth Parallel, which Gen. Mayers published up to the commencement of the Civil War. The Western Frontier Whig, which was an advocate of the party whose name it bore, was published at Van Buren from 1842 to 1846, by Logan & Sterne. Thomas Sterne had withdrawn from the Intelligencer, and with the forceful John S. Logan as his chief editor, he expected to make a successful rival newspaper. It also had some strong contributors, such as the well-known Jesse Tur- ner, Sr., and James H. Simpson. The Whig and the Intelligencer had some bitter controversies, and while Geo. W. Clark was the editor of the Intelligencer, he and Logan,-of the Whig, fought a duel with rifles, which is referred to elsewhere. The Whig suspended in 1846, and the plant is said to have been shipped to Victoria, Texas, and finally to San Antonio. The Van Buren Press was founded July 6, 1859. by J. S. Dunham, who came from Middleton, Conn., and is said to have had a continuous existence, except for a time during the Civil War. Its first editorial said, "We believe in extending our territory, peacefully by annexation or purchase, if we can, but in any event we go for our country, right or wrong." The Abolition question was uppermost at that time, and the Press urged the people of Arkansas to make preparations for any event that might arise. An article in this newspaper of November 9. 1860, said: "From our telegraph reports, which are quite full, it is certain that Abra- ham Lincoln, 'the rail-splitter,' is elected President. With both houses of Congress opposed to him, we do not see, for the life of us, how he can carry out his Abolition doctrines, if he is so dis- posed. Give him a trial, and then if his administration is so obnoxious that we can not honorably live under it, let us cast it off. Let us ponder well before we give up a good government, ------------------------------------------------------------ FOR A HUNDRED YEARS AND MORE 125 without the certainty of bettering ourselves. Examine well this subject of a Southern Confederacy, fellow-citizens,--carefully and practically, without prejudice, and we are willing to abide by your decision." The September 21, 1859, issue of the Press states: "Owing to the discontinuance of the Arkansas Intelligencer, we change our publication day to Friday, instead of Wednesday." The Press was unable to obtain an adequate supply of print paper during the Civil War, and many issues were printed on the reverse side of fancy wallpaper. This paper's report of the Battle of Shiloh. in 1862. was a wallpaper edition. In December, 1892, the Press office was destroyed by fire, but the newspaper was silent for only fifteen days. J. S. Dunham continued to have charge of and to edit the Van Buren Press from 1859 up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1912, a remarkably long career, during which he exercised a strong influence with his newspaper. After his death, R. S. Knott, who had been associated with him, conducted the paper for a time, as also did R. D. Holbrook, until Frank Anderson purchased it in 1914. The paper was converted into a daily in 1897, but the weekly issue was continued, and later the daily was discontinued. The Van Buren Argus was established December 25, 1875, by Messrs. George Thayer and John Cass. Later Mr. Thayer acquired Mr. Cass' interest, and was its publisher until it was sold to its present owner. The Press espoused the cause of Baxter in thr Brooks-Baxter war, and the Argus was established in the inter- est of the Brooks faction, thus making it a child of the Brooks- Baxter embroilment. In 1912, the Argus was purchased from the Thayer Brothers, by Frank Anderson, who had been employed by Thayer Bros. as editor since May 1, 1897. In 1914 the Press was purchased from the estate of Colonel Dunham, and consolidated with the Argus, under the name of the Press-Argus. By virtue of its continuous service for 63 years, the Press-Argus is easily the oldest newspaper in Northwest Arkansas. It is a notable fact that these two old newspapers have never changed ownership or editorial control but once. ------------------------------------------------------------ 126 H1STORY OF THE ARKANSAS PRESS Frank Anderson, the present owner of the Press Argus, who was born in Clark county, Missouri, October 25, 1855, entered the newspaper field at Nevada, Mo., in 1888. He went to Van Buren in December, 1896, and from that date until he became the sole owner of the Argus in 1912 he was a salaried employe. Since his purchase and consolidation of these two old established, and once rival newspapers, he has modernized the plant until it is now one of the best equipped country newspaper offices in the State. From April 6, 1918, to August 15, 1919, Mr. Anderson was superintend- ent of the U. S. Employment Service for Northwest Arkansas, with headquarters in Fort Smith. He was appointed Supervisor of Census for the fourth congressional district during the 1920 cen- sus taking period. Hon. Granville Wilcox had a long connection, as associate editor, with the Press and the Argus. Mrs. Granville Wilcox wrote, June 1, 1886: "Mr. Wilcox was connected for many years with both the Van Buren Press and the Argus, conducting and managing the political portion of the paper in both instances, but not in either case as local editor or publisher. His connection with Mr. J. S. Dunham on the Van Buren Press began in 1859 or 1860. The late war interrupting, he subsequently resumed his association with that paper, which continued until the spring of 1874, when it was discontinued. In January, 1875, he became associated with Thayer Bros, in the editorial department of the Van Buren Argus, in which he continued until some time in 1885, when he retired for a short time. He wrote with ease and fluency, and with never-failing in- terest. His style was clear, strong and forcible, and he never indulged in invective." Mr. Wilcox died at his home in Van Buren, March 4, 1886, aged 50. His wife took an interest in his work, and often assisted him in his writing, which was done in his library at home. The Graphic, a Republican newspaper, was started in Van Buren, in 1881, with J. J. Warren, as editor, and W. N. Bradley, publisher. In 1888 they sold to J. Wells and H. E. Stotzell, but the latter soon withdrew. The Daily Optic was started, at Van Buren, by Ibbetson & ------------------------------------------------------------ FOR A HUNDRED YEARS AND MORE 127 Cloud, in February, 1885. This paper was suspended late in 1885. The Van Buren Graphic, started in 1886, by Z. Wells, suspended in 1891. This was the second newspaper of that name at Van Buren. The Crawford County Democrat, at Van Buren, was started April 1, 1886, by Robert Stonecipher, who was succeeded by P. B. Renfroe, one month later. The Republican Venture, at Van Buren, was being published in 1901-2, by Wm. C. Yoes, but the venture seems not to have been a permanent success. A negro paper, started in Van Buren, in 1889, lasted only a few weeks. The Van Buren Trades Review was being published in 1921, by O. D. Stiles. ------------------------------------------------------------