| LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA |  |
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| LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA | |
A term paper by J. Ann Cotter, 1964 Graduate State University of Iowa Printed with permission of J. Ann Cotter Schrader, Greeley, Colorado; updated by Connie Street
 Storefront of the Wapello Tribune. Date unknown. Photo courtesy of the Louisa County Historical Society. The History of Louisa County says that the Louisa County Times, published at Wapello, Iowa, beginning November 27, 1850, was the first newspaper in Louisa County. The editors of this six-column. four-page paper were David Sheward and James Noffsinger. Sheward soon left the paper. In the following century there were innumerable editors and publishers on varying newspapers. In September, 1853, the Times plant was sold to Ambrose Hodge and James D. Barr who changed the name to the Wapello Intelligencer and enlarged it to seven columns. It has also been reported that Noffsinger bought back the paper and the name was not changed until then. In the fall, J. S. and W. H. Milligan assumed ownership. Three months later the Intelligencer was sold to J. E. Herroun and L P. Wells, with the latter being editor through 1856. In the early period of the county, a newspaper such as the Intelligencer was not worth much, and it changed hands twelve or thirteen times in the first twelve years. Wells owned the paper four times during this period. Wells, Miller and Co. were publishers from February to April 1857, when Hodge and Barr purchased the newspaper. Up to this time, the paper had been nonpartisan. In October, Hodge took over controlling interest and announced it would be a Democratic paper. In 1858 and 1859, at various times, the Wapello Intelligencer was owned and edited by J. P. Brigham; Thomas S. Bell; William Keach; Kelly, Ives, and Mintun; John Jenkins and Co.; Jenkins and Barr, and probably many others. Jenkins and Barr published it until 1860, when Barr left for Texas. William Keach and Jenkins continued publication. During the 1850s, a town, Burris City, was founded by Nathan Burris and then ceased to exist. It was a settlement of Irish immigrants who had come to build the Airline railroad, which was never completed. While in existence, this town had a larger population than any other in the county. When the railroad project collapsed, so did the town. In 1857, the Burris City Commercial was published. It was a short-lasting venture and was purchased by Jacob Minton and his son Henry, who moved it to Wapello in 1859. Ed Stafford published both the New Boston (Illinois) Reporter and the Burris City Commercial, a 32-column weekly paper, at New Boston, two miles below Burris City. Nathan Burris purchased a Guernsey press for Mr. Stafford, but he failed to remove his office from New Boston before a mortgage sale forced the contents "under the hammer," and the press was taken to the type foundry. The press stood in an old warehouse until it was purchased by John Mahin, who took it to Muscatine. The Muscatine Journal was printed on this press until 1870. In 1858, an attorney and a druggist, launched a 28-column weekly, the Burris Iowan. The Iowan was born, blessed, and cursed within two short months. Neither partner seemed to have much business acumen. Although no name is recorded, there was also a paper printed in Burris City in 1857, by the Robinson brothers. This one lasted only five or six months. The Louisa County Record was established by James D. Barr and Ives on November 17, 1870. The first issue was printed without a single subscriber's name on the books. In 1873, Barr bought Ives' interest. E. M. Pike acquired the paper in March, 1887, and it was sold to G. E. E. Townsend in August of that year. On August 14, 1873, a fire burned out the office - but the paper did not miss an issue. It was an eight-column Republican-minded newspaper, neatly printed and filled with interesting local matter. The subscription rate was $2.00 a year. The issue of January 4, 1883, is the earliest Louisa County Record on file today. In 1889, with George Townsend as editor, the paper was reduced to five columns and the price was reduced to $1.00 year. On April 4, 1889, W. E. Montgomery became publisher and conducted it as an independent paper. The Record was enlarged to eight columns on May 10. In September, J. W. Barr became manager and reduced it to seven columns with a year's subscription selling for $1.50. From the limited information available, there apparently were two newspapers published at different intervals under the name of Louisa County Times. There is some confusion in dates between the second paper of this name and the Wapello Times. The latter Louisa County Times reportedly made its first appearance at Columbus Junction on October 20, 1876, with A. E. Coffee as editor. After nine issues, it was moved to Wapello. Apparently after this move, it was called the Wapello Times. L. P. Wells bought out the paper in 1878 and published it as a Democratic paper until July of 1882. O. I. and M. J. Jamison, both Democrats, purchased the Times in 1883, and moved it back to Columbus Junction on June, 1884. They changed the name again to the Louisa County Times, under which it was published until January 1, 1886. The paper was then purchased by the firm of Neal and Philips, who continued publication until August 3, 1887, when the last issue appeared. Sources seem contradictory by stating that the Louisa County Times was originally established by J. H. Wells (not L. P. Wells) who ran it for about two years as an independent newspaper. Kelly, Ives, and Minton were the next owners until Mr. Wells bought it back and continued publication two years longer. William Keach bought him out and published the paper under the name of Wapello Republican. Later it was sold to Dr. B. E. Jones who discontinued it. L. W. Meyers, a Whig and Republican, purchased the press and the office and published it in 1866. The History of Louisa County states, "The Wapello Republican took its rank among the ablest papers in the state. It was a neatly printed and well-conducted sheet. Its local column showed evidence of considerable care in the collection of local items of interest, while its editorial columns were proof of the ability of the editor, who was thoroughly conversant in the political history of the country. Soon after taking possession of the office, Mr. Meyers added largely to its stock of type and put in a job press. From time to time new material was added so that the office was one of the best in this section of the country." There are bound volumes of the Wapello Times, which are today filed in the auditor's office of the Louisa County Courthouse. (The originals of this and all extant Louisa County newspapers have been microfilmed and are available at several libraries. The originals are no longer housed in the auditor's office. cs) The earliest is Volume VII, published by J. S. and Joe F. Beard m 1883. This proves that it was established before 1876, and remained in existence for a period of years with a change of name. When J. F. Beard retired. O. I. Jamison took over editorial control. The issue of January 6, 1885, shows the name changed to the Louisa County Times with O. I. and M. J. Jamison publishers at Columbus Junction. George P. Neal and Philips were listed as publishers and proprietors in the issue of January 6, 1886. They wrote, "This is our first appearance before the people of the county as managers of the Times, having bought the paper of O. I. and M. J. Jamison. The paper will continue to be an exponent of pure democracy of the Jeffersonian and Jacksonian type. We felicitate ourselves in having such high-toned and honorable gentlemen managing the opposition press of the county. Our relations with the Senior Editor of the Safeguard have been in the past of the most happy character, and in spite of all political differences, we confess that we esteem him above all; this on account of close intimacy in the past.. With the others we have also enjoyed the most friendly relations." With this issue of the paper, Mr. Philips retired. The next issue listed G. P. and M. E. Neal as publishers and proprietors. The Wapello Tribune was established as a six-column paper by the Tribune Company, with J. B. Wilson. Editor, and R. L. Reiley, Assistant Editor. The first publication was January 7, 1898, with the price of a year's subscription being $1.50. Wilson sold out to Reiley soon after the turn of the century. Sometime between 1906 and 1912, the Tribune was purchased by J. S. Bigger, who published the last issue on November 15, 1923. William J. Peterson wrote in 1962, "The Wapello Republican today is the successor and consolidation of every newspaper ever printed in Wapello since 1859, the date of its establishment. It is the oldest weekly in the state of Iowa, and is one of 33 papers in the state established before the Civil War and still circulating." The first edition was published by J. M. Edwards, and since that time it has been the county's leading newspaper. Soon after the Republican was established, the Intelligencer died. The Republican was formerly the Burris City Commercial, which moved to Wapello in 1857. Other sources say that the Burris City Commercial and the Wapello Intelligencer consolidated under the name of the Republican with L. P. Wells in control until 1862 when Jenkins and Barr entered the journalism field again. Barr bought out Jenkins and published the paper until June, 1865, with John Hale, who had been county clerk for a number of years, serving as editor. Under his guidance, the Republican became the most "radical, red-hot Republican newspaper ever published in the state" with some 200 copies being mailed to members of the Union army, with Hale paying postage out of his pocket. Due to illness, Barr sold out to a Dr. B. E. Jones, county physician and judge of Grandview. Shortly after, also because of illness, Jones leased the plant to L. W. Meyers of New Boston, Illinois. Just before Jones' death, Meyer bought the plant and improved the paper to one of the best in the state. He continued to publish it until he was appointed vice-consul to Victoria, B.C., by President Harrison in 1892. The newspaper then went under the guidance of J. B. Wilson, a well-known and successful Wapello attorney, who ran the plant for two years before selling out to Charles M. Wright. In 1884, the Record, established in 1870, and the Republican, established in 1859, consolidated under the name of the Record-Republican. The editors wrote in 1895: "For more than seven years our best efforts have given to the newspaper work, having taken it up from a collapsed and ruined condition without a single subscriber or a cent of advertising patronage and built the paper up until it is by far the best, most influential and most widely circulated paper in the county." With this proclamation, Wright sold out to R. G. Hawkins, who was then publishing the Morning Sun Times Between 1850 and 1912, Wapello had possessed nine different newspapers, with three papers in circulation simultaneously on three occasions. One of these was the Rustlerby Jay Hale. With the exception of the Tribune, J. D. Barr had been connected with every paper which was published in Wapello between 1850 and 1896, that identified itself politically as Republican. September 17.,1896 marked the date of the first publication of the Wapello Republican under Mr. Hawkins. In 1921, he formed a partnership with his son. On November 22, 1923, the Republican headlines read, "REPUBLICAN AND TRIBUNE MERGED - CONSOLIDATION IS FOR BEST INTEREST OF ALL." In 1937, he leased the paper to his son, Blaine, who upon the death of his father in 1941, purchased all stock from his sisters and became sole owner. The Republican remained in the Hawkins family for 51 years until Blaine sold out, in 1947, to Kenneth C. Wells, a Republican, who published it for only a few months. Mark Green became editor and publisher and made many improvements in the printing plant and newspaper. Green was publisher until February1, 1954, when he sold out to the Louisa Publishing Company, with James L. Hodges and H. Frank Lunsford, owners. They remained partners until October, 1959, when Hodges bought Lunsford's interest. (Louisa Publishing Co., now owned by Mike Hodges, son of the late James Hodges, continues to publish the Wapello Republican. cs) Lyman Nangle and Richard Howard published the first issue of the Morning Sun Herald on April 6, 1882. Howard was there for only one year. In June, 1885, B. F. Thomas assumed ownership until October 1887, when E. M. Pike took over. In April, 1888, A. M. M. Dornan, a Republican, bought the Herald. It was an eight-page paper, 26 x 40, and was issued every Thursday with circulation in Louisa, Des Moines and Henry counties. An 1889 history of Louisa County said, "Since its establishment the Herald has been true to the doctrines and teachings of the Republican party, but has paid more attention to local and county news than to politics. It has always been laboring for Morning Sun and vicinity and has done much to bring about the great degree of prosperity which that thriving town now enjoys." F. B. Tracy formed a partnership with Dornan January 2, 1890, and remained for one year, until R. G. Hawkins took his place. In 1896, Hawkins left to become publisher of the Wapello Republican and placed E. B. Hawkins in charge until the paper was sold a short time later. The first issue of the Morning Sun News appeared on September 17, 1887, edited and published by J. Kirk Latta and Arthur J. Huckins. The seven-column folio started with a few cases of type and a Washington Hand Press. R. W. McElhinney bought Huckins' interest in February, 1888. J. Kirk Latta bought McElhinney's share about 1895. The Morning Sun News was a bright, entertaining, instructive, and readable newspaper, devoted chiefly to local news and home interests. It was Independent in politics. The fifth volume is the only one on file today. Subscriptions sold for $1.25 a year. Following a disastrous fire in December, 1897, the plant of the Herald, Morning Sun's other paper, was acquired and the two papers consolidated under the name of the News-Herald. Despite three fires in its history, the News-Herald has continued publication and has added to the plant. After the consolidation, Latta remained publisher until 1944, when the current owner, Wayne Allen, former superintendent of the Morning Sun Consolidated School, bought the News-Herald. (The News-Herald is now owned by Louisa Publishing Co. and is printed in Wapello. cs) The Letts Review was established in 1895 by Clarahan and Whistler as an eight-column paper. Two issues during that year appeared with only five columns. The October 18, 1895, issue listed only E. J. Whistler as publisher. Only nineteen issues are filed in the Louisa County Courthouse, and there is no record of when the paper ended. The name may have been changed to the Letts Record, which was started in 1905 by James. Whistler. C. M. Wright was listed as editor in 1912. When Mr. Wright died in the fall of 1912, R. E. Barr published the Record. His father had been publisher of many of the Wapello weeklies. Two years later John Wallenter bought the paper and enlarged it to six columns. The Record changed hand for the last time when J. Melvin Brown became editor on October 15, 1914. Publication ceased in 1923. S. H. Creighton was publisher and George Graham was editor of the five-column, four-page Oakville Sentinel which sold for $1.00 a year and appeared for the first time on June 5, 1902. The following year, Graham became both editor and publisher. At some time prior to 1917, the price was raised to $1.25 a year. During that year the Sentinel was enlarged to six columns. In 1920, the following statement was printed, "With this issue the Sentinel goes under new management and ownership. We have sold a half interest to Allen L. James . . . who will serve as business manager." The firm of Graham and James, partners and publishers of the Oakville Sentinel, dissolved partnership and R. V. McNeal purchased and took over the interests of Allen James. Graham was editor and McNeal was business manager until January 20, 1927, when Graham once again resumed sole ownership. The Sentinel reduced its size to its original five-column paper. In 1936, M. D. Thompson was listed as publisher with George Graham as editor. The subscription price went up to $1.50 in 1943, and the Sentinel was again enlarged to a six-column four-page paper in 1946. No more issues were published after the 1946 Christmas edition. Blaine Hawkins bought the Sentinel equipment and published that paper as one page of the Wapello Republican for several years. On April 8, 1856, a short-lived paper - the Columbus City Courier - printed an article headed "Salutation." It stated in essence, that Columbus City's own newspaper should not be considered immature and appealed for the citizen's support. The Courier, which existed for only two or three months, was a poorly printed, six-co1umn folio, started by a stock company. The committee on publication was composed of W. Clark, a Whig and Republican; J. L. Gamble; and Dr. B. G. Neal, Democrat. George D. Harrison, an Anti-protection Republican, took Neal's place. The editor was a Democrat by the name of Andrew Gamble. No issues are to be found after No.6, and the press and material of the Courier was afterward moved to Burris City. The Columbus City Enterprise was established on February 26, 1859, by J. M. Edwards. In July of that year, G. W. Limbocker went into partnership with Edwards. The paper lasted only six months arid "followed the path of its predecessor into oblivion. Edwards was a Republican and stated that he intended to publish a Republican paper, but that the politics of the paper would be a second matter. Only 30 numbers of the paper can be found. The last number is dated October 8, 1859, it being stated in that issue that owing to ill health of the publisher, the publication would have to be suspended. The following was a local item from that paper: "A young man living near the place, caught one day last week a beautiful fish weighing something over one hundred pounds. The manner in which it was done is given in another column. ... Married on the 10th inst. by the Rev. Mr. Crellen, Mr. J. S. Limbocker to Miss Amanda Fish, both of this place." One volume of what apparently must be the second Columbus City Enterprise is on file in the auditor's office of the Louisa County Courthouse. This six-column paper was established by J. H. Armstrong on January 10, 1896. There is no further record of this paper. The Louisa County Safeguard was established at Columbus City in October of 1870. "Several croaks were loud in the assertion that it would not last three months." The Columbus Safeguard was established at Columbus City Under the Louisa County Safeguard management. It was moved to Columbus Junction by the owner R. H. Moore. Owners during and after 1877, were L. B. Coleman, Colton and Maclean, and Hungerford and Maclean. In January of 1883, J. E. Eggbert and Company bought the Safeguard but continued only a short time until the company retired. Eggbert, a Republican and Presbyterian minister, continued it until December 1, 1885, when J. E. Jenkins, a Republican, purchased an interest. The earliest issue on file today is that of January 11, 1883, which listed John B. Hungerford and Paul M. Maclean as publishers of the eight-column paper. On May 18, 1888, O. S. Todd succeeded Mr. Eggbert. The paper's reputation was that of radical Republican. In October, the office was destroyed by fire. The firm of Jenkins and Todd secured new material and not one issue was missed. The following item appeared in the Safeguard: "On the morning of April 30. 1889, at nine o'clock, it has been arranged that the church bells all over the country shall ring to celebrate the event of 100 years ago, when the church. bells throughout the thirteen states rang out to call the people together to pray for the success and prosperity of the Country under George Washington, that day inaugurated president of the United States." Todd was listed as sole publisher in this issue. Later owners were: T. H. and A. W. Barnes, April 7, 1904; W. E. Whetstine, 1914; and Whetstine and Allen in 1919 and 1920. One of the first newspapers in Columbus Junction made its appearance April 16, 1874, under the name of the Iowa People, with Seaborn and Williams, editors and publishers. After publishing for 23 weeks, it ceased to exist. The Columbus City Nonpareil was established April 8, 1875, by Allen Hickock and Ralph Miller. It was later sold to L. B. Coleman, who moved it to Columbus Junction on September 20,1877, and consolidated it with the Safeguard. In 1924, the mailing list of the Safeguard was purchased and incorporated with The Columbus Gazette. The job department was later purchased by Paul B. Smith in 1925. He operated for five or six years in the old location of the Safeguard and then moved several times before he built his present plant in 1947, renaming it Smithcraft Press. In 1947 Smithcraft Press had one of the most beautiful, modern, and interesting plants of its size. The Columbus Gazette appeared for the first time on May 25, 1887, and was the only Democratic paper published in Louisa County. The owners were F. L. Richardson and J. E. Carpenter. Mrs. M. J. Jamison bought Richardson's interest in September of 1887, and Carpenter's in December of the same year. On May 1, 1909, the current publisher, B. H. Shearer, bought the Gazette from Mrs. Jamison. At that time her husband had been associated with the paper almost all the years since its establishment in 1887. Not a single issue has been missed in over fifty years, and only part of one issue was ever late for regular mail. (The Columbus Gazette is now owned by the Washington Journal. cs) |
