USA > Colorado > History of Colorado; Volume I > Part 91
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TRINIDAD
There are today in Trinidad two dailies and six weeklies, the latter with two exceptions being Spanish or Italian publications. The Chronicle-News, daily except Sunday, and weekly, is managed and edited by R. E. McClung. The Evening Picketwire and the Weekly Picketwire have A. W. Wright as president and manager, and Frank J. Rose as editor. Three of the other weeklies are Spanish publications : El Anunciador, El Progreso and El Faro; and the fourth is Italian : the Corriere di Trinidad.
The Free Press was published as a daily during the strike, then later as a weekly, with John M. O'Neill as editor, but has lately been discontinued.
None of the earlier papers remains. In 1870 J. P. Smith was running the Trinidad Enterprise, on Commercial Street, between Front and Convent streets.
Vol. 1-51
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HISTORY OF COLORADO
Santa Fé supplied the Spanish-speaking population with its newspapers at this time. In 1879 the Chronicle was the weekly and the Enterprise the daily. The News was issuing both a daily and a weekly. A few years later the Daily Ad- vertiser was established and ran not only a successful morning paper, but a weekly Cattlemen's Advertiser, and a Spanish weekly, El Anunciador, which still sur- vives.
In 1885 De Busk and Sheils were running the daily and weekly Citizen. The Trinidad Review was conducted by John Roosa; and Olney Newell was propri- etor and editor of the News, now a weekly. In 1890 Edwin O. Blair was pub- lishing the News as a daily, the Citizen was conducted both as a daily and a weekly, and J. L. Fulkerson was issuing a tri-weekly Times. F. D. Goodall was publishing the daily and weekly Advertiser. In 1893 Trinidad had four dailies, Blair's paper, the Evening Daily News, the Evening Chronicle, owned by D. W. Stone, the Citizen, owned by W. A. De Busk, and the Advertiser, run by M. Beshoar, editor and F. D. Goodall manager. El Progreso was started in 1892. In 1893 the newspaper heyday for Trinidad ceased, and from that time on, while there were many ventures there were few successes and gradually the consoli- dated publications came into existence.
In 1911 the Chronicle-News was published by a company of which D. W. Stone was president and J. H. English business manager. C. L. Copeland man- aged the advertising.
CREEDE
When in 1891 the railroad reached the boom mining camp at Creede it brought two newspaper outfits. In 1892 the Creede Chronicle was printed as a daily by Vaughan & Adams, the Sunnyside Sentinel was managed and edited by C. O. Sprenger and published by C. M. Morrison. The weekly Creede News was pub- lished by W. L. Siegmund and edited by Jesse H. Lewis. L. H. Johnson owned and edited the Creede Candle. All the newspaper glory of this period is gone. Today only the Creede Candle glimmers. It is owned and edited by one of the ablest newspaper men in the state, M. R. Mclaughlin.
MONTEZUMA COUNTY
Montezuma County has a group of five weeklies, all founded in recent years. These are: The Cortez Herald, of which J. E. Brown is proprietor, the Monte- zuma Journal, published at Cortez by C. A. Frederick, the Mancos Times-Trib- une, I. S. Freeman, publisher, and the Dolores Star, edited by Charles Bean.
MONTROSE
Montrose today has two successful newspaper properties, the semi-weekly Montrose Enterprise, of which Lynn Monroe is editor, and the Montrose Press, owned and edited by C. E. Adams, and issued as a daily and weekly. These have been built upon the ruins of a long list of newspaper ventures. The Mont- rose Messenger was the beginning of journalism in the county. This was started, in 1882, by Abe Roberts. In 1886 F. J. Land and W. A. Cassell bought it, later
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absorbing the Republican, which C. S. Nichols had started. Tony Monell, now one of the far-famed officials of the Western Slope, was for a time one of its owners. It finally merged into the Industrial-Union, a Farmers' Alliance paper owned by J. G. Barry and J. W. Calloway, which has also gone to its long rest.
The Enterprise, which still thrives, was founded by Matt L. Kappin in Janu- ary, 1899, and was later merged by him with the Register, a paper established by J. F. Downey and Mark W. Atkins. The Champion, founded by Doctor John- son, Rev. E. B. Read and Professor Condit, had a brief existence, as did F. J. Land's Farmer and Fruit-Grower.
There have been further efforts along newspaper lines in recent years, but today only two publications survive.
MORGAN COUNTY
The leading papers of Morgan County today are the Fort Morgan Times, evening and weekly, owned and edited by R. B. Spencer, the weekly Morgan County Herald, owned and edited by Ballard & Sanford, the Brush Tribune, Ed- ward H. Mathison, publisher, and the Morgan County Republican, D. P. Saun- ders, editor and manager. The Times was established September 4, 1884, by L. C. Baker and G. W. Warner. Lute H. Johnson, the well-known Denver news- paper man was for some years a part owner of the paper. The Morgan County News, established in 1888 by E. E. Pettengill, and the Eagle, founded by Ferrel and Groves, were some years ago discontinued and succeeded by the publica- tions of today.
LAS ANIMAS
In 1873 a printing press was brought to Las Animas by C. W. Bowman and on May 23d the first number of the Las Animas Leader was issued. It is still published and is at present the property of John A. Murphy. The Bent County Democrat, now owned by George B. Wick and H. Harbin Clark, is the successor to a number of short-lived weeklies which have come and gone with the years.
OTERO COUNTY
Otero County is proud of its splendid newspapers, which are nearly all the result of the development of the valley in the past few decades. The oldest of course are those at La Junta, which had a phenomenal growth in 1875 but a sud- den drop in population in 1878 when the Kit Carson branch of the Kansas Pacific was torn up. But shortly after this the Santa Fé made it a division point and with new prosperity came success for its newspapers. Within a decade there were three newspapers running, the Tribune, the Otero County Democrat and the La Junta Watermelon. In 1918 there are in existence the Democrat, a daily, of which James A. Sevitz is editor ; the weekly La Junta Tribune, Fred B. Mason, proprietor ; and the weekly Otero County Press, I. B. Johnson, proprietor.
At Rocky Ford the Gazette-Topic, a weekly published by J. B. Lacy, the Rocky Ford Enterprise, of which Will R. Monkman is publisher, the first of Rocky Ford's publications, and the Rocky Ford Tribune, Stanley & Sons, pro-
EBENEZER ARCHIBALD
TRINIDAD PIONEERS S. W. De Busk
Jacob Beard D. L. Taylor
E. J. Hubbard A. W. Archibald
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prietors, are high-class progressive newspapers which have constantly helped in the upbuilding of the Arkansas Valley.
At Fowler, the Advertiser, owned and edited by W. I. Silvey, and the Trib- une, of which C. W. Buck is the publisher, are doing excellent work in advertis- ing their town as well as the valley. At Manzanola the Sun, owned and edited by G. E. Bicknell, is another strong county weekly.
OURAY
Journalism began comparatively early in the San Juan country, for the San Juan Sentinel was founded at Ouray by Dowling & Mckinney in 1877, but was discontinued in 1878. William and Henry Ripley established the Ouray Times in 1877, and this later was merged with C. A. Ward's Budget, established July 6, 1886. When L. N. White bought it a few years later he called it the Plain- dealer, the name it still retains, with John J. McCarthy as publisher. Chauncey L. Hali, a famous Colorado newspaper man, was for years its editor. The Miner, founded by John R. Curry ; the Review, by R. W. Morrison; the Argus, a publication started in 1891, and a group of weeklies in the following decades, have all been discontinued, and there remain only the Plaindealer and the Ouray Herald. The Red Mountain Journal, founded by George Seaman, has also gone into history.
LA PLATA COUNTY
The beginnings of journalism in La Plata County go back to early Ouray days, however, for on September 5, 1879, David F. Day, one of the unique characters of Colorado journalism and known even then as the "humorist of the San Juan," began at Ouray, the publication of a paper called the Solid Muldoon. During the campaign it appeared as a daily, but for many years it scintillated as a weekly and circulated far beyond the boundaries of the state. In March, 1892, Mr. Day moved the Solid Muldoon to Durango, where for four months it was published as a daily, when it was taken over by Raymond Brothers, as business managers. It was also published as a weekly and was edited by David F. Day. In the fall of 1893 this publication became the Weekly Democrat, which later in the same year was made a daily paper, Dave Day continuing as owner and editor.
In 1900 Thomas Tully, son-in-law of David F. Day, who had been publish- ing the Silverton Standard at Silverton, came to Durango as publisher of the Durango Democrat. He continued as publisher until 1912, when the manage- ment went back to David F. Day, who in connection with his son Rod S. Day continued its publication until his death three years ago. Since that time the paper has been published by the Democrat Printing Company, with Rod S. Day as manager and editor.
The Durango Evening Herald was established in the fall of 1882. At that time the Record was being published by Mrs. Bromley, having been established in 1881. George A. Marsh, the founder of the Herald, in the fall of 1882 pur- chased the Record and combined it with the Herald, discontinuing the Record. The Herald has been published both as weekly and daily since that time, having many subscribers who have taken it for more than thirty-five years.
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August 1, 1887, George N. Raymond and Sol W. Raymond purchased the Herald from George Marsh and continued it as a daily. In 1911 the Herald Printing Company was formed, the Raymond Brothers temporarily retiring from the active management. In 1912 the Raymond Brothers again secured the Herald and dissolved the Herald Printing Company, and in partnership continued the publication until February, 1916, when they sold it to J. H. McDevitt, Jr., the present owner and publisher. I. J. Bradford is editor. The Herald enjoys a wide circulation in southwest Colorado and northwestern New Mexico and has been closely identified with the settlement and development of this section of the country.
In 1893 the Southwest appeared in Durango as a daily, but within a few months after the first issue it was purchased by the Herald publishers and com- bined with it as the Durango Evening Herald.
HOLYOKE
There are today two newspapers in Holyoke, the Holyoke Enterprise, pub- lished by R. N. White, and the State Herald, published by J. H. Painter. At Haxtum, Vance C. Monroe issues the Herald. These comprise the leading papers of Phillips County.
The State Herald was founded in 1887 by C. W. Painter and W. N. Jordan. Later Mr. Painter acquired it all and sold it in 1889 to A. A. Spahr, who in 1890 or thereabouts sold it to J. H. Painter, the present owner. Jordan founded the Holyoke Tribune, removing it to Nebraska in 1890. V. F. Williams & Company started the. News in 1889, and this was discontinued early in the '90s. Quite a number of journalistic ventures preceded the Enterprise which is now a permanent journalistic fixture of Phillips County.
ASPEN
The daily Aspen Democrat-Times, published in 1918 by Charles Dailey, is what remains of a long list of journalistic aspirants to favor. The first venture was the Aspen Times, of which B. Clark Wheeler, who became Aspen's largest mine owner, was the manager, with O. J. Wheeter, proprietor. Mackey and Mason ran the Rocky Mountain Sun. These, were the only papers issued in Aspen in 1885.
In 1890 B. Clark Wheeler was publishing the daily and weekly Times; The Aspen Chronicle was also a daily and weekly; the Rocky Mountain Sun was still shining as a weekly; and F. H. Ellis was publishing the weekly Mining Record. In 1893 when the panic came the two dailies were still struggling along, and of the weeklies only the Sun remained. B. Clark Wheeler was con- ducting both the Chronicle and the Times.
There came a few venturesome spirits later who started the Democrat, but in the end only the one paper remained.
PROWERS COUNTY
Lamar, the county seat of Prowers County, has a group of finely edited and progressive newspapers. The Daily and the Weekly Prowers County News is
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the property of S. A. Crary. J. T. Lawless still ably edits Lamar Sparks, and George B. Merrill conducts the weekly Register. The latter was the first of Lamar's papers, having been established in March, 1877. The Sparks was founded in the following year, by G. W. Butler, and its first editor was its present owner, Joe T. Lawless. For a brief period it was published by Mrs. M. A. Metcalf.
In 1889 F. B. Sloen started the Times-Irrigator, which was soon discon- tinued.
In 1892 Ford & Merrill owned the Register, Mr. Merrill later becoming sole owner.
RIO BLANCO COUNTY
Meeker, Colorado, the metropolis and county seat of Rio Blanco County, now has two successful newspapers, the Herald, owned and edited by James Lyttle; and the White River Review, published by James L. Riland. The town was incorporated in 1885, and shortly after this the Herald was established by its present owner. H. A. Wild in 1890 was publishing the Rio Blanco News, which was discontinued within the next two years.
DEL NORTE
The San Juan Prospector was established at Del Norte February 7, 1874, by N. M. Lambert, a brother of Captain Lambert of the Pueblo Chieftain. Adair Wilson, later one of the great jurists of the state, was its first editor. In 1879 Abe Roberts and W. H. Cochran bought it. W. S. Alexander, J. M. Cochran, a brother of W. H. Cochran, George A. Scibird and John C. Glover succeeded each other in ownership of the paper, which during this time ab- sorbed the Cactus, the paper founded by Stivers & Hill. By 1885 the Sentinel, the Democrat and the Nugget, published at Summitville by Elmer Thompson, had suspended, and only the San Juan Prospector remained. In 1890 the newspaper situation was unchanged. In 1892 the Del Norte daily and weekly Enquirer had entered the field, with John H. Bloom as manager. Today again, although there have been more newspaper ventures, the San Juan Prospector still lives, and its owners and editors are W. H. Cochran & Son.
MONTE VISTA
The Monte Vista Graphic was founded by Knox Burton late in the '8os, and was soon after purchased by C. S. Aldrich, who was for a long time its editor. The Monte Vista Journal was established in 1890 by C. S. Conant. In that year the Sun was also published by Colthar & Magill but this was out of the running in 1892. To-day there are in Monte Vista the Journal, still owned and edited by C. S. Conant, the Tribune, published by L. E. Bigelow, and the San Luis Valley Graphic, of which Statton Tohill is editor.
The Middle Park Times, established in 1892 at Hot Sulphur Springs, is still in existence in 1918 under the able editorial management of Lew Wallace.
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ROUTT AND MOFFAT COUNTIES
Routt and Moffat counties have a group of excellent papers. At Steamboat Springs the Steamboat Pilot, published by Leckenby & Gee, is one of the best edited and most perfectly printed papers in the state. Mr. Leckenby is now, 1918, state auditor, and Mr. Gee looks after both editorial and business manage- ment. The Routt County Sentinel, of which H. C. Wood is editor and W. W. Morgan manager, is one of the high class weeklies of the state. At Craig the Empire and the Great Divide Sentinel are published by George M. Kimball, one of the ablest newspaper men in the state. Julian E. Duvall publishes the Moffat County Courier, and W. H. Godfrey the Yampa Leader.
The Pilot was first published in the late '80s, with J. Hoyle as owner and editor, and at the same time J. R. Godsmark was printing the Inter-Mountain at Steamboat Springs. A little later C. H. Bronaugh founded the Craig Pan- tagraph. These were the beginnings of journalism in the two counties. In 1893 the Pilot was still published by J. Hoyle, and the Inter-Mountain had been sold to Daniel Hillman.
The newspapers of the two counties, however, assumed importance only after the advent of the railroad in the last decade.
SAGUACHE
The Saguache Crescent, Charles W. Ogden, owner and editor, and the Moffat Home and Farm, edited and published by Ralph E. Littler, are in 1918 the leading papers of Saguache County, the successors to the usual number of unfortunate newspaper ventures.
In 1878 W. B. Felton was publishing the Saguache Chronicle, which was sold in 1884 to Dr. D. Heimberger, whose nephew later became prominent in Leadville newspaper circles. J. E. Nelson had started the Saguache Advance, which soon ceased publication. H. H. Mingay merged the papers first into the Democrat and later into the Crescent, which still exists. R. C. Jones in 1892 started the Saguache Herald, which was discontinued after a few years.
SILVERTON
Silverton's two excellent papers, the Standard, owned and edited by Jack T. Joyce, and the Miner, published by the Silverton Miner Publishing Com- pany, remain to testify to the soundness of the newspaper foundation laid many decades ago. Alfred Iles founded the Miner in 1874, and C. W. Snowden started the Standard in 1889. While there have been many changes in owner- ship, the policies have always been of a character to command the respect and support of the district.
TELLURIDE
The Telluride Journal, daily and weekly, owned and edited by George R. Painter, was founded July 1, 1881, by E. F. Curry at San Miguel, but removed almost at once to Telluride. Within a brief time he sold it to Charles F. Painter and A. M. Reed. Mr. Painter built up the paper to a commanding position
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in the Southwest, and George R. Painter is keeping up the journalistic pace set by his predecessor in the editorial chair. The Republican, which was started in the early 'gos by Gideon R. Proper, was later sold to L. L. Nunn, at which time the present publisher and editor of its successor, the Examiner, E. D. Mckown, was given editorial charge. He has remained with the pub- lication since its inception.
JULESBURG
The Grit-Advocate, of Julesburg, published by the Grit Publishing Company, is the only paper of a long list of ventures to remain in the field in Sedgwick County. The Denver Junction Gazette, founded in 1885 by Charles Callahan, was the beginning of newspaper life in the county. It was bought by Michael McGinnis, but did not exist long. The Sedgwick County Sentinel, started by H. C. McNew, ran for some years. The Grit-Advocate is the combination and merging of a long group of successors to the Sentinel.
SUMMIT COUNTY
The Summit County Journal, of which J. A. Theobold is editor, is all that remains of many newspaper undertakings in and about Breckenridge, the county seat. The town government was organized in April, 1880, and by 1884 J. C. Fincher had made a considerable success not alone of his weekly, but of a daily Journal. Charles E. Hardy had established the Summit County Leader, and was sharing in the prosperity of the new community. The Daily Journal was, however, discontinued, and in 1890 both Fincher and Hardy were still issuing their excellent weeklies. The Leader was discontinued in 1892, and Sam W. Jones started the Bi-Metallic, which had only a brief existence. In 1893 J. W. Swisher had bought the Journal. Since this time it has changed hands several times, and is now ably edited by J. A. Theobold.
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Washington County has a group of excellent newspapers to-day, of which the leading ones are the Akron News, D. O. Thomas, editor; the Akron Re- porter, F. C. and R. M. Wester, owners ; the Pioneer Press, Chalkley A. Wilson, publisher; and the Otis Independent, R. B. Cooley, publisher. D. W. Irwin founded the Pioneer Press November 1, 1885. In 1886 C. W. Ballard and E. A. Eaton founded the Star. The Colorado Topics was printed first at Hyde, then at Burdette, Mark Little buying the property from Forbes & Powers. In these early years Dr. W. D. Otis established the Otis Enterprise, and at Hyde the Weld County Argus was the first publication in that section. In 1893 the only papers at Akron were the Pioneer Press, D. W. Irwin, proprietor, and the Washington County Republican, W. E. Smith, publisher. In 1896 H. G. Pickett, who had been editor of the Pioneer Press, became its publisher, and for a year er two this was the only paper printed in Washington County. In 1898 D. F. Foos started the Washington County Leader, which was soon merged with
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later publications. The present publications aside from the Pioneer Press, were founded in recent years.
GREELEY
The first issue of the Greeley Tribune was issued November 16, 1870, by N. C. Meeker, who had founded the colony. Its objects were "to give full particulars of whatever relates to the Union Colony, of which the town of Greeley is the center, and to show the advantage of colonization on our plan. Second, to call attention to the attractions and wonderful resources of the Rocky Mountain country, of which little is yet known by the American people. Third, to teach that the highest power that man can exhibit grows out of mental culture, and, at the same time, out of well-established habits of industry con- nected either with the cultivation of the soil or with some mechanical pursuit. Fourth, to enforce the doctrine that the foundations of all prosperity, whether of nations or individuals, is based on the family relation as maintained in civilized countries, and that the highest ambition of a family should be to have a comfortable and, if possible, an elegant home surrounded by orchards, and ornamental grounds, on lands of its own." When in 1872 the opposition to Meeker determined to establish a new paper, Horace Greeley advised selling out the Tribune, but this the owner declined to do. In 1875, however, Meeker sold a half interest to E. J. Carver, who became the editor after the tragic death of the founder of Union Colony. W. C. Packard, H. L. Dunning, J. J. Stevens and J. Max Clark were identified with the publication from 1875 to 1890.
Vickers & Painter established the Greeley Sun in 1872. Later H. A. French became interested. T. T. Wilson, George B. Graham, Ed. D. Donnell and W. G. Nicholson were interested in it at various times up to 1890.
In January, 1887, Ward D. Harrington established a third paper, the Demo- crat, in Greeley. This in 1890 became the property of A. M. Hubert and H. A. Wells.
In 1893 the Greeley Sun was published by J. B. Patton, while E. J. Carver was still manager of the Tribune. The Weld County Democrat had become the property of George Jacobs and associates.
Greeley during the next decade saw many newspaper beginnings and end- ings. The Greeley Herald, a semi-weekly, was begun about 1896, and Thomp- son Brothers founded a weekly Times. The Democrat had been discontinued. Both the Herald and the Times were not long-lived. In 1898 the Weld County Republican was started, with H. F. Currier as president of the company and L. A. Thompson business manager.
These were practically the conditions at the beginning of the new century. The Tribune soon passed into the hands of C. H. Wolfe, one of the ablest news- paper men in the state, and he placed both the daily and the weekly Tribune on a money-making basis. During the past decade there have been many un- successful efforts to establish both daily and weekly papers in Greeley. The competition in the daily field between the Tribune and the Republican finally ended in a consolidation of interests. In 1918 the Daily Tribune-Republican
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is in editorial charge of Charles Hansen, who was for many years publisher and editor of the Republican. The Weld County News, a Democratic weekly, is the property of Edward D. Foster.
OTHER WELD COUNTY PAPERS
In 1918 the Evans Courier-Messenger is the property of J. C. Downes. The Platteville Herald is owned by E. S. Bayers. At Fort Lupton the Press is owned by H. R. Waring. The New Raymer Enterprise is published by C. R. Graves. The Windsor Poudre Valley is the property of Roy Ray. J. A. Digerness owns the Hudson Headlight. D. H. Williams owns and edits the Pawnee Press at Grover. The Ault Advertiser is owned by G. A. Hill; the Briggsdale Banner is owned by W. F. Shelton; the Eaton Herald, by H. E. Hogue ; the Kersey News is owned by B. F. and L. C. McMillen; the La Salle Optimist is owned by J. C. Downes ; the Nunn News is owned by U. E. Mad- den ; thePierce Leader is owned by C. H. Reed.
The first paper established at Evans was the Journal, which was conducted by James Torrens. It was founded in 1878.
In 1890 the Evans Courier was started by S. J. McAfee. In 1888 the Progress at Platteville was conducted by A. N. Elliott and McConley Brothers ran the Record. In this period the Cyclone was started at Fort Lupton by John H. Farrar. At Erie Jones Brothers had established the Independent. At Raymer, Shirley, Abbott & Shoemaker ran the Herald. At Windsor McCauley Brothers owned the weekly Windsor Star.
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