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YELL COUNTY NEWSPAPER HISTORY
Yell County Arkansas Genealogy Trails History of the Arkansas Press for Hundred Years and More by Fred W. Allsopp 1922 transcribed by Pam Rathbone "The newspaper: The intellectual spring into which everybody dips his bucket, whilst few thank the fountain for its supply" Toast at a press banquet in 1840 The first paper to be called the Dardanelle Post is said to have been published at Dardanelle as early as 1850, by Ferdinand and S. C. Colburn. It lasted only a few months. S. C. Colburn was killed in Yell County, in 1863. Dardanelle's second newspaper was the Arkansas Transcript, put out by Capt. H. P. Barry, in February, 1869. It was sold in the fall of 1870 to Col. H. O. Withers, and taken to Ozark, but Capt. Barry repurchased it shortly afterward, and resumed the Transcript at Dardanelle, continuing it until the fall of 1872, when he disposed of it to J. R. Bezzo. The Eye of the West was published for awhile at Dardanelle in about the year 1871. L. P. Myers was its publisher. After purchasing the Transcript, Mr. Bezzo also took over the Eye of the West, and consolidated the papers as the Transcript and the Eye of the West. Soon after this, he changed the name of the paper to the Dardanelle Argus. In a few months he moved the printing office to Danville, and there continued the paper as the Danville Argus, until the fall of 1873, when he sold out and retired. The Star of the West was published for a few months at Dardanelle, in 1872, by Lewis C. White. The Dardanelle, Times was started in October 1869, as a Republican newspaper, by a stock company. It was edited by H. L. McConnell for a short time, and afterward by J. C. Austin. It suspended in November 1870, and here is its expiring wail: "With this issue (November 10, 1870) we suspend the Times for the present. We believe that we can find a more lucrative business than publishing a newspaper in Arkansas. With cotton at 12 1/2 cents and no other produce in the county, we think that there is a slim show for the editor or publisher of a newspaper for the next year, and we believe if we continued the Times someone connected with this office would go to bed hungry before long, or else go to the poor-house, a thing we would very much dislike to do. Subscribers will not pay up, and we can assure our friends that printers cannot live on air. We have occupied the editorial chair but a few short months, but during that time we have tried hard to do our duty- how well we have succeeded we leave to our friends to judge, and if we should at some future day see fit to again mount the tripod we hope our friends will patronize us a little more liberally." The Gazette was uncharitable enough to say this newspaper had "a cheap funeral, with no mourners." The Chronicle commenced publication under the editorship of John C. Austin, at Dardanelle, in 1870 or 1871. The first issue of this paper was one of the most remarkable ever issued, for Mr. Austin printed the outside pages of the issue, which was strongly Republican in politics, when he sold the paper to Capt. H. P. Barry, who had control of the inside pages, and he made them violently Democratic. Col. Smithee states that this is the first time in history that a paper advocated the doctrines of one political party on one side, and on the other side the reverse. Capt. Barry soon changed the name of the paper to the Transcript, and continued it until the fall of 1872, when, as before stated, the office was sold to Bezzo. The Dardanelle Laborer, by Geo. E. Goss and J. B. Bezzo, started in the spring of 1873. After a few months Capt. H. P. Barry took charge of it and continued as its editor until the summer of 1874. The Dardanelle Spectator began publication in 1873, but it suspended in a short time. J. A. Isom and a well-known printer named Hutchinson were its proprietors. John T. Perry was also one of its publishers. The Dardanelle Independent was started January 7, 1875, by D. P. Cloud and Jos. F. Thomas. Dr. M. M. McGuire purchased Thomas' interest, and later also bought out Mr. Cloud. The name of the paper was changed by Dr. McGuire to the Independent Arkansan. The plant was destroyed by fire in 1876, but was renewed and the paper continued to be published for several years. Geo. S. Cunningham was its editor in 1880, but Dr. McGuire again took charge and remained at the helm for several years, with a slight intermission in 1882, when he made the race for auditor of state. H. P. Barry, Capt.. McCrimmon and Dr. McGuire edited it at different times. It suspended in September, 1883, owing to the continued illness of Dr. McGuire, and the material was sold to the Laborer's Herald at Clarksville. After the suspension of the Arkansan, J. Frank Cooley, who edited the Arkansan for a short time previous to its suspension, established the Hesperian, but it did not live to the end of the year. In January, 1884, the Hesperian was revived, "But," says Mr. Leigh, "the March winds blasted it," and Mr. Cooley moved to Missouri. In June, 1875, while Dr. Mcguire was absent in attendance upon a meeting of the Press Association at Little Rock, his partner, Mr. Cloud, became involved in a personal difficulty with Capt. R. W. Wishard, over an article which had appeared in the Independent, and the latter was killed. Mr. Cloud acted in self-defense, and was exonerated by a jury In 1876, Lyles and Barnard published a paper at Dardanelle called the Yell County News, for a little over two months, when the paper was moved to Clarksville. The Dardanelle Post-Dispatch is a celebrated old newspaper. Its parent was the Western Immigrant, founded in 1876 by the well known Col. M. L. Davis, with whom J. B. Crownover was associated for some time in its publication. In 1881, the Western Immigrant was purchased by George Rainey-Williams, who was Col. Davis' step-brother, and Mr. Williams changed the name of the paper to the Post, which had been the name of a publication started at the same place in 1850. R. A. Skinner subsequently became Mr. Williams' partner, and the firm became Williams and Skinner, but Mr. Skinner soon retired. Mr. Williams used to boast that under his management, which lasted for eight years, the Post never changed its size, the day of its publication, its politics, nor missed an issue, which was rather an unusual record among Arkansas community newspapers. On February 1, 1889, Mr. Williams sold the Post to Thomas J. Hicks, and became the managing editor of the Fort Smith Times. Mr. Hicks died in 1890, and his widow, Mrs. Jennie V. Hicks, conducted the paper for some time, assisted by Colonel Davis as contributing editor. Robert Toomer was also its editor for a short time. Colonel Davis is a writer of considerable literary ability. Although but a small country journal, feature articles contributed by him were reproduced weekly by national dailies of the East. Henderson M. Jacoway, Congressman from the Fifth District, was another distinguished editor of this paper at one time. In 1896 John H. Page leased the Post from Mrs. Hicks, and on July 1, 1897 he and Harry F. Dodge bought the paper and consolidated it with the Dispatch, which was founded in about 1900, and which Louis and H. F. Dodge purchased in 1895 and had conducted in partnership for a year, when Louis Dodge withdrew. The consolidated paper became the Post-Dispatch. In 1899 Mr. Dodge retired. Mr. Page continued as its publisher until 1900, when he sold it to its present owner and publisher, George F. Upton. Mr. Upton had been a printer on their paper. Charles T. Davis, a son of M. L. Davis, now with the Arkansas Gazette, became editor in 1907 while Mr. Upton was publishing the paper. The new editor was only 18 years of age. Among the events of his administration were newspaper battles with practically every Republican paper in the State, and one wrangle with Collier's weekly over a slighting reference made to Arkansas by the national weekly. The controversy was hot and prolonged on the part of the Post-Dispatch, but much more reticent on the part of Collier's. George F. Upton is the present editor and publisher of the Post-Dispatch, succeeding a long line of illustrious editors. The Post-Dispatch is Dardanelle's only newpaper. In 1881 the Arkansas Evangel (Baptist) was started at Dardanelle, with Rev. Mr. Womack editor and Dr. M. M. McGuire publisher. The next year it was moved to Russellville. April 1, 1884, R. A. Skinner started the Dardanelle Yell County Mail, with W. L. Morris as editor. The Dardanelle REflector was started in 1886 by W. W. Gill. The Dardanelle Herald was started in 1884. Charles H. McGuire, long a well-known printer at Little Rock, and the son of that grand old editor, Col. M. M. McGuire, was it's editor. The Yell County Mail, started in April, 1884, by R. A. Skinner, with W. L. Morris as editor, was discontinued in March, 1885. The Arkansas Valley Pilot was brought out at Dardanelle in 1897 by J. L. Tullis, known to all the old-timers in the Arkansas newspaper business. The Pilot was moved to Ola and was being published as the Ola Pilot as late as 1900. Mr. Tullis is now the editor of the Devol Oil Journal, published at Devol, Oklahoma. A County Press Association was organized at Dardanelle in September, 1907, by the Yell County newspapermen, with six members. Belleville. The Belleville Headlight went out in 1899. In 1898 Brown And Martin started a newspaper at Belleville. The Belleville Republican was being published in 1912 by W. L. Cloninger, who is said to be a good Republican, and doesn't care who knows it. The paper, however, went the way of most good and bad Republican newspapers in Arkansas. Danville. A newspaper was started by Henry Bros., at Danville, in 1898, but its name has been forgotten. The Danville Democrat, established in 1899, has been owned for many years by T. L. Pound, ex-president of the Press Association, ex-mayor of Danville, and also ex-postmaster. His duties in the latter position caused him to quite editing the Democrat for awhile, during which J. T. Little was the editor. Mr. Pound in now back on the job, however. Because Mr. Pound took some stock in politics, Ray Gill of Fort Smith, who was formerly active in newspaper circles, and is yet, as a publicity man, dubbed Mr. Pound "the Ponderous Politician," and kept up a fight on him until Mr. Pound finally took cognizance of the attacks and made the following speech in his own defense and in behalf of editor-politicians: "I think it is the duty of a newspaper man to take an active interest in the politics of his community. Every individual voter in the United States is in some degree responsible for the government under which he lives. Every individual voter within the corporate limits of the city or village in which he lives shares responsibility for the manner in which the local government is administered. "The truth of these statements being self-evident, it follows that every editor has a direct interest in government, and, unless he shirks his duty, he exercise the rights and powers conferred on him. Using the term politics in the restricted sense of partisanship, it might be a mooted question, but using in in its broader sense, there is no room for question. "The responsibilities of man increase in direct proportion as his opportunities increase. The successful newspaper man is supposed to possess, to an average degree, at least, the qualities of intelligence, honesty and capability, and, if in combination with these attributes, if it be true that he possesses any advantages over his fellow-man, because of the nature of his calling, he cannot be true to himself, nor to those whom he serves, unless he takes a part, and an active part, in the numerous activities that make for the betterment of conditions, and those include the politics of his community. "It is not necessary in these days to rebuke or sneer at the country editor. That time has passed. Yet it is not because the country editor has taken to holding office that he is an influential figure in the country. It is rather in spite of that fact. Therefore, the exaltation of a member of the rural journalistic fraternity over the rise to power of many of his contemporaries is due to misapprehension of cause and effect. The country editor is a power, not because he is in office, but because he is an editor. "It is true that the country editor nowadays aspires to more important posts that the postmaster ship, and has attained them. In a number of states he has reached the gubernatorial chair. The present President of the United States is a small town editor. But these honors, after all, are merely incidental to his chief glory, which arises out of his journalistic vocation. Anybody with strength enough to draw a salary can be an office-holder, but it takes a pretty good all-around man to be a country editor. Such a man must combine business and literary ability with more political sagacity than falls to the lot of the average politician. He must be a diplomat. He must possess the judicial temperament. And, above all, he must have a reputation for honesty that is above suspicion. "The country editor is close to his constituents. They know him, and, if they support and endorse him, he is second to no man in the power that he wields in the community. If he fails in honesty or fairness, he will not long remain a country editor, because his influence vanishes with his good reputation. "I know of no field of endeavor where a man can accomplish more for his country, while making a living for himself, than in publishing a country weekly in a good town. To honor his work, such a man ought to guard his own and the people's rights zealously, and use his powers justly. He ought to avoid smallness and selfishness. He ought to be strong, but forbearing; fearless, but sympathetic. He ought to be every inch a man, true to himself, to his profession, and to his God." Havana. The Havana Enterprise suspended in 1920, and Horace Williams of Danville bought the material. This town seems to be without a newspaper. The Yell County Times, at Havana, was started in 1920 by Horace M. and Robert E. Williams, to succeed the Blade-Enterprise. The Havana Argues was being published in 1912 by B. P. Renfroe. Ola The Ola Headlight was projected by Ed Lucas in 1902, and in 1908 T. L. Pound became a partner in the publication. The name was then changed to the News. The Ola News was being published in 1907 by M. L. Martin, and in 1910-11-12 by B. P. Renfroe, formerly of the Almo Democrat. The Ola Enterprise, started in 1915, by W. L. Cloninger, soon suspended. H. C. Chalmers, James O. Baker and G. W. Cross all appear as publishers of this paper at different times. Plainview. The Fourche Valley Herald, started at the new town of Plainview, in 1908, by Paul J. McCall, and sold by him to Geo. E. Floyd, was transferred by him in 1909 to J. I. Owen, and later to J. B. Law, and came back to Geo. E. Floyd. J. T. Little and Eugene Williams are its publishers at present. Return to Yell County Index 2007 Arkansas Genealogy Trails |