Weekly Arizonian
Encyclopedia
The Weekly Arizonian was a newspaper
published in Arizona Territory
with a checkered existence from 1859 to 1871. It holds a special place in Arizona
history as its first printed work, first newspaper and first political organ.
being ceded
to the United States
, New Mexico Territory
– encompassing what later became the States of Arizona
and New Mexico
– was organized in 1850 with the capital at Santa Fe
. In 1853 the Gadsden Purchase
added a major strip to the southwest corner of the Territory, including two of the northernmost presidio
s of the former Spanish Borderlands, Tubac
and Tucson
. As the Mexican garrisons moved out, American miners and other settlers moved in. Tubac, with a population of 400, was the most important center of activity in what would later become Arizona, but communications with the rest of the world were poor, and the Santa Fe government had little impact on this part of the territory. Arizonans wanted rule of law and better protection from the Apaches.
. The press had been shipped from Ohio by William Wrightson
of the Santa Rita Mining Company. It had traveled by ship down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, across the Gulf to Panama, through the Sea of Cortez to Guaymas, and thence by ox-cart to Tubac. It took about two months to set up shop for the newspaper. Edward Ephraim Cross
, who had journalistic experience in Cincinnati, assumed the mantel of editor. He had been in Tubac since November 1858, and had been sending dispatches to Eastern newspapers. He was virtually the sole source of information about Arizona to the outside world.
Cross soon ran afoul of Sylvester Mowry
, the most prominent citizen in Tubac, the bone of contention being Mowry’s allegedly exaggerated population estimates of Arizona and the territory’s presumed agricultural potential. Mowry had recently retired from the Army at Fort Yuma
, and was twice elected as delegate to Washington for the proposed territory of Arizona, but Congress
, not recognizing Arizona as an organized territory, refused to seat him. Cross and Mowry, who agreed on their aspirations for the development of Arizona, but represented rival mining interests, settled their differences in a bloodless duel
on 8 July 1859.
Cross’s aggressive editorial policy continued to bring political pressure on the mining company which owned the Arizonian. Sylvester Mowry and his friend William Oury purchased the newspaper for $2,500 on 21 July 1859. Cross lingered in Tubac for a while, but with the outbreak of the Civil War
, he returned to his native New Hampshire
, took a colonel’s commission, and died of wounds at the battle of Gettysburg
in 1863.
Charles Strong
, a printer from New York, and T.M. Turner, a journalist from Ohio, entered into a six-month agreement to revive the Arizonian as publisher and editor respectively. Little is known of the paper’s continued troubles, but Turner quit within a month and in his farewell issue advertised a pair of Pocket Derringers
, apparently standard armament for editors in those days. He should have kept them, for he was murdered in Las Vegas
six months later. The paper limped on without the financial support it had expected, and suspended publication a second time in September 1861.
, a colorful period during which the Confederacy
organized an Arizon Territory
with representation in the Richmond
Congress. The region was subsequently invaded by General Carleton
's California Column
, which sent the Confederate forces fleeing to Texas
. The Union forces arrived unopposed in Tucson on May 22, 1862 and paraded the press of the Arizonian through town as a war trophy. Its owner, Sylvester Mowry, was arrested for treason and imprisoned at Yuma
. The charges were never proven, and after the war Congress awarded him $40,000 in compensation for all his losses, but he died a broken man in London in 1871. With all of New Mexico reincorporated into the Union, President Abraham Lincoln
proclaimed the establishment of a new Territory of Arizona
on February 23, 1863, carved from its western half. Tucson was regarded as a hotbed of secessionist sentiment and not suitable as territorial capital, so the town momentarily declined in political importance, and with it the ability to support a newspaper.
Although no newspaper was being published in Tucson, the press of the Arizonian was used in 1865 to publish the Territory’s first known Spanish document, a translation of the Howell Code adopted by the First Legislature
in 1864.
Meanwhile the Washington hand press had remained in Tucson, and in August 1867 the Tucson Publishing Company started printing the Southern Arizonian with Sidney DeLong as editor. He had arrived with Carleton’s troops in 1862, settled in Tucson in 1866, and would later be elected its first mayor. In the Fall of 1867 the Territorial capital moved to Tucson, assuring its newspaper of brighter prospects. The Washington hand press was retired and replaced with more modern equipment, and the newspaper was awarded the contract for printing all government documents. DeLong turned over the paper to H.W. Sherry in January 1869. Sherry immediately partnered with Pierson W. Dooner, a Canadian printer who took over as editor in April when Sherry left.
Dooner altered the image of the Southern Arizonian considerably, renaming it the Arizonan since he considered the old spelling an “unwarrantable construction.” The paper still experienced financial difficulties, but when in September 1869 two issues failed to appear, it was not for lack of paper. Dooner, who served as editor, compositor and printer, had gone on a short adventure in the desert and the guide had become lost. Such a “free and easy” way of producing a newspaper drew satirical comment from as far away as Los Angeles
. Territorial Delegate and former Governor Richard McCormick
had in the meantime acquired an interest in the newspaper, and Dooner willingly served his political ambitions without ever having met him. When they did meet in October 1870, Dooner turned against his patron. In revenge, McCormick removed the new equipment, but Dooner put the old Tubac press back in operation, having previously assured McCormick it was unsalvageable. Four days later a new newspaper appeared Tucson, the Citizen
, edited by John Wasson, and supporting McCormick’s candidacy for re-election.
The old Tubac press which had inaugurated the history of printing in Arizona went on to launch the Tucson Arizona Star
in 1877, the Tombstone Nugget in 1879 and the Tombstone Epitaph
in 1880. In 1933 the Epitaph editor donated the relic to the Arizona Historical Society
in Tucson, and the press was later put on display at the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park
. In 1959 Frank Giffen printed four centennial commemorative issues of the Arizonian which were mailed from Tubac. In 1957 Edward Cross was inducted into the Arizona Newspapers Association Hall of Fame, as was Pierson Dooner in 1996.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
with a checkered existence from 1859 to 1871. It holds a special place in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
history as its first printed work, first newspaper and first political organ.
Political background
After the Mexican war which resulted in much of northern MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
being ceded
Mexican Cession
The Mexican Cession of 1848 is a historical name in the United States for the region of the present day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
– encompassing what later became the States of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
– was organized in 1850 with the capital at Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
. In 1853 the Gadsden Purchase
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States in a treaty signed by James Gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico at the time, on December 30, 1853. It was then ratified, with changes, by the U.S...
added a major strip to the southwest corner of the Territory, including two of the northernmost presidio
Presidio
A presidio is a fortified base established by the Spanish in North America between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fortresses were built to protect against pirates, hostile native Americans and enemy colonists. Other presidios were held by Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth...
s of the former Spanish Borderlands, Tubac
Tubac, Arizona
Tubac is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 949 at the 2000 census. The place name Tubac is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name, which translates into English as "rotten". The original O'odham name is written...
and Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. As the Mexican garrisons moved out, American miners and other settlers moved in. Tubac, with a population of 400, was the most important center of activity in what would later become Arizona, but communications with the rest of the world were poor, and the Santa Fe government had little impact on this part of the territory. Arizonans wanted rule of law and better protection from the Apaches.
Founding of the newspaper, 1859
It was in this setting that the Weekly Arizonian made its debut at Tubac on 3 March 1859. From its first issue, the Arizonian’s avowed policy was to promote the resources of the area, and secure a separate government for Arizona. It was a four-page tabloid printed on a Washington hand pressPrinting press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
. The press had been shipped from Ohio by William Wrightson
Mount Wrightson
Mount Wrightson is the highest point in the area around Tucson, Arizona, United States at an elevation of 9,453 feet . Mount Wrightson is located in the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson in the Coronado National Forest. It was named for William Wrightson, who was a miner and entrepreneur...
of the Santa Rita Mining Company. It had traveled by ship down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, across the Gulf to Panama, through the Sea of Cortez to Guaymas, and thence by ox-cart to Tubac. It took about two months to set up shop for the newspaper. Edward Ephraim Cross
Edward E. Cross
Edward Ephraim Cross was a newspaperman and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Journalist:...
, who had journalistic experience in Cincinnati, assumed the mantel of editor. He had been in Tubac since November 1858, and had been sending dispatches to Eastern newspapers. He was virtually the sole source of information about Arizona to the outside world.
Cross soon ran afoul of Sylvester Mowry
Sylvester Mowry
Sylvester Mowry was an American best known as a pioneer of Arizona and the founder of Mowry, Arizona. He also served as an officer in the United States Army and was arrested as a traitor during the American Civil War....
, the most prominent citizen in Tubac, the bone of contention being Mowry’s allegedly exaggerated population estimates of Arizona and the territory’s presumed agricultural potential. Mowry had recently retired from the Army at Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma is a fort in California that is located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of the Interior. The Fort Yuma Indian School and a...
, and was twice elected as delegate to Washington for the proposed territory of Arizona, but Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, not recognizing Arizona as an organized territory, refused to seat him. Cross and Mowry, who agreed on their aspirations for the development of Arizona, but represented rival mining interests, settled their differences in a bloodless duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
on 8 July 1859.
Cross’s aggressive editorial policy continued to bring political pressure on the mining company which owned the Arizonian. Sylvester Mowry and his friend William Oury purchased the newspaper for $2,500 on 21 July 1859. Cross lingered in Tubac for a while, but with the outbreak of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he returned to his native New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, took a colonel’s commission, and died of wounds at the battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
in 1863.
Move to Tucson, 1859
Upon purchase of the newspaper, Mowry moved the Arizonian to Tucson, where he envisioned it as a valuable tool in his drive for territorial organization and a delegate’s seat in Congress. Tucson thus had its first newspaper on 4 August 1859. J. Howard Wells, the new editor, entered his job with some misgivings since he had no prior newspaper experience. But in November the paper expanded its operations with the procurement of a job printing office from San Francisco. In April 1860 this office published the Constitution of the Provisional Government of the Territory of Arizona, and the proceedings of the convention in Tucson. This was the first book published in Arizona. Two months later the newspaper suspended publication, perhaps due to Wells’ other political commitments.Charles Strong
Charles Strong
Charles Strong was a Scottish-born Australian preacher and first minister of the Australian Church.-Early life:...
, a printer from New York, and T.M. Turner, a journalist from Ohio, entered into a six-month agreement to revive the Arizonian as publisher and editor respectively. Little is known of the paper’s continued troubles, but Turner quit within a month and in his farewell issue advertised a pair of Pocket Derringers
Derringer
The term derringer is a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of small pocket pistols. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became...
, apparently standard armament for editors in those days. He should have kept them, for he was murdered in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
six months later. The paper limped on without the financial support it had expected, and suspended publication a second time in September 1861.
Civil War interlude
Six years later, the Arizonian was revived yet again, but in the meantime it had missed the opportunity to report the Civil War in New Mexico TerritoryNew Mexico Territory in the American Civil War
The New Mexico Territory, which included the areas which became the modern U.S. states of New Mexico and Arizona as well as the southern part of Nevada, played a role in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. Both Confederate and Union governments claimed ownership and territorial...
, a colorful period during which the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
organized an Arizon Territory
Arizona Territory (CSA)
The Territory of Arizona was a territory claimed by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, between 1861 and 1865. It consisted of the portion of the New Mexico Territory south of the 34th parallel north including parts of the modern states of New Mexico and Arizona. Its...
with representation in the Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
Congress. The region was subsequently invaded by General Carleton
James Henry Carleton
James Henry Carleton was an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War. Carleton is most well known as an Indian fighter in the southwestern United States.-Biography:...
's California Column
California Column
The California Column, a force of Union volunteers, marched from April to August 1862 over 900 miles from California, across the southern New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and then into western Texas during the American Civil War. At the time, this was the longest trek through desert terrain...
, which sent the Confederate forces fleeing to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The Union forces arrived unopposed in Tucson on May 22, 1862 and paraded the press of the Arizonian through town as a war trophy. Its owner, Sylvester Mowry, was arrested for treason and imprisoned at Yuma
Yuma Territorial Prison
The Yuma Territorial Prison was a prison in the Arizona Territory of the United States and now in present day Yuma, Arizona. The Territorial Prison is one of the Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites on the National Register of Historic Places in the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.The site is...
. The charges were never proven, and after the war Congress awarded him $40,000 in compensation for all his losses, but he died a broken man in London in 1871. With all of New Mexico reincorporated into the Union, President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
proclaimed the establishment of a new Territory of Arizona
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
on February 23, 1863, carved from its western half. Tucson was regarded as a hotbed of secessionist sentiment and not suitable as territorial capital, so the town momentarily declined in political importance, and with it the ability to support a newspaper.
Although no newspaper was being published in Tucson, the press of the Arizonian was used in 1865 to publish the Territory’s first known Spanish document, a translation of the Howell Code adopted by the First Legislature
Arizona Legislature
The Arizona Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. There are 60 Representatives and 30 Senators...
in 1864.
Revival, 1867
In June 1867 B.F Ritchie & Co. revived the newspaper from its six-year hiatus with a certain Mr. Pierce as editor. Pierce was reputed to be a drunkard, and the paper only lasted for three issues. He then moved to Prescott, the new capital, where he published one issue on 31 August 1867. He became ill, the newspaper ceased publication, and Pierce gave up any further attempt to keep the paper alive.Meanwhile the Washington hand press had remained in Tucson, and in August 1867 the Tucson Publishing Company started printing the Southern Arizonian with Sidney DeLong as editor. He had arrived with Carleton’s troops in 1862, settled in Tucson in 1866, and would later be elected its first mayor. In the Fall of 1867 the Territorial capital moved to Tucson, assuring its newspaper of brighter prospects. The Washington hand press was retired and replaced with more modern equipment, and the newspaper was awarded the contract for printing all government documents. DeLong turned over the paper to H.W. Sherry in January 1869. Sherry immediately partnered with Pierson W. Dooner, a Canadian printer who took over as editor in April when Sherry left.
Dooner altered the image of the Southern Arizonian considerably, renaming it the Arizonan since he considered the old spelling an “unwarrantable construction.” The paper still experienced financial difficulties, but when in September 1869 two issues failed to appear, it was not for lack of paper. Dooner, who served as editor, compositor and printer, had gone on a short adventure in the desert and the guide had become lost. Such a “free and easy” way of producing a newspaper drew satirical comment from as far away as Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Territorial Delegate and former Governor Richard McCormick
Richard Cunningham McCormick
Richard Cunningham McCormick, Jr. was an American politician, businessman, and journalist. He served as the second Governor of Arizona Territory, three time Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona Territory, and as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York...
had in the meantime acquired an interest in the newspaper, and Dooner willingly served his political ambitions without ever having met him. When they did meet in October 1870, Dooner turned against his patron. In revenge, McCormick removed the new equipment, but Dooner put the old Tubac press back in operation, having previously assured McCormick it was unsalvageable. Four days later a new newspaper appeared Tucson, the Citizen
Tucson Citizen
The Tucson Citizen was a daily newspaper in Tucson, Arizona. It was founded by Richard C. McCormick with John Wasson as publisher and editor on October 15, 1870 as the Arizona Citizen....
, edited by John Wasson, and supporting McCormick’s candidacy for re-election.
Demise, 1871
A bitter war ensued between the two newspapers. Tucson was not yet big enough to support two newspapers, and it became apparent that the election would decide which newspaper survived. During the campaign McCormick held the distinction of being the subject of the first political cartoon in Arizona. He won the election on November 8, sealing the fate of the Arizonian. Dooner continued casting aspersions on Wasson and the Citizen, but finally on April 29, 1871 he ceased publishing, and the Arizonian was no more.The old Tubac press which had inaugurated the history of printing in Arizona went on to launch the Tucson Arizona Star
Arizona Daily Star
The Arizona Daily Star is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. The paper was purchased by Pulitzer in 1971; Lee Enterprises bought Pulitzer in 2005....
in 1877, the Tombstone Nugget in 1879 and the Tombstone Epitaph
Tombstone Epitaph
The Tombstone Epitaph is a Tombstone, Arizona-based monthly publication that serves as a window in the history and culture of the Old West. Founded on May 1, 1880, The Epitaph is the oldest continually published newspaper in Arizona.-History:...
in 1880. In 1933 the Epitaph editor donated the relic to the Arizona Historical Society
Arizona Historical Society
The Arizona Historical Society is a non-profit organization whose goal is to collect, preserve, interpret, and disseminate the history of Arizona, the West, and Northern Mexico as it pertains to Arizona. It does this through 4 regional divisions. Each division has a representative museum...
in Tucson, and the press was later put on display at the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park
Tubac Presidio State Historic Park
Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, located in Tubac, Arizona, USA, preserves the ruins of the Presidio San Ignacio de Tubac and various other buildings, thereby presenting a timeline of human settlement in this Southern Arizona town...
. In 1959 Frank Giffen printed four centennial commemorative issues of the Arizonian which were mailed from Tubac. In 1957 Edward Cross was inducted into the Arizona Newspapers Association Hall of Fame, as was Pierson Dooner in 1996.
Editors
| Edward E. Cross | 3 Mar. 1859 |
| J. Howard Wells | 4 Aug. 1859 |
| suspended publication | 14 June 1860 |
| T.M. Turner | 9 Feb. 1861 |
| suspended publication | 9 Sep. 1861 |
| Mr. Pierce | 15 June 1867 |
| Sidney R. DeLong | Aug. 1867 |
| H.W. Sherry | 1 Jan. 1869 |
| Pierson W. Dooner | 24 Apr. 1869 |
| ceased publication | 29 Apr. 1871 |
Sources
- Alisky, Marvin. "Arizona’s first newspaper, the Weekly Arizonian, 1859," New Mexico historical review, 34: 134-143 (April 1959).
- Hattich, William H. "Highlights of Arizona’ first printing press," Arizona historical review, 3: 67-72 (October 1930).
- Hufford, Kenneth. "Journalism in pre-Territorial Arizona," Smoke signal, no. 14 (Fall 1966).
- Hufford, Kenneth. "P.W. Dooner, pioneer editor of Tucson," Arizona and the West, 10: 25-42 (Spring 1968).
- Luttrell, Estelle. "Newspapers and periodicals of Arizona 1859-1912," University of Arizona bulletin, 20:93-94 (July 1949).
- McMurtrie, DouglasDouglas Crawford McMurtrieDouglas Crawford McMurtrie was an American typeface designer, graphic designer, historian and bibliographer of printing.-Early career:...
. The Beginnings of printing in Arizona. (Chicago: Black Cat Press, 1937), p. 40-42.