We’ve recently added more content from Polk County, this time coming from Independence, OR! This batch was made possible by the folks at Independence Public Library. The added issues come from The Polk County Post, going back to the start of the paper in 1918 and through 1921.

During that time, it was the second largest newspaper coming out of Independence. Though it was a lot newer than the other town newspaper, the Independence Enterprise, it still managed to develop a circulation of 705 in a town of about 1,380 by 1920, its third year in existence, according to the American Newspaper Annual and Directory from that year.

Even though it was a relatively small paper, The Polk County Post still managed to squeeze in a lot of important news tidbits from around the world and across the state in its weekly issues. The newspaper also had a focus on the agricultural leanings of the town, particularly hops which were a major part of the town’s economy during this time.

The Post also started to include film listings from the local movie theater, a glimpse into the entertainment available at that time.

As with all of our digitized papers, you can browse through more issues on the Historic Oregon Newspapers website. Each issue of The Polk County Post can be browsed and searched by keyword, thanks to optical character recognition (OCR) technology. In addition, content can be downloaded as a PDF or JPEG file and saved for future reference or research purposes at absolutely no cost to visitors to Historic Oregon Newspapers.

With support from the Dallas Public Library and the Polk County Cultural Coalition, we were recently able to digitize and add more newspapers from Dallas, Oregon! Issues from The Polk County Signal, Polk County Times, and Polk County Itemizer are now available online. Of these newspapers, the issues available from the The Polk County Signal cover the earliest period from 1868 and 1869, while the Polk County Itemizer covers a later period from 1903 to 1914.

In 1868, J.H. Upton started the The Polk County Signal in Dallas, OR. As a small weekly paper, it covered issues of both local and national import. The paper had strong political leanings, supporting the Democratic party of that time and often arguing in favor of states’ rights. However, this meant that articles in this paper ranged widely, from simply offering support for Democratic politicians to using extreme and racist rhetoric.

In 1879, the Signal would merge with the Dallas Itemizer to form the Polk County Itemizer, which for a time billed itself as “the best and largest paper in Polk County.” However, that was relative for the time as its circulation in 1884 would have only been about 950. In this transition, the newspaper became more politically independent, not affiliating itself with either party while moving away from the Signal’s sometimes harsher language.

Meanwhile, the Polk County Times had a brief run during this time between 1869 and 1870, published by F.R. Stuart. It often printed news briefs from across the county, but focused mainly on state and local news. Though the paper was short-lived, it is still an interesting glimpse at life in Dallas and Polk County during that time. Take for example the below clipping from the County News and Town Gossip section:

In this article about a singing class taught by a Professor McNutt, we get a sense of the type of pleasurable activities “Dallasanians” would have taken part of back then. To find out about other aspects of life in Dallas in the mid to late 1800s, browse through more issues of each of these newspapers on the Historic Oregon Newspapers website. Each issue of The Polk County Signal, Polk County Times, and Polk County Itemizer can be browsed and searched by keyword, thanks to optical character recognition (OCR) technology. In addition, these historic Dallas, Oregon newspapers can be downloaded as a PDF or JPEG file and saved for future reference or research purposes at absolutely no cost to visitors to Historic Oregon Newspapers.

Thanks in large part to the generosity of a group of donors from Coquille, we were recently able to add the Coquille City Herald to the Historic Oregon Newspapers website, covering a time period between 1883 and 1894. The earliest issue currently available from this weekly paper is from September 11, 1883, while the last one is from December 11, 1894. More issues will be added later from that time period, as well as from the rest of the paper’s run through 1917.

Incorporated in 1885, Coquille remains a relatively small town to this day. These issues of the Coquille City Herald offer insight into the town’s early days and neighboring areas, featuring not only recent news related to the area, but also plenty of ads for some of the local businesses and trades. In fact, the paper often promoted the city itself in an attempt to help its growth, emphasizing the natural charms and availability of reasonably affordable properties.

Interestingly enough, the property agent listed in the ad for the city is J.A. Dean, who was also the publisher and editor of the newspaper during this time. In fact, Dean was also one of the incorporators of the Occidental Water company, which was created in 1885 to transport water into the town for its citizens and business to use. His dual roles as newspaper man and property agent likely worked well for him, as the paper afforded him a mouthpiece with which to encourage others to move to this “blossoming” city.

As with all historic newspapers available on the Historic Oregon Newspapers website, each of the Coquille City Herald can be browsed and searched by keyword, thanks to optical character recognition (OCR) technology. In addition, this historic Coquille, Oregon, newspaper can be downloaded as a PDF or JPEG file and saved for future reference or research purposes at absolutely no cost to visitors to Historic Oregon Newspapers. So, check out these newly added issues and learn a little more about late-nineteenth century Coquille!