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Arizona Miner[1]
Arizona Miner, March 9, 1864
TypeWeekly newspaper
Founded1864
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publication1868
HeadquartersPrescott, Arizona, Arizona Territory
ISSN2165-9206
OCLC number9251680
Weekly Arizona Miner[2]
Weekly Arizona Miner, August 8, 1868
Founded1868
Ceased publication1873
ISSN2165-9060
OCLC number8793533
Arizona Weekly Miner[3]
Arizona Weekly Miner, January 2, 1874
Founded1874
Ceased publication1877
ISSN2165-9052
OCLC number8793499
The Weekly Arizona Miner[4]
The Weekly Arizona Miner, June 8, 1877
Founded1877
Ceased publication1885
ISSN2165-9044
OCLC number8793462
Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner[5]
Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner, January 1, 1886
Founded1885
Ceased publication1903
ISSN2166-5877
OCLC number13019318
Weekly Arizona Journal-Miner[6]
Weekly Arizona Journal-Miner, March 3, 1903
Founded1903
Ceased publication1908
ISSN2166-5893
OCLC number12956138
Weekly Journal-Miner[7]
Weekly Journal-Miner, September 20, 1908
Founded1908
Ceased publication1934
ISSN2166-5915
OCLC number12956074

Arizona Miner (alternatively the Arizona Weekly Miner, Miner, or Weekly Miner) was a newspaper published in Prescott, Arizona Territory, from 1868 to 1885 and circulated throughout Yavapai County. The paper merged with the Arizona Weekly Journal in 1885 to create the Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner, which was published until 1934. It underwent a succession of owners and changes in its publishing frequency as well as its political leanings.

History

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The predecessor paper, the Republican Fort Whipple Arizona Miner, was established in 1864 at Fort Whipple as a monthly. It was owned by then Territorial Secretary Richard C. McCormick[1] who purchased a press in Santa Fe, New Mexico on his initial journey to the territory and transported it in government wagons along with his other personal belongings.[8] The first publisher was Tisdale A. Hand.[1] The first issue was published on March 9, 1864, making it the oldest newspaper in Arizona.[9] The paper was published under military protection by staff who had "rifles strapped to their backs."[8] Later that year, after the first six issues, McCormick moved the publication to Prescott, the new capital of the Territory.[1] Emmet A. Bentley, editor from July 1866 was shot by Apache Indians on Weaver Mountain in February 1867 and died a few days later in the paper's office at age 27. Bentley was born in Burlington, Iowa and came to Arizona in 1863.[8]

Although McCormick established the paper as "the creature of the new territorial government",[10] the paper had little political content in its early years, aside from reporting on the reelection of President Lincoln in 1864 and on meetings of the Arizona Territorial Legislature.[1] Still, William F. Turner, the Chief Justice of the Territorial Supreme Court of Arizona and a political foe, felt that McCormick unduly benefited from being the owner and controller of the Miner.[11]

In 1867, McCormick sold the paper to John H. Marion, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana who came to Arizona in his 20s to prospect. He stayed to promote mining and Arizona's political rights.[8] During Marion's tenure the paper became highly politicized. Marion, a Democrat, was said to have a "combative and racist perspective that made itself known through his often aggressive and biting criticism of others".[1] Marion intended the Miner to be both "The Official Paper of Arizona" and an "Organ of the White People of Arizona."[10] Marion published weekly beginning in August 1867 and said he grew the paper from a circulation of less than 75 with a half column of paid advertising to 672 with "several columns" of paid advertising.[8]

In 1868 Benjamin H. Weaver joined the publishing staff and the paper's frequency increased from semi-monthly to weekly; it was also renamed the Weekly Arizona Miner. After Weaver left in 1874, the paper was renamed the Arizona Weekly Miner. Over the next few years the staff changed again, with Thomas J. Butler becoming editor and part-owner in 1875, then selling his interest in 1876. Charles W. Beach thereafter assumed the duties of editor, and Marion sold his interest to Beach in 1877. Under Beach, the paper's political leanings returned to their Republican roots and the name was changed back to the Weekly Arizona Miner. In 1882 Beach planned to sell the paper to Samuel N. Holmes, but Holmes died before the deal was signed.[1]

Merger

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Despite ongoing financial difficulties, Beach continued to publish the newspaper for several more years. In late 1885, John C. Martin, the editor of Prescott's Arizona Weekly Journal,[a] proposed a merger deal. The two papers combined to create the Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner, with Martin as editor.[1]

Later history

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A fire on July 14, 1900, destroyed the publishing office. In response, a temporary daily was published for about a month until regular operations could resume[1] in a small brick building on West Gurley Street.[9]

In 1903, the name of the paper was changed yet again to the Weekly Arizona Journal-Miner.[1] In 1904, the paper began using a linotype machine and became a franchise of the Associated Press.[9]

In 1908, John W. Milnes purchased the paper and took over as editor; he changed the name to the Weekly Journal-Miner. Milnes retained control of the paper for nearly fifteen years.[1] Needing more space, the publishing office moved to a two-story building at Cortez and Union streets in 1914 with a Goss web-perfecting press.[9]

The last proprietors of the paper were Arthur John Doud, publisher, and A. V. Napier, manager, who acquired the publication on July 1, 1929, and operated it until its closure in April 1934.[1]

Daily edition

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From December 1873[b] to August 1885, a daily edition, the Arizona Daily Miner, was also published.[1][8][12] The Arizona Journal, a Republican-leaning paper established in 1883 merged with Daily Miner to become the Prescott Journal-Miner.[8]

Mastheads

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Masthead Frequency Notes
Republican Fort Whipple Arizona Miner monthly 1864 1868
Weekly Arizona Miner weekly 1868 1874
Arizona Weekly Miner weekly 1874 1877
Weekly Arizona Miner weekly 1877 1885
Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner weekly 1885 1903 after merger
Weekly Arizona Journal-Miner weekly 1903 1908 after merger
Weekly Journal-Miner weekly 1908 1934 closure

Key people

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Name[8] position
Richard C. McCormick 1864 1867 owner
Tisdale A. Hand Mar 1864 Oct 1864 publisher
Emmet A. Bentley Jul 1866 Feb 1867 editor
Randall Meacham Feb 1867 Jul 1867 editor
William Ford Jul 1867 Sep 1867 publisher
John H. Marion Sep 1867 1877 editor/owner/part-owner
Benjamin H. Weaver 1868 Feb 1875 editor/part-owner
E.S. Penewell Dec 1873 Feb 1875 part-owner
C.F. Mitchell Dec 1873 Feb 1875 part-owner
Thomas J. Butler Feb 1875 Dec 1876 editor/part-owner
Charles W. Beach Dec 1876 Mar 1877 editor/part-owner
Charles W. Beach Mar 1877 1884 editor/owner
William O. O'Neill 1884 Feb 1885 editor
Charles W. Beach Mar 1885 Aug 1885 editor/owner
John C. Martin Sep 1885 Mar 1904 editor/owner
John W. Milnes Apr 1904 Jun 1929 editor/owner
Arthur John Doud Jul 1929 Apr 1934 owner/publisher
A. V. Napier Jul 1929 Apr 1934 managing editor

Notes

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  1. ^ Established in 1880 as the Arizona Democrat before becoming the Arizona Weekly Journal in 1882
  2. ^ Some sources say the daily began in 1876

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "About Arizona miner. (Fort Whipple, Ariz.) 1864–1868". Library of Congress/Chronicling America. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  2. ^ "About The Weekly Arizona Miner. (Prescott, Ariz.) 1868–1873". Library of Congress/Chronicling America. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  3. ^ "About Arizona weekly miner. (Prescott, Ariz.) 1874–1877". Library of Congress/Chronicling America. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  4. ^ "About The Weekly Arizona Miner. (Prescott, Ariz) 1877–1885". Library of Congress/Chronicling America. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  5. ^ "About Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner. (Prescott, Ariz.) 1885–1903". Library of Congress/Chronicling America. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  6. ^ "About Weekly Arizona journal-miner. (Prescott, Ariz.) 1903–1908". Library of Congress/Chronicling America. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "About Weekly journal-miner. (Prescott, Ariz.) 1908–1929". Library of Congress/Chronicling America. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Lutrell, Estelle (1950). Newspapers and Periodicals of Arizona, 1859–1911. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona PRess.
  9. ^ a b c d McClintock, J. H. (1916). Arizona, Prehistoric, Aboriginal, Pioneer, Modern. S.J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 752. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Lyon, William H. Those Old Yellow Dog Days: Frontier Journalism in Arizona, 1859–1912.
  11. ^ —— (Summer 1978). "William F. Turner, First Chief Justice of Arizona". Journal of Arizona History. 19 (2). Arizona Historical Society: 198. ISSN 0021-9053. JSTOR 42678105.
  12. ^ Estelle Lutrell (1950). Newspapers and Periodicals of Arizona, 1859–1911. University of Ariz. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
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