Kansas History and Heritage Project-Smith County

Smith County Newspapers
"History of Kansas Newspapers to 1916," Kansas State Historical Society

Hopefully, all the papers below were filmed and are available at the library in Topeka. Note: "+" after an entry below meant the paper was being published as of Dec. 1915.

SMITH COUNTY.

Organized, 1872; named for Maj. J. Nelson Smith, Second Colorado cavalry, killed October 23, 1864; county seat, Smith Center; area, 900 square miles, 576,000 acres; population (1915), 15,308; assessed valuation (1915), $29,910,838; resources and industries building stone, gypsum, agriculture, and stock raising.

SMITH CENTER Population (1915), 1405; elevation, 1800 feet; established, 1871; industries- elevators, mills, cement works; electric lights, telephones, municipal water plant; is on the Rock Island railway.

SMITH COUNTY JOURNAL, Democratic; Ben T. Baker, editor and publisher, Smith Center. Weekly. Aug. 16, 1890 +. Founded 1890 by M. L. Lockwood and J. A. Wright. The Bazoo, Smith Center, founded 1884 by J. W. Stewart; name changed in 1889 to Stewart's Bazoo, same editor and publisher. in 1899 name again changed to the Bazoo, with Thomas T. Long, editor and publisher; sold to Smith County Journal in 1900.

SMITH CENTER WEEKLY. Jan. 7, 1876 +. Founded in Nov., 1872, at Cedarville, by Dr. W. D. Jenkins, and sold to the Cedarville Town Company in 1873, edited successively by Dr. W. D. Jenkins, Lew Plummer and Mark J. Kelley; in the fall of 1873 the office was sold to Levi Morrill, who removed it to Smith Center; in Oct., 1874, it was sold to Will D. Jenkins, jr., who in 1878 changed the name to the Smith County Kansas Pioneer; in 1886 the name was shortened to Kansas Pioneer, with W. H. Nelson and J. N. Beacom, editors and publishers; in 1889 the name was again changed, becoming the Kansas Weekly Pioneer J. N. Beacom, editor and publisher. The Daily Pioneer, founded 1887 by W. H. Nelson; dis- continued in 1888. Smith County Record, Smith Center, founded 1881 by E. M. Burr; sold to John Q. Royce in 1884, who changed the name to the Smith County Bulletin; consolidated in 1890 with the Pioneer and continued under the name of Pioneer-Bulletin, J. N. Beacom and W. H. Nelson, editors and publishers; in 1893 name again changed to Smith County Pioneer, W. H. Nelson, editor and publisher. The Gaylord Herald, founded 1879 by J. W. McBride; sold in 1901 to the Pioneer. The Bellaire News, founded 1900 by Till Vinsonhaler; sold to Pioneer in 1901.

ATHOL Population (1915), 305; elevation, 1786 feet; established, 1888; telephones; is on the Rock Island railway.

RECORD, Democratic; Ed Bronaugh, editor and publisher, Athol. Weekly. Nov. 12, 1908 +. Founded 1908 by W. A. Williamson.

GAYLORD Population (1915), 368; elevation, 1594 feet; established, 1870; named for C. E. Gaylord, one of its founders; industries elevator, flour mill, creamery; telephones, electric lights; is on the Missouri Pacific railway.

SENTINEL, Republican; George P. Leary, editor and publisher, Gaylord. Weekly. July 24, 1902 + . Founded 1902 by Bert Headley.

KENSINGTON Population (1915), 608; elevation, 1769 feet; established, 1887; industries- elevators, mill; telephones; is on the Rock Island railway.

MIRROR, Democratic; Walter Boyd, editor and publisher, Kensington. Weekly. May 10, 1888 + . Founded 1888 by W. H. Nelson and J. N. Beacom.

LEBANON Population (1915), 695; elevation, 1812 feet; established, 1887; the old town of Lebanon was about 4 miles southwest of the present site, and was established in 1876; all buildings were moved to the new site between Sept., 1887, and Feb., 1888; named for Lebanon, Ky.; industries elevator, mill, cement works; telephones, electric lights, waterworks; is on the Rock Island railway.

LOCKWOOD'S HERALD, independent; M. L. Lockwood, editor and publisher, Lebanon. Monthly. June 28, 1912 Founded 1912 by M. L. Lockwood.

TIMES, independent; H. L. Wright, editor and publisher, Lebanon. Semiweekly. May 7, 1903 +. Continuation of the following: The Lebanon Criterion/founded 1887 by Byron J. Thompson; consolidated with the Lebanon Journal, 1903, and name changed to Lebanon Times, George Tew, editor, and L. M. Linton, publisher. Lebanon Journal, founded 1889 by J. A. Wright; consolidated 1903 with the Criterion and ran as the Lebanon Times. The Lebanon Argus founded 1898 by G. C. McNeice; merged with the Times 1909.

DISCONTINUED.

Smith Center Bazoo; Stewart's Bazoo. Feb. 5, 1885-1899
Church Calendar (m). 1895-1896
Democratic Messenger; Smith County Messenger. Sept. 6, 1900-1910
Independent. Smith Center and Harland. Dec. 22, 1879-1880
Kansas Free Press. Oct. 3, 1879-1881
Light of Liberty (m. and w). Smith Center and Lebanon. Sept., 1891-1895
Northwest Expositor (m). 1891-1892
Pioneer (d). Nov. 1, 1887-1888
Smith County Bulletin. Mar. 7, 1884-1890
Smith County Record. Feb. 3, 1882-1884
Athol News (1st). Nov. 24, 1888-1889
News (2d). Nov. 30, 1905-1906
Bellaire News. Jan. 12, 1900-1901
Cedarville Cedar Enterprise. Apr. 13, 1911-1912
Globe. July 11, 1886-1890
Review. Jan. 81, 1884-1885
Telephone. May 17 Dec. 27, 1883
Cora Union. Feb. 11, 1886-1887
Gaylord Herald. Sept. 4, 1879-1901
Harlan Advocate. June 25, 1885-1887
Chief. Nov. 29, 1883-1885
Enterprise. Nov. 24, 1887-1888
Kensington Union Labor Trumpet. Aug. 3, 1888-1890
Lebanon Argus. May 13, 1898-1909
Criterion. June 24, 1887-1903
Journal. Dec. 21, 1889-1903
Reamsville Dispatch. Feb. 14, 1884-1885
People's Friend. Reamsville and Athol. Oct. 20, 1887-1888
Smith Center Norton District Methodist (m). Norcatur and Smith Center. July, 1904 Apr., 1906
Smith County Bulletin (d). Sept. 13-18, 1887
Toiler. Oct. 11 Nov. 7, 1879
True Voter. Oct. 6-27, 1880
Lebanon Gospel Herald (m). Jan.-Sept., 1909

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