The River Press (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-Current
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
1,068 issues from 1880 to 1914, published in Fort Benton, Montana, digitised for Chronicling America.
On October 27, 1880, the first issue of the River Press was produced in an old adobe cabin in Fort Benton, Montana, under the management of James E. Stevens, H.C. Williams, and Thomas D. Wright. In the first issueof theRiver Press, the owners lauded its “typographical execution and general appearance,” comparing it to much larger newspapers in the West. The Republican Party in Helena and Fort Benton provided financial backing for the fledgling newspaper since the partners only had $50 collectively. Beginning on June 6, 1882, the River Press began publishing a daily. In 1881, Jeremiah Collins, a new arrival to Fort Benton had bought a share in the newspaper which he incorporated in August of 1882. In 1885, Collins became one of the founding members of the Montana Press Association, and in 1887 he left the River Press to start the Great Falls Tribune. A dispute between the new owner, William H. Todd, and T.C. Power, one of Fort Benton’s most successful capitalists, led to Power removing his advertising from the River Press and starting a rival paper, the Fort Benton Review. Shortly thereafter, Todd sold out to Power, but for a time the tiny town of Fort Benton supported two dailies, the Record and the River Press. The Daily River Press ceased publication at the end of 1919.
In the inaugural edition of the newspaper, the editors proclaimed “absolute independence in politics…and oppose[d] discussion of political questions when [they] tend to create division and rancor among…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Fort Benton, Montana, United States
- Language
- English
- Collection
- Chronicling America
- Licence or status
- None stated by the archive
- Rights
- The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety.
- Credit
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities
- Who can read it
- Teens profiles and older (placed by Invisible Network from what the archive says; archives give no ratings)
- Archive
- Library of Congress