De Queen Bee (De Queen, Ark.) 1897-Current
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
1,215 issues from 1897 to 1922, published in Dequeen, Arkansas, digitised for Chronicling America.
In 1897 Arthur Edward Stilwell founded the town of De Queen in southwestern Arkansas. He established it along his railroad line though Sevier County. Stilwell’s railroad was funded by Dutch coffee merchant Jan de Goeijen. To honor his financier, Stilwell named the town after him, modifying the name for English speakers to “De Queen,” much to de Goeijen’s displeasure. Thanks to the railroad, De Queen was a hub for exporting local agricultural products, and the town soon grew into the county’s largest city. In 1905 De Queen became the Sevier County seat.
The De Queen Bee was De Queen’s first newspaper, beginning publication on June 4, 1897, a day after the town was incorporated. Walter A. Boyd and J. W. Bishop created the Bee as an 8-page, Democratic paper issued every Friday. Boyd and Bishop printed just three issues before selling to E. C. Winford, who later brought on A. T. Evans to help edit and publish the paper.
In October 1897, De Queen welcomed some special visitors: Stilwell, Jan de Goeijen and his wife Mena, and several other stockholders in Stilwell’s railroad company. The Bee reported that the town was especially pleased to welcome “Mr. De Queen” and that the newspaper was indebted to him, as during his visit de Goeijen “transformed the Bee from a local to an international Journel [sic], he left $26 with us and had the Bee sent to quite a number in France, Germany, Holland and England.” The editors also welcomed Stilwell as a kindred spirit, remarking that he…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Dequeen, Arkansas, United States
- 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