The Athena Press (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
1,147 issues from 1893 to 1922, published in Athena, Oregon, digitised for Chronicling America.
Centerville, Oregon, situated halfway between Pendleton, Oregon, and Walla Walla, Washington, was originally viewed by travelers as a pit stop between the two cities. However, by the late 1880s, Centerville started producing high-quality wheat because of its fertile farmland. Growth in the wheat industry transformed Centerville into a bustling town with its own post office and a new name: Athena.
On January 1, 1887, J. E. McQuary and D. A. Hendricks launched a local independent newspaper entitled the Athena Press. It was available every Friday for 50 cents per issue or $2 for a yearly subscription. Its first publisher and editor, F. B. Boyd, was the most notable figure in the newspaper’s history; he left and came back to the Press over the course of its more than 40-year run. In 1891, the Athena Press switched hands, with Irving McQuary taking over as proprietor. The newspaper changed ownership again in 1893; F. B. Boyd became its new part-time owner, operating the paper along with J. W. Smith until his death in 1934.
During this time, there was only one competing newspaper: the Inland Republican. Beginning in 1890, the Inland Republican came out every Saturday and had a Republican focus on politics. The rivalry with the Athena Press was short-lived, however, since the Inland Republican was only in operation for about five years. Upon its dissolution, the Press became Athena’s primary news source.
Originally, the Press was a four-page newspaper. In the early 1910s, it…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Athena, Oregon, 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