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Newspaper Saint Croix Union (Stillwater, Minn. Territory) 1854-1857 St. Croix union

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About Saint Croix Union (Stillwater, Minn. Territory) 1854-1857

With its first issue in October 1854, the Saint Croix Union became the first newspaper published in Stillwater, Minnesota. A four-page weekly, the Union was edited and published by Fielding S. Cable and Wilder M. Easton, both recently arrived from Ohio. It focused on the news of the Saint Croix Valley area, including areas as far north as Osceola and southeast to Hudson, Wisconsin, but especially news from Stillwater. Politically, Cable and Easton declared in the pages of its first issue that the Union was a Democratic Party paper and that “to be exponents of the ever-living principles espoused by Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson will be our constant aim.”

The Saint Croix Union emerged at an exciting time for the Saint Croix Valley. Originally part of the Wisconsin Territory, the valley was divided in two when Wisconsin achieved statehood, with Stillwater becoming the eastern port of the new Minnesota Territory boundary on the Saint Croix River. By the time the Saint Croix Union began publication, the competition between Minnesota Territory and Wisconsin for emigrating settlers was fierce. The Union worked to promote the fertile soil and the market opportunities of the Minnesota side of the Saint Croix River to settlers heading west.

On May 1, 1855, Cable announced his departure from the paper. He returned to Ohio and began publishing a Republican newspaper. Cable was succeeded in his editorial duties by Milton H. Abbott, previously editor and publisher of the Pittsfield Union in Pittsfield, Illinois. In his introductory column on May 12, 1855, Abbott re-confirmed that the change in leadership of the paper would not alter the Union’s support of the Democratic Party.

Abbott and Easton ran the Union as co-publishers until November 3, 1855, when Easton withdrew from the partnership, making Abbott sole owner and editor. In September 1856 Easton co-founded a rival cross-town Republican newspaper, the Stillwater Messenger. From the start, Abbott and Messenger editor A.J. Van Vorhes engaged in a war of words that included political debate and personal attacks. Notably, in the lead-up to the presidential election of 1856, the two titles debated a number of topics, particularly the expansion of slavery in the United States. Later, both editors, overcome with a passion for the temperance movement, accused the other of being intemperate.

During the financial panic of 1857, Abbott paused publication of the Union due to mounting debt, with the intention to resume publication after accounts had been settled. However, the Saint Croix Union never published another issue after November 13, 1857. Abbott later returned to Pittsfield, Illinois, and became the editor of the Pike County Democrat.

Provided By: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Saint Croix Union (Stillwater, Minn. Territory) 1854-1857

Other Title

  • St. Croix union

Dates of Publication

  • 1854-1857

Created / Published

  • Stillwater, Minn. Territory : F.S. Cable & Wm. Easton, 1854-1857.

Headings

  • -  Stillwater (Minn.)--Newspapers
  • -  Minnesota--Stillwater
  • -  United States--Minnesota--Washington--Stillwater

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Oct. 23, 1854)-v. 3, no. 52 (Nov. 13, 1857).
  • -  Available on microfilm from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Medium

  • 3 volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper 8514

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn83016847

OCLC Number

  • 1764769

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Saint Croix Union Stillwater, Minn. Territory -1857. (Stillwater, MN), Jan. 1 1854. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83016847/.

APA citation style:

(1854, January 1) Saint Croix Union Stillwater, Minn. Territory -1857. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83016847/.

MLA citation style:

Saint Croix Union Stillwater, Minn. Territory -1857. (Stillwater, MN) 1 Jan. 1854. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn83016847/.