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Newspaper The Canton Advocate (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897

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About The Canton Advocate (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897

The Lincoln County Advocate was first published in April of 1876 in Canton, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota), as a weekly four-page paper with a Republican affiliation. Lincoln County was created by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, and Canton became the county seat shortly thereafter. A wave of Norwegian immigrants settled in the area in the mid-1860s, and by 1880 Canton was accessible by way of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The paper’s motto was “Hew to the Line, Let the Chips Fall Where They May.” It was first edited and published by M. D. Skinner and Silas W. Tallman, who, in the first issue dated April 26, 1876, described why they started the Advocate: “Lincoln County has long felt the want of a first-class county newspaper, devoted to the interests of the entire county, and one that is not run entirely in the interests of any particular locality or set of men; a purely non-partisan weekly newspaper.”

The Lincoln County Advocate published national news, local news from nearby towns such as Deadwood and Yankton, editorials, legal notices, reports from other area newspapers like Iowa’s Sioux City Daily Journal, and literary serials. Because of Canton’s proximity to Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska, news items from these states were also a prominent feature. The publishing and editorial staff of the paper changed to Charles A. South and Charles E. Martin with the October 18, 1876 issue. They were replaced in January 1877 by the brothers Arthur L. Carter and George E. Carter, ages 14 and 16, respectively. On May 23, 1877, the newspaper changed its name to the Canton Advocate “for brevity’s sake,” keeping the motto, staff, and affiliation the same. In 1882 a daily supplement was published to coincide with the fair held September 19th through 21st at Canton for the third annual exhibition of the Lincoln County Agricultural Association. In April of 1893, William S. Ingham, son of an Iowa newspaperman, bought the Advocate. About this time, it appears that he began printing a daily edition in addition to the original weekly edition, though the daily edition appears to have only lasted a year or two and no issues are extant.

The Canton Advocate’s main competitor was the Canton Sioux Valley News, which was also Republican-affiliated and began in 1872. The two titles had similar circulation rates; however, the Sioux Valley News continues to be published up to the current day. The last available issue of the Canton Advocate is April 5, 1888, though it appears to have been published until 1897. Other newspapers that served Canton at the end of the 1800s included the Dakota Farmers’ Leader and its succeeding title, the Canton Farmers Leader, which was absorbed by the Sioux Valley News.

Provided By: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Canton Advocate (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897

Dates of Publication

  • 1877-1897

Created / Published

  • Canton, D.T. [S.D.] : Carter Bro's., 1877-

Headings

  • -  Canton (S.D.)--Newspapers
  • -  Lincoln County (S.D.)--Newspapers
  • -  South Dakota--Canton
  • -  South Dakota--Lincoln County
  • -  United States--South Dakota--Lincoln--Canton

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 2, no. 1(May 23, 1877)-
  • -  Ceased 1897?
  • -  Available on microfilm from: State Archives, South Dakota State Historical Society.
  • -  Supplement called: Canton advocate published daily to coincide with the fair held September 19th, 20th, and 21st in 1882 at Canton for the "third annual exhibition of the Lincoln county Agricultural Association."
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn83025440

OCLC Number

  • 9463261

ISSN Number

  • 2376-3736

Preceding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

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. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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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:

The Canton Advocate Canton, D.T. S.D. -1897. (Canton, SD), Jan. 1 1877. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83025440/.

APA citation style:

(1877, January 1) The Canton Advocate Canton, D.T. S.D. -1897. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83025440/.

MLA citation style:

The Canton Advocate Canton, D.T. S.D. -1897. (Canton, SD) 1 Jan. 1877. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn83025440/.