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Newspaper The Morning Astorian (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930 Sunday morning Astorian / Daily Astorian and daily news / Daily Astorian and Astoria daily news / Daily Astorian / Sunday issues for Dec. 22, 1918-Aug. 31, 1930 called: Sunday morning Astorian / Issue for Dec. 7, 1903 called: Daily Astorian and daily news / Issues for Dec. 8-31, 1903 called: Daily Astorian and Astoria daily news

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About The Morning Astorian (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930

DeWitt Clinton Ireland launched the Daily Astorian on May 1, 1876. It was a four-page broadsheet with skinny columns titled “general news,” “banking and insurance,” and “miscellaneous” that ran every day except Sunday. In 1883 the title of the paper was changed to the Daily Morning Astorian, which was shortened in 1899 to the Morning Astorian. Whereas many early Oregon newspapers were founded by relative novices, D.C. Ireland was already an accomplished reporter and typesetter before coming west, having worked on such big-city papers as the Detroit Free Press and the New York Tribune.

Astoria, a port at the mouth of the Columbia River, had been the site of the first European settlement in Oregon. At the time of the paper’s founding, the town was on the brink of economic boom. Lumber was shipped to San Francisco. Salmon, an abundant local staple, was canned and exported globally. Though local coverage focused on front-page shipping news, the Astorian’s motto set the tone for what would become one of the Northwest’s most respected small papers: “Impartiality, ability, fairness, reliability. A paper for the commercial man, for the farmer, for the mechanic, for the merchant, for every person.”

That is not to say there were not divisions in Astoria. The town was at times rife with tension between the dominant Anglo-American population, the nearby Native American tribes, and immigrant laborers from Finland, Sweden, and China. Though the Daily Astorian rarely touched on race issues, it did employ demeaning racial language on occasion. The term “darkie” was used for African Americans, and an advertisement for a steam cleaning shop boasted the establishment’s employment of “all-white staffs.” Of an alleged horse thief, a reporter wrote, “Hal was a man of considerable intelligence. His wife was a squaw.”

Major advertising was split between fishing gear–rubber Mackintoshes and salmon netting–and the 40 saloons in Astoria. Despite getting most of its revenue from drinking holes, the Astorian nonetheless opined that they should be shut down to preserve the town’s morality. Smaller ads were likewise mostly oriented towards male readers, including an item about a treatment “for the weakness of men.” Even the poems featured on the inside pages usually related to man’s work at sea. One typical verse encouraged productivity: “Don’t sit down and wait for trade.”

Throughout its early history, the Astorian garnered a well-earned reputation as a leader in technical innovation. A steam engine was installed to power its press in 1877, and in 1892 the paper became the first journal west of the Missouri River to replace hand composition with automated linotype. Pressmen from all over the West Coast came to Astoria to be trained on the linotype machine.

D.C. Ireland sold the paper to John F. Halloran in 1880 for $10,000 in gold. The Astorian then changed hands several times before 1903, when experienced newspaper publisher John S. Dellinger bought it. He printed the paper until his death in 1930. After several changes of ownership, the Daily Astorian was reestablished in 1961 and remains active today.  Ireland had also published the Tri-Weekly Astorian in 1873-74.

Provided By: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Morning Astorian (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930

Other Title

  • Sunday morning Astorian
  • Daily Astorian and daily news
  • Daily Astorian and Astoria daily news
  • Daily Astorian
  • Sunday issues for Dec. 22, 1918-Aug. 31, 1930 called: Sunday morning Astorian
  • Issue for Dec. 7, 1903 called: Daily Astorian and daily news
  • Issues for Dec. 8-31, 1903 called: Daily Astorian and Astoria daily news

Dates of Publication

  • 1899-1930

Created / Published

  • Astoria, Oregon : John T. Lighter, Editor, 1899-1930.
  • Astoria, Oregon : The Astorian Publishing Co.
  • Astoria, Oregon : The J.S. Dellinger, Company

Headings

  • -  Astoria (Or.)--Newspapers
  • -  Oregon--Astoria
  • -  United States--Oregon--Clatsop--Astoria

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Daily (except Mon.)
  • -  Vol. 50, no. 83 (Sept. 2, 1899)-57th yr., no. 30 (Aug. 31, 1930).
  • -  Some irregularities in numbering.
  • -  Issues for Dec. 7-31, 1903 also carry vol. numbering for absorbed title, Astoria daily news.
  • -  Also issued on microfilm from University of Oregon.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Other eds.: Weekly Astorian, 1899-<1901>, and: Astorian (Astoria, Or.), <1904-1905>
  • -  Merged with: Astoria evening budget, to form: Evening Astorian-budget.
  • -  Astoria evening budget (DLC)sn 96088012 (OCoLC)36853050
  • -  Evening Astorian-budget (DLC)sn 85042447 (OCoLC)12429955

Medium

  • volumes : illustrations (chiefly advertisements) ; 55 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn85042400

OCLC Number

  • 12351987

ISSN Number

  • 2373-3497

Preceding Titles

Succeeding 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 Morning Astorian Astoria, Oregon -1930. (Astoria, OR), Jan. 1 1899. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85042400/.

APA citation style:

(1899, January 1) The Morning Astorian Astoria, Oregon -1930. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85042400/.

MLA citation style:

The Morning Astorian Astoria, Oregon -1930. (Astoria, OR) 1 Jan. 1899. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn85042400/.