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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Delta Chief (Delta, Delta County, Colo.) 1883-1886

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About Delta Chief (Delta, Delta County, Colo.) 1883-1886

The inaugural issue of the Delta Chief, the first venture of its kind in Delta County, Colorado, was published on March 7, 1883, in a “little shack” where, according to an account that appeared years afterward in the Steamboat Pilot, “the news man was owner, proprietor, editor, reporter, printer, fire-boss, cook and everything was housed in one room.” The “news man” at the Delta Chief was Robert D. Blair, “genial, big hearted rotound [sic] Bob,” a well-seasoned journalist who started his career as a typesetter on the Denver Tribune and then the Denver Republican. Blair wrote in the first issue that the Delta Chief would “endeavor to give our patrons a readable paper…to work for the best interests of the country, representing no clique nor party.” He also added, “[i]n politics the paper will be neutral, but will have an opinion on all questions of interest to our people,” although the Delta Chief was later listed as Republican in N.W. Ayer & Son’s American Newspaper Annual and Directory. It was described as a “neat, sensible sort of paper from a business standpoint” and Blair’s editorial style as “promiscuous,” reminding one of the reporters at Leadville’s Carbonate Chronicle of the occasion when Blair “threw three desperadoes down stairs at the [Denver] Tribune office and then fell down on top of them.”

The community of Delta sits in the valley where the Uncompahgre and Gunnison Rivers converge on Colorado’s western slope. Originally called Uncompahgre, it was renamed Delta in 1883, by which time it was a bustling town of 250 residents along the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Delta thrived as an agricultural center, also benefiting from the proximity to the railroad, which made it a ready shipping point for peaches, pears, cherries, plums, and apples from Delta County orchards. The Delta Chief reported on agricultural news such as the story of a 70-pound watermelon raised in the county and boosted the natural advantages of the area for ranching, farming, and mining. It also published items about the railroad and included state and local news and social tidbits.

Frank E. Howard became co-owner of the Delta Chief with Blair in September 1885, but by December of the same year the paper was discontinued. However, it was soon resurrected as the Delta Independent with Howard again serving as editor. Ownership of the Independent came back to Blair in 1891 and again in 1895. Four years later, on the 16th anniversary of the debut of the Delta Chief, the Daily Journal of Telluride, Colorado, noted that Blair “has sold the paper several times, but it always comes back to him, for which the people of Delta county ought to be thankful.” During its run, the weekly Independent changed ownership at least 18 times, until it was finally sold to Charles E. Adams in May 1929 after which it was published as the Delta Daily Independent.

Provided By: History Colorado

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Delta Chief (Delta, Delta County, Colo.) 1883-1886

Dates of Publication

  • 1883-1886

Created / Published

  • Delta, Delta County, Colo. : Robert D. Blair, 1883-

Headings

  • -  Delta (Colo.)--Newspapers
  • -  Colorado--Delta
  • -  United States--Colorado--Delta--Delta

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Mar. 7, 1883)-
  • -  Ceased in 1886?
  • -  Publisher: Frank E. Howard, .
  • -  Available on microfilm from the Colorado Historical Society.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Delta independent 2578-2665 (DLC)sn 86063206 (OCoLC)13146824

Medium

  • volumes ; 51 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn86066893

OCLC Number

  • 13143696

ISSN Number

  • 2578-2622

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:

Delta Chief Delta, Delta County, Colo. -1886. (Delta, CO), Jan. 1 1883. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86066893/.

APA citation style:

(1883, January 1) Delta Chief Delta, Delta County, Colo. -1886. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86066893/.

MLA citation style:

Delta Chief Delta, Delta County, Colo. -1886. (Delta, CO) 1 Jan. 1883. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn86066893/.