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Newspaper Clearwater Republican (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922

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About Clearwater Republican (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922

Orofino, Idaho, meaning “Fine Gold,” was founded as a small mining camp in Northern Idaho along the Clearwater River in 1861. It dramatically expanded in 1895 after the lands of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation were opened to white settlement. Orofino developed into a prosperous community, and in 1899 was connected by railroad to the larger town of Lewiston. Beyond their involvement in mining, the citizens of Orofino produced wheat and tobacco, as well as harvesting a bountiful supply of timber from the surrounding Clearwater National Forest. The 1910 census reported the population to be around 400. At this time, only one newspaper existed in the town, the Democratic Orofino Tribune, founded in 1905. On March 28, 1912, William C. Foresman began publishing the Clearwater Republican as an alternative to the Tribune.

In the first issue, Foresman thanked the citizens of Orofino for supporting the new paper, and from the very first issue, the Republican took digs at the Orofino Tribune. The eight-page and five-columnweekly appeared on Thursdays and included news of Clearwater County and the surrounding area of Northern Idaho. At the start of 1913, Foresman sold the Republican to William M. Chandler, a local businessman prominent in insurance, real estate, and bonds. Chandler changed the publishing schedule to Fridays, but continued the rivalry with the Tribune.

In December 1913, Peter LaDow Orcutt, former editor of the Troy Weekly News and the Daily Star-Mirror of Moscow, purchased the Clearwater Republican. Its equipment reportedly sold for $1,000. Orcutt had a fiery personality. He had stood trial in 1912 for fist-fighting with a Republican state senate candidate, Warren Truitt, and had faced civil action for alleged defamation. Orcutt carried his lively temper into his work for the Republican, and the feud with the Tribune became more pronounced under his ownership.

For five years, Orcutt ran the Republican, until his health began to decline, and in January 1919, he sold the newspaper plant and the subscription list to William H. Gillespie. The latter made his daughter, Agnes E. Gillespie, business editor and employed a man named Laruen L. Johnson as managing editor. This trio ran the Republican until February 1922, when Gillespie sold the paper to Johnson and Richard A. Hamilton, a Wyoming man who had been the supervisor of the Clearwater National Forest Service. Johnson and Hamilton continued the Clearwater Republican for two months, and then purchased the rival Orofino Tribune from Isaac R. Crow, who had been its owner for 10 years. Johnson and Hamilton combined the two papers to form the independent Clearwater Tribune on May 5, 1922. The Clearwater Tribune continues to be published up to the present day.

Provided By: Idaho State Historical Society

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Clearwater Republican (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922

Dates of Publication

  • 1912-1922

Created / Published

  • Orofino, Idaho : W.C. Foresman, 1912-1922.

Headings

  • -  Orofino (Idaho)--Newspapers
  • -  Idaho--Orofino
  • -  United States--Idaho--Clearwater--Orofino

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Mar. 28, 1912)-v. 11, no. 5 (Apr. 28, 1922).
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Orofino tribune
  • -  Clearwater tribune (DLC)sn 86091129 (OCoLC)13205793

Medium

  • volumes : illustrations

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper
  • AN2.I2 C43

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn86091128

OCLC Number

  • 13205711

ISSN Number

  • 2574-8742

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:

Clearwater Republican Orofino, Idaho -1922. (Orofino, ID), Jan. 1 1912. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86091128/.

APA citation style:

(1912, January 1) Clearwater Republican Orofino, Idaho -1922. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86091128/.

MLA citation style:

Clearwater Republican Orofino, Idaho -1922. (Orofino, ID) 1 Jan. 1912. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn86091128/.