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Newspaper The Mena Weekly Star (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977 Mena weekly star and the Polk County Democrat / Mena star

About The Mena Weekly Star (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977

The city of Mena lies in Polk County, Arkansas in the southwestern part of the state along the Oklahoma border. Mena is a popular tourist destination in the Ouachita National Forest for the Talimena Scenic Drive and Queen Wilhelmina State Park. It is part of the socio-economic region of Ark-La-Tex (which includes sections of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas). Mena was founded in 1896 as a stop along the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf Railroad (later the Kansas City Southern Railway) developed by Arthur Stillwell. In 1898 the Polk County seat was moved from Dallas to Mena. Mena was advertised as a health spa city, though the main industries were timber, agriculture, and mineral extraction.

In 1896 Andrew Warner St. John established The Mena Weekly Star as one of the first newspapers in Mena. The paper’s first publishing office was a small 16 x 24 foot building, which was a generous size for a city just-established in which many people were still living in tents. The office had a Fairhaven press, an 8 x 12 foot jobber, and a good supply of type. The Star was published every Wednesday by A. W. St. John & Sons. Before moving to Mena, Andrew St. John worked at the Carthage Evening Press (1891-1966) in Carthage, Missouri for about 16 years. At the Star, St. John worked with his younger son Roy Robert St. John. The Mena Weekly Star continued under that name until 1898, at which time it changed to The Mena Star. The Mena Star was published every Wednesday, then in 1899 it changed to Thursday publication. In 1904 the paper returned to its original name, The Mena Weekly Star, and continued to be published every Thursday.

In 1907, Andrew St. John died and his older son, Virgil W. St. John, joined his brother Roy St. John at the paper. Virgil had previously been living in Kansas City, Missouri, where he had worked at the Kansas City Journal (1897-1928). Upon his return to Mena, the Star was published by A. W. St. John’s Sons. In 1911, the St. John family created the Star Publishing Company, which included Virgil St. John’s son, Ernest Warner St. John. The next year, Virgil St. John bought out his brother, and in 1920 he became the sole owner and editor. The paper continued until 1977.

The Star was an independent newspaper, though it leaned toward a democratic position in reporting local and international news. In 1914, the Department of Journalism at the University of Oregon listed the Star as one of the best country weeklies in the United States. In 1921, the paper was honored again, this time by the Arkansas Press Association, as one of the top county weeklies of Arkansas based on news and editorial content. The Arkansas University Department of Journalism followed with the same accolade in 1922.

Provided By: Arkansas State Archives

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Mena Weekly Star (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977

Other Title

  • Mena weekly star and the Polk County Democrat
  • Mena star

Dates of Publication

  • 1904-1977

Created / Published

  • Mena, Ark. : A.W. St. John & Sons, 1904-1977.

Headings

  • -  Mena (Ark.)--Newspapers
  • -  Arkansas--Mena
  • -  United States--Arkansas--Polk--Mena

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 21, no. 37 (Sept. 8, 1904)-v. 94, no. 43 (Oct. 27, 1977).
  • -  Beginning Nov. 1977, the Mena evening star was issued once a week with title: Mena star, and mailed as a weekly.
  • -  Published as: Mena weekly star and the Polk County Democrat, Jan. 6-July 6, 1916.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Absorbed: Polk County Democrat, and: Democrat (Mena, Ark.) (non-extant).

Medium

  • v.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn89051213

OCLC Number

  • 19739258

ISSN Number

  • 2693-0064

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 Mena Weekly Star Mena, Ark. -1977. (Mena, AR), Jan. 1 1904. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn89051213/.

APA citation style:

(1904, January 1) The Mena Weekly Star Mena, Ark. -1977. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn89051213/.

MLA citation style:

The Mena Weekly Star Mena, Ark. -1977. (Mena, AR) 1 Jan. 1904. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn89051213/.