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Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper Iowa Voter (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874

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About Iowa Voter (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874

The Knoxville Journal was the second newspaper established in Marion County and the first published in the county seat. In the fall of 1855, William Stone purchased a press in Keokuk, Iowa, and brought it to Knoxville on an ox wagon, publishing his first issue in early October. The Journal printing office was destroyed in a fire the following March, forcing Stone to suspend publication for a short time until he partnered with George W. Edwards to revive the business.

Over the next few years, the Journal changed hands several times. In 1860, it was purchased by William Horner and James Honnold, who changed the title to the Marion County Republican. Benjamin F. Williams purchased the paper in October 1861 and published it for nearly five years before selling to William G. Cambridge in August 1866. The following March, Cambridge sold the paper to Andrew F. Sperry and Francis C. Barker in exchange for the Guthrie County Vedette in Panora, Iowa. After taking over the Knoxville paper, Sperry and Barker changed the title to the Iowa Voter.

In August 1872, Sperry retired, and Barker continued as the sole editor and publisher of the Iowa Voter. Two years later, he changed the title back to the Knoxville Journal on June 11, 1874. With this change, Barker sought to reinforce the newspaper’s connection with the town of Knoxville, writing, “The Journal is proud of its home, and proud of the name of one of the most moral, peaceful, and prosperous – best, and consequently happiest, cities of Iowa; not ashamed of the name Knoxville as a part of its own, and indulges in the hope that Knoxville may never have occasion to be ashamed of the Journal.”

County, state, and national news were all well represented in the Knoxville Journal. Items of local interest included legal notices, board of supervisor minutes, probate proceedings, and other miscellaneous events and announcements. The 1870s brought some significant changes to Knoxville and Marion County. Two railroad lines were extended to Knoxville: the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in 1875, and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific in 1876. Around the same time, systematic coal mining began in Marion County when the Union Coal Company began operations about four miles east of Knoxville. The Journal played an important role in keeping residents informed of these developments and their effects on the city.

The Knoxville Journal continued through 1986, when it merged with the Knoxville Express to form the Journal-Express, which is still being published today.

Provided By: State Historical Society of Iowa

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Iowa Voter (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874

Dates of Publication

  • 1867-1874

Created / Published

  • Knoxville, Iowa : Sperry & Barker, 1867-1874.

Headings

  • -  Knoxville (Iowa)--Newspapers
  • -  Iowa--Knoxville
  • -  United States--Iowa--Marion--Knoxville

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (June 20, 1867)-v. 7, no. 52 (June 4, 1874).
  • -  Publisher varies.
  • -  Unnumbered preliminary issue published May 30, 1867.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Knoxville journal (Knoxville, Iowa : 1874) 2643-7511 (DLC)sn 82015854 (OCoLC)8814960

Medium

  • 7 volumes ; 56 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn84027183

OCLC Number

  • 10942144

ISSN Number

  • 2643-7473

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:

Iowa Voter Knoxville, Iowa -1874. (Knoxville, IA), Jan. 1 1867. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84027183/.

APA citation style:

(1867, January 1) Iowa Voter Knoxville, Iowa -1874. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84027183/.

MLA citation style:

Iowa Voter Knoxville, Iowa -1874. (Knoxville, IA) 1 Jan. 1867. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84027183/.