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Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper The Billings Gazette (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919

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About The Billings Gazette (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919

On May 2, 1885, the inaugural edition of the Billings Daily Gazette appeared, created from the remains of three earlier newspapers–the Billings Post, the Billings Herald,and the Billings Rustler.  The first edition emerged dramatically along with a fire that destroyed part of the building and a printing press; the owners did salvage a small job press which allowed the paper to survive and eventually prosper. 

The Billings Gazette, a four-page, five-column semi-weekly newspaper, published regular reports on the progress, schedules, and routes of the Northern Pacific Railroad,  which early on provided the impetus for the creation of Billings, the town named for Fredrick Billings, an early president of the transcontinental railroad.  The first issues of the Gazette also reported on developments in Yellowstone National Park and the establishment of highway from Billings to Cooke City.  Considering the newspaper’s dramatic beginnings, a May 9, 1885 editorial called for creation of a local fire department. 

One of the Gazette’s early editors, John D. Matheson, came to Billings from Milton, Ontario, in 1882 to purchase and operate the Billings Post, where he remained until 1887 when he became editor of the Gazette.  Matheson parlayed his experience as an editor and mayor of an Ontario town into positions in Billings as a probate judge, newspaperman, and real estate and insurance salesman. 

From the beginning, the Gazette tilted towards the Republicans and supported the Anaconda Company’s political causes.  Struggles over control of the newspaper reflected the rift within the Republican Party between conservative ranchers like state senator John Edwards of Forsyth and progressives like Joseph Dixon and Teddy Roosevelt.  Ownership issues persisted until 1914 when the Gazette Printing Company, headed by Edwards, hired Leon Shaw, an experienced editor for several other Republican newspapers in Helena and Butte.  By the 1920s the Gazette came under the sway of the Anaconda Company, clearly identified as one of their nine daily newspapers.

Provided By: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Billings Gazette (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919

Dates of Publication

  • 1896-1919

Created / Published

  • Billings, Mont. : E.H. Becker, 1896-

Headings

  • -  Billings (Mont.)--Newspapers
  • -  Montana--Billings
  • -  United States--Montana--Yellowstone--Billings

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Semiweekly
  • -  Vol. 11, no. 40 (Jan. 21, 1896)-
  • -  "Republican."
  • -  Publisher varies.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Billings weekly gazette (1919)

Medium

  • 20 volumes : illustrations

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn84036008

OCLC Number

  • 10317615

ISSN Number

  • 2372-868x

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 Billings Gazette Billings, Mont. -1919. (Billings, MT), Jan. 1 1896. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84036008/.

APA citation style:

(1896, January 1) The Billings Gazette Billings, Mont. -1919. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84036008/.

MLA citation style:

The Billings Gazette Billings, Mont. -1919. (Billings, MT) 1 Jan. 1896. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84036008/.