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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Newport Weekly Independent (Newport, Ark.) 1901-1929 Weekly independent

About Newport Weekly Independent (Newport, Ark.) 1901-1929

Newport is a town in Jackson County in northeast Arkansas. It is located on the White River where the landscape changes from the Ozark foothills to the flat Delta region. Acting as an important junction for river, rail, and road traffic, Newport became an affluent river town by the early twentieth century. Agriculture, timber, and fresh water pearling were important economic contributors for the town. In 1892, Newport became the county seat and still is today.

In 1901, Percy H. Van Dyke created the Newport Independent as a daily edition, Newport Daily Independent (1901-29), and a weekly edition, Newport Weekly Independent (1901-29). Van Dyke started the business with a Washington hand press and modernized his equipment and office over time. He acted as the editor and publisher until 1917 when he sold the Newport Independent to Austin C. Wilkerson and retired from the newspaper business. At the time of purchase, the Newport Daily Independent was the only daily newspaper left in Newport.

The Newport Independent focused on local news in Newport, the northeast region, and the state. The newspaper regularly reported about agricultural concerns and the freshwater pearling industry while also posting the latest train schedules. Pearl purchases were documented in the “About People–Mainly” section. On June 21, 1902, the Newport Independent declared that Newport was the “leading pearl market of Northeast Arkansas and in the number of pearls which change hands, probably ranks ahead of any town in this section of states.” During the lead up to the First World War in 1914, national and international news began to make the front page and continued to be published on a recurring basis throughout, and after, the war. Flooding was a problem for Newport and the surrounding area, and updates on water levels for the White River and its tributary, the Black River, were frequently given. In 1918, the Board of Directors of the Newport Levee District made plans for a new levee system that would give Newport separate protection from the Jacksonport levee, which had failed in the past.

Provided By: Arkansas State Archives

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Newport Weekly Independent (Newport, Ark.) 1901-1929

Other Title

  • Weekly independent

Dates of Publication

  • 1901-1929

Created / Published

  • Newport, Ark. : Van Dyke & Hoffman

Headings

  • -  Newport (Ark.)--Newspapers
  • -  Jackson County (Ark.)--Newspapers
  • -  Arkansas--Jackson County
  • -  Arkansas--Newport
  • -  United States--Arkansas--Jackson--Newport

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began in 1901.
  • -  -v. 29, no. 9 (May 31, 1929).
  • -  Published as: Weekly independent, Dec. 23, 1921.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 8 (June 14, 1901).
  • -  Weekly independent (Newport, Ark. : 1929) (DLC)sn 89051129

Medium

  • v.

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn89051128

OCLC Number

  • 19507738

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:

Newport Weekly Independent Newport, Ark. -1929. (Newport, AR), Jan. 1 1901. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn89051128/.

APA citation style:

(1901, January 1) Newport Weekly Independent Newport, Ark. -1929. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn89051128/.

MLA citation style:

Newport Weekly Independent Newport, Ark. -1929. (Newport, AR) 1 Jan. 1901. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn89051128/.