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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Ajo Copper News (Ajo, Pima Co., Ariz.) 1916-1926

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About Ajo Copper News (Ajo, Pima Co., Ariz.) 1916-1926

Located about forty miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border is the small town of Ajo, Arizona. On April 29, 1916, Ajo saw the debut of its first and only newspaper, the Ajo Copper News, started by Renwick White, who had published other Arizona newspapers like Paradise Record and Artesian Belt. At that time, Ajo was a mining camp for the New Cornelia mine, the first open-pit mine in Arizona, that was later owned by the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company and then by Phelps-Dodge Corporation.

The Copper News was heavily focused on mining. Typically, four to eight pages, it covered the growth of Ajo and was a booster for the mining company and the town. Ajo was described as “the humdingerest mining camp” (Arizona Daily Star, November 13, 1917) and “a mining camp deluxe” (Tucson Daily Citizen, September 28, 1929). But the camp was also segregated: the housing area for Anglo workers was “American town,” separate from Mexican workers in “Mexican town,” separate from “Indian village,” where Native American workers, primarily Tohono O’odham, lived.

The paper declared it was “independent in politics” but endorsed the Republican candidate for governor. Its reporting on labor strikes was pro-company. When New Cornelia employees went on strike, the Copper News printed a front-page editorial praising management and commenting that workers had “striked too hastily” (December 2, 1916). Another editorial reiterated that “there was no just grievance” (January 27, 1917) and that the labor union was deceiving workers. Several editorials were vehemently against the “agitators” from the International Workers of the World.

The newspaper reported on arrests of bootleggers, with Arizona having voted in a “dry” amendment years before national prohibition. During the 1918 influenza pandemic, there was news of the camp being quarantined. There was extensive reporting on the World War I draft and “Letters From Ajo Boys At The Front.” The Copper News reported on Mexico and the Mexican Revolution and supported having soldiers in the camp, citing Ajo’s proximity to the border as a reason for needing protection. The social life of the town was featured in announcements about a dramatic club, movie schedules, and dances, one of which offered prizes like Havana cigars and imported hair tonic and had dances with names like the “Necktie Struggle” (February 10, 1917).

White published the newspaper for over 30 years. The Arizona Daily Star reported on June 13, 1947, that the Phelps-Dodge Corporation had purchased the Ajo Copper News, while the same day, the Arizona Republic reported that White sold the paper to L.T. Beggs. Over the next two decades, the paper changed hands from Beggs to his wife Geraldine, to George Gable and his son Barry Gable, to Richard and Ann David, who explained that “when we first came here Phelps Dodge … had power of approval and disapproval. When we took over the paper … they didn’t want a labor paper or a company paper. They wanted a community paper” (Arizona Daily Star, June 21, 1976). In 1983, the Davids’ son Hollister “Hop” David became publisher and their daughter Gabrielle David editor, and they still run the Ajo Copper News as of 2024.

Research provided by the University of Arizona Libraries.

Provided By: Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records; Phoenix, AZ

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Ajo Copper News (Ajo, Pima Co., Ariz.) 1916-1926

Dates of Publication

  • 1916-1926

Created / Published

  • Ajo, Pima Co., Ariz. : R. White, 1916-1926.

Headings

  • -  Ajo (Ariz.)--Newspapers
  • -  Pima County (Ariz.)--Newspapers
  • -  Arizona--Ajo
  • -  Arizona--Pima County
  • -  United States--Arizona--Pima--Ajo

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Apr. 19, 1916)-v. 11, no. 10 (June 19, 1926).
  • -  Copper news (Ajo, Ariz.) (DLC)sn 95060772

Medium

  • volumes : illustrations

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn95060771

OCLC Number

  • 6764709

ISSN Number

  • 2997-4135

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:

Ajo Copper News Ajo, Pima Co., Ariz. -1926. (Ajo, AZ), Jan. 1 1916. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn95060771/.

APA citation style:

(1916, January 1) Ajo Copper News Ajo, Pima Co., Ariz. -1926. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn95060771/.

MLA citation style:

Ajo Copper News Ajo, Pima Co., Ariz. -1926. (Ajo, AZ) 1 Jan. 1916. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn95060771/.