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Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper Washington Farmer (Spokane, Wash.) 1914-1971

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About Washington Farmer (Spokane, Wash.) 1914-1971

According to his memoirs, Miller Freeman had only $3.00 and a bicycle when he decided to start his own newspaper, the Ranche and Range, in North Yakima in 1897. At the age of 21, Miller was the last of his siblings to leave the shadow of his father, Legh Freeman, who had published numerous small papers while moving west with his family. Miller had learned printing while working on the Frontier Index (also known as the “Press on Wheels,” which was published in various locations throughout the West) and most recently on the Washington Farmer in Yakima. When Legh refused to pay his son for his work, Miller decided to leave the family enterprise and start his own newspaper.

Though the Washington Farmer was ostensibly an agricultural journal, Legh Freeman had employed it as a political organ supporting William Jennings Bryan. Young Miller, who had witnessed the struggle to found the state agricultural college, saw the need for a publication devoted exclusively to the scientific advancement of agricultural practice. He also decided to keep the new Ranche and Range apolitical. Miller arranged to print the paper on the press of the Yakima Republic when it was idle. The Ranche and Range made a profit, and Miller promptly moved its editorial office from North Yakima to Seattle and opened a business office in Spokane.

In 1902, Miller Freeman changed the name of the Ranche and Range to the Ranch, which he published in Seattle. The following year, he also founded another paper in Seattle called the Pacific Fisherman. Freeman sold the Ranch to Leonard Fowler of Wenatchee in 1908, and it was subsequently sold to J. D. Dean of Kent, Washington. However, a discussion with a business colleague led Freeman to reconsider this decision and to launch a regional agricultural paper franchise. Consequently, he bought back the Ranch in 1914 and renamed it the Washington Farmer. Freeman also purchased the Oregon Agriculturalist and the Gem State Rural, renaming them the Oregon Farmer and the Idaho Farmer respectively. Managing three agricultural papers proved onerous, and Freeman soon decided to concentrate on his industrial papers. In 1915, Freeman sold the Washington Farmer and the other two agricultural papers to the Spokane publisher of the Spokesman Review. The Washington Farmer remained in publication until 1971.

Provided By: Washington State Library; Olympia, WA

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Washington Farmer (Spokane, Wash.) 1914-1971

Dates of Publication

  • 1914-1971

Created / Published

  • Spokane, Wash. : Washington Farmer, 1914-[1971]

Headings

  • -  Agriculture--Washington (State)--Newspapers
  • -  Livestock--Washington (State)--Newspapers
  • -  Spokane (Wash.)--Newspapers
  • -  Agriculture
  • -  Livestock
  • -  Washington (State)
  • -  Washington (State)--Spokane
  • -  United States--Washington--Spokane--Spokane

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Biweekly, Jan. 26, 1933-June 17, 1971
  • -  Vol. 35, no. 12 (June 15, 1914)-v. 96, no. 12 (June 17, 1971).
  • -  Title from caption.
  • -  Continues the numbering of Ranch (Seattle, Wash.).
  • -  Two volumes per year, 1914-1932; one volume per year, 1933-1971.
  • -  Volume numbers 60-69 published 1929-1934; volume numbering 60-69 repeated 1935-1944.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Washington farmer-stockman 1041-2727 (DLC)sn 88003057 (OCoLC)3801842

Medium

  • 72 v. : ill. ; 39 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper
  • S449.W2 R36

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn98047755

OCLC Number

  • 39288223

ISSN Number

  • 2157-8087

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:

Washington Farmer Spokane, Wash. -1971. (Spokane, WA), Jan. 1 1914. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn98047755/.

APA citation style:

(1914, January 1) Washington Farmer Spokane, Wash. -1971. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn98047755/.

MLA citation style:

Washington Farmer Spokane, Wash. -1971. (Spokane, WA) 1 Jan. 1914. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn98047755/.