Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-08-14
a QUARTER OF a CENTURY

f
fret number of the Ottumwa COURIER
was printed. 1t was then called the
Des Moines CouRIER, aud was pub
lished and edited by J. H. D. Street
aud r. H. Warden, the latter Of whom
is now again one of its editors.
Ia November, 1852, Mr.. Warden
| purchased tho interest of Mr.. Street
and continued the publication Of the
4 paper on his own account until 20th
December, 1856, when on account OF
i'll health, he sold the Office to !. w.
/ Norris, Esq, who continued to be its
editor and publisher until jan, 1861,
when g. p. Norris, his brother, be-
came associated with him in its publi-
cation, and continued until June, 1868,
at which time he severed his eonnec.
ton and removed to Minnesota. On
the 7th Of June 1866 Mr.. Norris sold tho
office to Messrs. Musselman, Caldwell
& Holden, who continued to publish
it for time, when Gen. Hedrick pur-
chased Musselman's interest, then
Caldwell's interest, and finally, on the
9Th of August, 1869, Maj. Hamilton
purchased Holders interest and be-
came joint proprietor with Gen. He'd
rick. It continued to be published
and edited by Hedrick & Hamilton
until August Let, 1871, when Gen. He'd
rick retired as editor, but still owning
IN interest, and was succeeded as edi-
tor BY r. 81. Warden, one Of the orig
inal founders Of tho paper, who, with
Maj. Hamilton, has been responsible
for its sditoria: control mp to this date
+ BY refersnceto the number Of the
volume It will bs sesn that 81 Weekly
publications havs. bsen missed, which
were mainly In the first six or seven
years of ito existence, and when there
were no railroads, and the nearest sup
ply Of paper was in st. Louis, which
had to be shipped to Keokuk and then
hauled 80 miles. In those days there
were sometimes such bad roads that
for weeks there could be nothing had
in the way Of freight from the Missis-
sippi, and consequently mails and
newspapers were often cut of. The
paper has never lost single publica.
ton except from providential dispen.
sations, such - mentioned above, as
financially it has always been sound,
though it has not made rapid strides
like metropolitan journals.
When the first number of the Cor
RrER was published Ottumwa boasted
of one two-story frame house-ths old
frame now owned by Meyer Heinrich,
and built by John Myers, Or, and one
story-and-a-half, the old lanyard
house; two one-story bricks, and
population Of perhaps $50. For ten /;
years both Agency City and Eddy-s
VILE were far ahead OF 1t In business
and population, snd even Dahlonega
.~e~ ~st-s~e. e.>~r..tst~. -<n~ -tta conn-
ty.seat, which, It was then thought,
ought to be removed from Ottumwa.
The COURIER now has circulation
and reputation second to that of no
other paper in the interior of Iowa,
outside of Des Moines. Our city has
q population Of over 5000, is noted for
its go-ahead business men, Its extern
sive manufacturing interests, its fine
residences, It's railroad facilities, the
upright character Of its population,
Its fine schools and churches, and last,
but not least, Its newspapers. We
look back with pride upon its pro-
gress and, we think justly, claim some
share Of credit in bringing about this
state Of prosperity which prevails in
our city.
Ths. question now is, "What will
another quarter Of century bring
about 7" Let our citizens answer this
question by striving to foster and
build up our city by every legitimate
means, and 1898 will give rs pcpu-
lation of 10000.