The Mena weekly star., 1913-11-27
ARKANSAS GAZETTE
IS "a YEARS OLD
Paper Was Founded by William +.
Woodruff November 20. 1919
Granddaughter Still Lives
i'm Little Rock.

Little Rock. Nov. 20.-With to-
days issue of the Arkansas Gazette
commentaries the ninety-fourth
anniversary of its founding. On
Saturday, November 20, 1919, Will
liam E. Woodruff published, at the
Post of Arkansas, the first issue of
The Arkansas Gazette At first it
was a weekly newspaper. 1t has
been published regularly since that
date, with the exception of about
month when the office was being
moved to Little Rock, the new ter
ritorial capital, in 1921, and for
short time during the war.
1t was only few months after
Congress passed the act creating the
"Arkansaw territory" that Mr..
Woodruff arrived at the Post of Ar
kansas with his printing plant
perched on two 'dugout" canoes.
The territory was created March 2,
1919, and on the last day of October,
the same year, Mr.. Woodruff landed
at the post after a trip from Frank
lin, Tenn, that occupied almost
three months.
West to Seek Fortune.
Mr. Woodruff was born in Suf-
folk county, New York, December
"a, 1895. AS youth he worked in
printing offices in Brooklyn, but in
1917 determined to go West to seek
his fortune. He made his way to
Wheeling, w. Va, where he pur-
chased a canoe and with a compan-
ion Travelled by river to Louisville,
Ky. Then he walked to Russell
vile. KY, went on to Nashville and
finally to Franklin, Tenn. It was
while there he learned of the crea-
ton of the territory of Arkansas and
Immediately decided 10 come to Ar
kansas to establish a paper.
At Franklin he purchased print
ing press and outfit. He had it car
ried to the Cumberland river, went
down the Cumberland by keel boat
into the Ohio thence down the Ohio
and the Mississippi to Montgomery's
Point, at the mouth of White river.
No boats were running on the Ar
kansas river and very few on the
Mississippi so Mr.. Woodruff finally
placed his printing plant on the
'dugOuts" and carried them through
the cutoff into the Arkansas river
and upstream to the Post.
Publishes First Issue.
His difficulties were not ended
when he arrived at the Post, which
consisted of collection of hutS and
population of less than one hun
bred, mainly French and Indians.
There was no house large enough
for his plant, so he built log hut,
erected the press. and without aid
published the first issue of the Ga
zette November 20, 1919.
The paper was started without
single subscriber and the census of
1920 showed a population of only
l4.225 persons in the entire territory
of Arkansas. The first issue was
only about eighteen inches square.
The last isuse of the paper at the
Post was November 81, 1921, and
the first issue in Little Rock De
cember 80 1921.
The Gazette was the fifth news
paper to be established west of the
Mississippi river. Judge Daniel T.
Witter, in an article written in 1878,
said, concerning the place the pub
LEGATION had taken in the history of
the early newspaper work:
Within two or three years after
its first establishing. Hezekiah Niles
Of the Niles Register, then pub
lished in Baltimore, pronounced the
Arkansas Gazette the best conduct
ed paper west of the Mississippi
river, a high compliment indeed, as
Mr. Niles was then admitted chief
of American Journalists"
Miss Georgine Woodruff. 70i Ne
Lean street. granddaughter of Will
liam E. Woodruff. last night extend
ed congratulations to the paper up
on having attained its ninety-fourth
year. upon its success in the news
paper field and for having continued
the high standard of journalism es-
tablished by its founder.
--O--