Content Update: News from the Arizona Territory

Cover photo

Basketball Team Shapes UpNewspapers published in 19th-century Arizona are among the newest titles on Newspapers.com. Of the 28 Arizona newspapers now available on the site, some of the new and updated include the Tombstone Daily Epitaph, the Arizona Weekly Citizen, The Arizona Kicker, and the Spanish-language El Fronterizo. The stories and advertisements within these papers reflect the location and era in which they were published, a very different place 125 years ago compared to today.

Take a trip back in time to the 1880s and ‘90s, when Tucson’s population was around 5,000. It was the largest incorporated town in what was then the Arizona Territory. Copper mining, land, irrigation in that arid climate, and livestock were making headline news. When the University of Arizona accepted its first students in October 1891, the Arizona Weekly Citizen included an account of the first day. The Tucson paper also published local and national highlights under a Telegraph headline in each issue.

Orchids To The Girl Who Can Manage To Get Them The earthquake reported in that May 7, 1887, edition created a new source of water for one lucky rancher in Tombstone. The Tombstone Daily Epitaph noted that “pure water is belching forth” from a newly exposed source on the Abbott Ranch, making it “the most valuable ranch in Arizona” if the water supply continued. Of course, being the infamous town of Wyatt Earp and O.K. Corral fame, businesses played on the town’s reputation in their ads. A few include the OK Corral Livery & Feed, a clothing store declaring they “Cheat and Swindle,” and stagecoach lines linking tourists and mail delivery to railroads and the rest of the country.

There are only two issues on Newspapers.com of The Arizona Kicker, also published in Tombstone, but the images of livestock with brands and owners’ names featured in the October 12, 1898, edition are interesting. In a ranching community, keeping track of stray cows was financially important.

Arizona newspapers can be browsed or searched as a group from this link: www.newspapers.com/place-arizona/. Catch up on all the newest editions and latest headlines through the New & Updated page on Newspapers.com.

Share using:

Related Posts