The Story of Arizona’s First Newspaper: The “Arizonian”
Arizona’s First Printing Press in Tubac, Tubac Presidio Museum. Photo Credit: Kevin Korycanek
TUBAC – More than 150 years ago – five decades before statehood – Arizona’s first newspaper hit the printing press in Tubac.
At the time, Tubac was among the territory’s more active presidios with 400 residents. The Gadsden Purchase had just been ratified five years earlier, in 1854, and settlers from around the United States were moving into this newly acquired strip of land from Mexico, many on the hunt for gold.
The Arizonian was launched in 1859 to promote the region’s resources, attract miners and secure a separate government for Arizona. The Santa Rita Mining Company made the publication a reality, shipping the printing press from Ohio. It traveled down the Mississippi River, across the Gulf to Panama, through the Sea of Cortez to the Guaymas, and then it finished the trip by ox-cart to Tubac.
Copy of the Arizonian, Tubac Presidio Museum. Photo Credit: Kevin Korycanek
The first issue carried this message:
“We commence today the publication of a weekly newspaper under the above Title, devoted to the interests of Arizona and the development of its resources.”
The newspaper’s stay in Tubac was rather short. The four-page publication was sold and moved to Tucson a few months later – another bustling presidio at the time. It experienced a rather rocky existence during the Civil War and eventually ceased publication in 1871.
The original editor, Edward E. Cross, aka “The Fighting Editor,” received his Civil War commission as a Colonel in the New Hampshire Infantry following the paper’s sale. He was wounded eight times and killed at Gettysburg.
Arizona’s First Printing Press in Tubac, Tubac Presidio Museum. Photo Credit: Kevin Korycanek
Arizona’s First Printing Press on Display in Tubac
The original printing press is on display at the Tubac Presidio Museum in the Tubac Presidio Historic State Park, the oldest state park in Arizona.
The park is located at One Burruel Street in Tubac. It’s open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, call (520) 398-3353 or visit Tubac Presidio Historic State Park.
[…] and lava-encased passages lie just below the feet of hikers, hunters and other recreation seekers.The Story of Arizona’s First Newspaper, Oct. 3, 2011 – More than 150 years ago – five decades before statehood – Arizona’s […]
[…] protocol called for a face-to-face settlement of the issue. Soon after Edward Cross started Arizona’s first newspaper, the Tubac Weekly Arizonan, he found himself engaged in an Old-West style shootout with a local political […]