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The Wichita Beacon was a an American newspaper founded in Wichita, Kansas, October 17, 1872, as a daily publication. David G. Millison (1836–1928) was the founding publisher and Fred A. Sowers (né Frederick Augustus Sowers; 1839–1918) was founding editor. It became a daily publication in 1884.

Era of founding
Wichita was incorporated as a city of the third class on July 21, 1870. One hundred twenty-three men and one woman signed the original incorporation petition. Sedgwick County Probate Judge Reuben Floyd Riggs (1810–1873) issued the town's articles of incorporation. The lone woman who signed the petition, Catherine McCarty (1829–1874), a widow who that same year had moved to Wichita in an effort to recover from tuberculosis, owned and operated a laundry and lived on the west side of town with her three children, one being William Henry McCarty (1859–1981) – later known as "Billy the Kid. She lived next to her friend and future husband, William Henry Harrison Antrim (1842–1922).  Fred A. Sowers, co-founder of the Beacon also had signed the petition.  There was no local paper at the time of incorporation.

From about 1865 to about 1870, Wichita was a cattle-drive destination.
 * copyrighted: source
 * In 1872, the Wichita and South Western Rail Road line reached Wichita. It provided the necessary link with the Santa Fe Railroad trunk line, which would carry cattle to eastern markets. The following year 66,000 head of cattle were shipped out of Wichita, twice as many as from Ellsworth.


 * Every cowtown had its rough part of town and Wichita was no exception. The Delano district was the hub of gambling and drinking activities in Wichita. Among its cast of characters was dance hall proprietor "Rowdy Joe" Lowe who shot and killed his business rival, "Red Beard."


 * Every cowtown also acquired a police force. Some lawmen served several different towns during their careers. Wyatt Earp served on the Wichita police force in 1875 and 1876 before moving on to Dodge City. An experienced "gun toter," Earp ironically almost ended his own life in a freak shooting accident. On Sunday, January 9, 1876, while sitting in the back room of the Custom House saloon, his gun slipped from his holster. He had committed the serious error of leaving the hammer resting on a loaded chamber. When the gun struck his chair, it discharged sending a .45 caliber slug through his coat. Contemporary accounts noted that the gunshot "got up a lively stampede from the room."


 * When quarantine laws closed Wichita to the cattle trade, Dodge City emerged as the "Queen of the Cowtowns." From 1875 - 1885, more than 75,000 head of cattle were shipped annually. Many thousands more were driven through Dodge to stock northern ranges or to be shipped from other railheads.

Editorial bias – Democratic

 * (Floyd and Sowers founded the Beacon? Floyd)

The Wichita Beacon was founded as a daily Democratic publication and was first printed October 17, 1872, during cattle season. David G. Millison (1836–1928) was the founding publisher and Fred A. Sowers (né Frederick Augustus Sowers; 1839–1918) was founding editor.

The Wichita Vidette
The Wichita Vidette newspaper was the genesis for the Wichita Beacon. Sowers and William B. Hutchison (1835–1894) founded it two years earlier, on August 13, 1870 – 23 days after Wichita was incorporated as a city of the third class.

Joe Clarke, who in 1870 was publisher of the Leavenworth Daily Call had been solicited with the offer of a bonus by the Wichita town company to start a newspaper. Clarke has a similar offer from Parsons, Kansas. Unwilling to accept both, he declined the Wichita offer, but made a proposition to Sowers, who had worked with him at the Leavenworth Times. Sowers accepted and invited Hutchison to be his partner. The Vidette, initially, was an independent publication, politically speaking. It was the first newspaper in Wichita – and the first in what then was known as the "Arkansas Valley in Kansas." Sowers and Hutchison each owned a 50% interest. After six months, Sowers sold his interest to Hutchison and moved back to Leavenworth. On June 20, 1872, Hutchison sold the Vidette to Rev. W. Perkins (né William Perkins; 1813–1892) a lawyer and Presbyterian minister.


 * W. Perkins, in 1975, was publisher of the Southern Household, of Nashville [|see this]

The Vidette's editorial bent under Perkins short-lived role as editor ran counter to that of the Eagle. Specifically, with respect to the U.S. presidential election on November 5, 1872, Perkins endorsed Horace Greeley, who lost to the the re-election of President Ulysses S. Grant while the Eagle endorsed Grant.

By August 30, 1872 – 4 months, 20 days after the Wichita Eagle was first published and 1 month, 17 days before the Wichita Beacon was first published – Perkins suspended publication of the Vidette, citing financial losses of the publication. Perkins offered to sell the office of the Vidette to someone who would continue its publication in Wichita. But instead, his agent sold it in September 1972 to G.P. Garland (né George Patrick Garland; 1842–1939) who moved the press to Wellington and, for a short time, published the Wellington Banner, which ran from October 1972 to January 15, 1973. T.J. Hadley (né Tobias Julian Hadley; 1841–1906) purchased the printing press and moved it to Oxford, Kansas, and on September 6, 1873, printed the first issue of The Oxford Enterprise. Around January 13, 1874, Hadley sold it to Harry Ludlow (né Henry Clay Ludlow; 1842–1926) and Hugh Davidson, who continued it until May, 1874, when it died. Ludlow and Davidson sold Oxford Enterprise office in October 1874 to John M. Alexander (born about 1826 New York) of Winfield who, on November 19, 1874, founded and edited the Plow and Anvil in Winfield.

The term, "Vidette," may have been a contemporaneous reference to its meaning during the Civil War: A soldier or guard whose job is to stand and keep watch, typically on horseback stationed at an outpost. Several newspapers, in the 1860s, incorporated the name, including:


 * the Salt Lake Union Vidette
 * the Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, Vidette
 * the Valparaiso, Indiana, Vidette (Col. Gilbert A. Pierce, editor)
 * the Porter County Vidette (Porter County, Indiana)
 * the Westralia Vidette (1870–1870) (Westralia, Montgomery County, Kansas)
 * the Hartsville, Tennessee, Vidette
 * the Greenfield, Missouri, Vidette
 * the Lebanon, Kentucky, Union Vidette
 * the Viroqua, Wisconsin, Vidette
 * the Clinton, Illinois, Temperance Vidette
 * the Ashville, Alabama, Vidette
 * the Hornellsville, New York, Democratic Vidette
 * the Bridgeton, New Jersey, Vidette
 * the Carthage, Tennessee, Vidette
 * the La Grange, North Carolina, Vidette''
 * the Columbus Grove, Ohio, Vidette
 * the Miller County Vidette (Tuscumbia, Missouri)
 * the The La Rose Vidette (La Rose, Illinois)

The Wichita Tribune
The Wichita Tribune was a weekly that was first published March 15, 1871, by A.W. Yale (né Albert Waldron Yale; 1848–1928) and John Gifford. The publication ran for about six months.

In June 1871, Yale took on a partner, P.T. Weeks (né Peter Thompson Weeks; 1839–1921), and published under the name "Yale & Weeks" from August 3, 1871 (Vol. 1, No. 19), to November 16, 1871 (Vol. 1, No. 32). Weeks was an attorney and real estate agent.

They sold the Tribune to Weeks & Follett. In January 1872, the press was carted off to Sedgwick City and first published on January 19, 1871, as the Sedgwick Gazette, initially edited by Weeks, then, after a few issues, it was purchased by T.S. Floyd, MD (né Theodore Scott Floyd; abt. 1840–1882), who continued it through issue number 23. Floyd, an 1861 graduate of Harvard Medical School, had been a contract surgeon during the Civil War with the Fifth Infantry, stationed with cavalry north of Dufree's Post. Floyd was also one of three county commissioners who were appointed when Sedgwick County was founded in 1869. Floyd sold the Sedgwick Gazette it to D.G. Millison. The Sedgwick Gazette ceased publication summer 1872. The office was over the old store room of Hills & Kramer.

The Tribune printing press and equipment was, before, that of the Gazette, first published April 20, 1870, in Cottonwood Falls as the Central Kansas Index, by Frank Beck (a printer), Albert W. Follett (a telegraph operator), and Robert J. McClure (a lawyer). The press was, at the time, the oldest in Kansas.

The Beacon (continued)
The Beacon's competitor and future owner, The Wichita Eagle, was founded in April 13, 1872. The Wichita Beacon became a weekly, The Wichita Weekly Beacon, around December 11, 1872, and was issued as a 5 column quarto. Then, next cattle season (fall 1873), it ran as a daily for a few weeks.

The paper was named after the Weekly Beacon of Akron, Ohio.

On February 20, 1874, Milton Gabel, a Texas cattle rancher, Millison's interest in the The Wichita Weekly Beacon. Then issue published February 25, 1874 (Vol. 2, No. 12) listed in the masthead "Sowers and Gabel" as publisher.

Editorial bias – Republican
Sowers retired around July 16, 1874, and on February 20, 1875, sold his interest in the paper to Milton Gabel. Gabel ran the paper until July 1, 1875, when he disappeared. Billy McClure, who had endorsed the paper, held a chattel mortgage on the Beacon assets.


 * see this article

Editorial bias – Democratic
In 1875, Gabel's interest was sold by the Sheriff to Sedgwick County District Judge Amos Harris (1822–1891) for $750. In May 1875, the Beacon became the property of Frank Fisher (1851–1925) and Frank B. Smith (1852–1893). Sowers was hired to edit the paper.

In 1876, Frank B. Smith and William Sutton White (1835–1887) purchased Frank Fisher's interest. Smith became editor of political matters and White became editor of local matters.

In 1887, after Frank B. Smith was appointed postmaster by President Grover Cleveland, Smith sold the paper to The Beacon Publishing Company for $30,000 to John Villiers Farwell (1825–1908), a well-known millionaire from Chicago and brother of Charles B. Farwell. Farwell purchased the Beacon for his nephews, William Benjamin Hotchkiss (1863–1939) and Benjamin A. Eaton (1860–1914), both of whom he appointed to take charge of it. Eaton became editor and Hotchkiss became manager. Incidentally, Eaton, in 1883, married Mary Alice "Allie" White (1861–1893) and Hotchkiss, in 1890, married Anna Masqueriere White (1867–1954). Mary Alice and Anna Masqueriere were sisters.

Early 1887, Eaton left to become city editor of The Indianapolis Sentinel. W.B. Hotchkiss succeeded Eaton at the Beacon as editor and Douglas F. Hotchkiss, W.B.'s brother, became manager. The Hotchkiss brothers retired October 31, 1888, and title passed following day (November 1, 1888) to John Sullivan Richardson (1853–1929) and Frederick North Peck (1862–1946), who assumed control. Under Richardson and Peck, the publisher's name changed to The News-Beacon Company with J.S. Richardson as editor and F.N. Peck, as publisher. Peck had previously, since March 1886, served as editor of the Kalamazoo Daily Gazette, founded around 1877. Richardson's father, William Alexander Richardson (1811–1875), was the namesake for the original name of Wabaunsee County, Kansas.

Frank B. Smith resigned from the Post Office February 1887. Smith, in 1890, purchased the interest of Frederick N. Peck in the Beacon and merged into it the Weekly Democrat, which Smith founded. Smith died October 18, 1893. before he died – May 8, 1883 – he married Elisabeth Hinton (maiden; 1860–1940) who had cared for him during his illness. Upon his death, Elisabeth Hinton Smith became the owner and publisher of the Beacon, and Harry Johnston Hagney, who had been a railroad clerk, became business manager. Elisabeth and Harry married June 3, 1895, in Wichita. In 1895, John S. Richardson became Chairman of the Kansas Democratic Committee. Shortly thereafter, in the fall of 1895, he sold his interest in the News-Beacon for $10,000 to Mrs. Frank B. Smith.

Editorial bias – Republican
In 1907, Henry Justin Allen, future Kansas Governor and U.S. Senator, purchased The Beacon, from Harry Johnston Hagney (1865–1931) for about $100,000, and henceforth ran it as a Republican advocate. Allen is most widely known as the namesake for Henry J. Allen House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Max M. Levand (1892–1960), in 1928, became president and general managers July 4, 1928, following the purchase by him and his two brothers — Louis Levand (1887–1953) and John Robert Levand (1889–1964) – of 65% of the Beacon Publishing Company stock for about one and a half million dollars. Former Governor Henry Justin Allen, a Republican, who had been publisher since 1907, remained Chairman of the Board after the sale.

The stock of the Wichita Beacon was acquired on September 20, 1960, for about one million dollars by the Wichita Eagle, its competitor for 88 years. The editorial bias of the Wichita Eagle, since its inception, had been Republican. Marcellus Marion Murdock (1883–1970) (first name pronounced mark-ellus) was publisher of the Wichita Eagle.

Editorial bias – none stated
In 1973, the Murdoch family sold the Wichita Eagle and Beacon Publishing Company, Inc., to Ridder Publications. Ridder and Knight Newspapers merged in 1974 to form Knight Ridder, which combined the two newspapers into The Wichita Eagle-Beacon in 1980.

In 1980, the Wichita Beacon, published as an afternoon paper, ceased as a stand-alone paper when Knight Ridder combined the two newspapers into The Wichita Eagle-Beacon.

On September 7, 1989, The Wichita Eagle-Beacon was re-named The Wichita Eagle.

Notable sections
For old-timers, The Beacon was known for its Peach, geared toward young people and printed on peach-colored newsprint.

The Wichita Weekly Beacon

 * 1872–1873: Millison & Sowers
 * Daily – Vol. 1, No. 1, October 17, 1872, to December 11, 1872 (ceased running as a daily)
 * Weekly – to Vol. 1, No. 51, November 26, 1873


 * 1873–1874: Fred A. Sowers
 * Weekly – from Vol. 2, No. 1, December 10, 1873, to Vol. 2, No. 11, February 18, 1874


 * 1874–1874: Sowers & Gabel
 * Weekly – from Vol. 2, No. 12, February 25, 1874, to Vol. 2, No. 29, June 24, 1874


 * 1874–1875: Milton Gabel
 * Weekly – from Vol. 2, No. 34, July 29, 1874, to Vol. 3, No. 29, June 23, 1875


 * 1875–1876: Fisher & Smith
 * Weekly – from Vol. 3, No. 31, July 7, 1875, to Vol. 4, No. 10, February 9, 1876


 * 1876–1887: Smith & White
 * Weekly – from Vol. 4, No. 18, April 5, 1876, to Vol. 15, No. 19, March 30, 1887


 * 1887–1888: The Beacon Publishing and Printing Co. (Hotchkiss & Eaton)
 * Weekly – from Vol. 15, No. 20, April 6, 1887, to Vol. 16, No. 8, January 4, 1888


 * 1888–1888: Hotchkiss Bros, Prop's
 * Weekly – from Vol. 16, No. 9, January 11, 1888, to Vol. 16, No. 52, October 31, 1888


 * 1888–1890: The News-Beacon Company (Richardson & Peck)
 * Weekly – from Vol. 17, No. 1, November 7, 1888, to Vol. 25, No. 41, September 5, 1890


 * 1890–18??: Smith & Richardson
 * Weekly – from Vol. 26, No. 42, September 12, 1890, to


 * 1907–1928: The Beacon Publishing Company, Henry Justin Allen, President
 * 1928–1960: Max M. Levand (1892–1960), in 1928, became president and general managers July 4, 1928, following the purchase by him and his two brothers — Louis Levand (1887–1953) and John Robert Levand (1889–1964) – of 65% of the Beacon Publishing Company stock for about a half million dollars . Former Governor Henry Justin Allen, a Republican, who had been publisher since 1907, initially remained Chairman of the Board.
 * 1960–1973: Wichita Eagle and Beacon Publishing Company, Inc.

Daily publication

 * 1872–1873: Millison & Sowers
 * Daily – Vol. 1, No. 1, October 17, 1872, to December 11, 1872 (ceased running as a daily)
 * Weekly – to Vol. 1, No. 51, November 26, 1873


 * 1873–1874: Fred A. Sowers
 * Weekly – from Vol. 2, No. 1, December 10, 1873, to Vol. 2, No. 11, February 18, 1874


 * 1874–1874: Sowers & Gabel
 * Weekly – from Vol. 2, No. 12, February 25, 1874, to Vol. 2, No. 29, June 24, 1874


 * 1874–1875: Milton Gabel
 * Weekly – from Vol. 2, No. 34, July 29, 1874, to Vol. 3, No. 29, June 23, 1875


 * 1875–1876: Fisher & Smith
 * Weekly – from Vol. 3, No. 31, July 7, 1875, to Vol. 4, No. 10, February 9, 1876


 * 1876–1887: Smith & White
 * Weekly – from Vol. 4, No. 18, April 5, 1876, to Vol. 15, No. 19, March 30, 1887


 * 1887–1888: The Beacon Publishing and Printing Co. (Hotchkiss & Eaton)
 * Weekly – from Vol. 15, No. 20, April 6, 1887, to Vol. 16, No. 8, January 4, 1888


 * 1888–1888: Hotchkiss Bros, Prop's
 * Weekly – from Vol. 16, No. 9, January 11, 1888, to Vol. 16, No. 52, October 31, 1888


 * 1888–1890: The News-Beacon Company (Richardson & Peck)
 * Weekly – from Vol. 17, No. 1, November 7, 1888, to Vol. 25, No. 41, September 5, 1890


 * 1890–18??: Smith & Richardson
 * Weekly – from Vol. 26, No. 42, September 12, 1890, to


 * 1907–1928: The Beacon Publishing Company, Henry Justin Allen, President
 * 1928–1960: Max M. Levand (1892–1960), in 1928, became president and general managers July 4, 1928, following the purchase by him and his two brothers — Louis Levand (1887–1953) and John Robert Levand (1889–1964) – of 65% of the Beacon Publishing Company stock for about a half million dollars . Former Governor Henry Justin Allen, a Republican, who had been publisher since 1907, initially remained Chairman of the Board.
 * 1960–1973: Wichita Eagle and Beacon Publishing Company, Inc.

Board members (directors)

 * Henry Justin Allen, publisher of the Beacon from 1907 to 1928 and also former Governor of Kansas

Executive / managing editors

 * Sidney Andrew Coleman (1879–1974), who started as a reporter for the Beacon in about 1901, was managing editor from as early as 1912 to as late as 1926. He served in many positions at the Beacon under 5 publishers, retiring in 1967
 * Elmer Theodore Peterson (1884–1969) was managing editor in 1925
 * Chafin Wallace (né Eugene Chafin Wallace; 1915–1907), managing editor of the Beacon from 1951 to 1960
 * Ted Brooks (né Theodore Roscoe Brooks; 1912–1981), was managing editor of the Beacon in 1960, until it was sold to the Eagle. He had been with the Beacon since 1946, covering oil. He was a brother of silent film actress Mary Louise Brooks.
 * Carey D. Granger (né Carey Donald Granger; 1916–1995) was managing editor until January 31, 1965
 * Martin Perry became managing editor February 1, 1965
 * Alan Dean Moyer (born 1928) – executive editor from 1963 to 1973 of the Wichita Eagle and the Wichita Beacon – served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize in 1973, 1974, 1985, 1986, and 1988. In June 1973, Moyer was named managing editor for the Phoenix Gazette.
 * "Buzz" Merritt (né Walter Davis Merritt, Jr.; born July 1, 1937), was editor of the Wichita Beacon from 1975 to 1980 and The Wichita Eagle from 1975 to 1998.

Editorial writers / reporters

 * Sidney Andrew Coleman became chief editorial writer in 1944
 * Mark Hughes Clutter (1913–1985)

Photojournalists

 * Jerry Arthur Clark (1925–2001), photographer with the Beacon, in 1956, was one of 10 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for the photo titled "Destruction," taken in a driving rain the morning after a tornado, on May 25, 1955, leveled Udall, Kansas, killing 80.

Editors

 * Elmer Theodore Peterson (1884–1969) was editor in chief of the Beacon in 1922
 * "Hank" Givens (né Thomas Leeford Givens; 1903–1959), was editor of the Beacon for 18 years
 * Jack Pease (born about 1935), executive news editor of the Beacon from January 1965 to ??

Journalists

 * Frank B. Smith (1887)

Addresses and physical plant

 * The Wichita Beacon building, at 114 South Main Street (southeast corner of Main Street and Douglas Avenue), opened January 2, 1911. A 10-story structure, it was the first skyscraper in Kansas and was distinguished, nationally, as one of the notable tall office buildings in an American small city. It was erected at a cost of $400,000  and was financed by the community in the form of individual investors through a stock company.  C.E. Richards (né Clarence Earl Richards; 1864–1921), charter member of the Columbus, Ohio, chapter of the American Institute of Architects, was the architect. He was with the firm of Richards, McCarty & Bulford of Columbus, Ohio.  Richards, McCarty & Bulford subsequently designed five more buildings in Wichita.

Archival access

 * 1872–1873: The Daily Beacon; Newspapers.com;


 * 1873–1893: The Wichita Weekly Beacon; Newspapers.com


 * 1879–1923: The Wichita Beacon; Newspapers.com


 * 1890–1910: The Wichita Daily Beacon;


 * 1910–1960: The Wichita Beacon, Beacon Pub. Co.;


 * 1910–1960: The Wichita Beacon
 * Catalog Record Only Daily Vol. 52, No. 141 (April 2, 1910) – Vol. 108, No. 323 (September 25, 1960)
 * Sometimes published on Sunday as: Wichita Sunday Beacon,
 * Published by Beacon Pub. Co., January 1, 1924 – September 25, 1960
 * LCCN sn 85032558


 * 1963–1980: The Wichita Beacon, John H. Colburn; ; sn 82014634


 * 1872–1894: The Wichita Weekly Beacon
 * Publisher: Millison & Sowers
 * David G. Millison (1836–1928)
 * Frederick Augustus Sowers (1839–1918)
 * Vol. 22, No. 14 (April 6, 1894) (began in 1872)
 * Daily editions: Daily Beacon; The Wichita Daily Beacon, (1879); The Evening News-Beacon; Wichita Daily Beacon (1890)
 * Democratic (1876)
 * Description based on Vol. 1, No. 6 (January 15, 1873); proprietor: Smith & White (1876)
 * Frank B. Smith (1852–1893)
 * Captain William Sutton White (1835–1887)
 * LCCN sn 84027680;

Tributes, reminiscences, and selected articles

 * As has been done for several newspaper organizations, a band composition bearing the name, "The Beacon," aka the "Wichita Beacon," a march by J.J. Richards was published in 1935 by C.L. Barnhouse Company.


 * Discography
 * * The Chicago Tribune: More American Newspaper Marches, Advocate Brass Band; George Calvin Foreman, PhD (born 1945), director; Centre Singers (16th work), Gazebo Records (1996);


 * Poet William Kloefkorn published in 1984 Collecting for the Wichita Beacon, which tells the authors story as a young paperboy when the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

Selected articles

 * July 29, 1874, Milton Gabel, proprietor and editor of the Beacon reported the abuse by Wichita police officer Samuel Botts (1829–1902) of a prisoner, Thomas McGrath, arrested for vagrancy and, while attempting to escape, shot at policeman William H. Dibbs (born in Canada about 1848).  Botts, allegedly beat McGrath on his head, but was stopped by policeman John Behrens (born 1840).  After Gabel published the story, Dibbs entered the office of the Beacon and threatened Gabel with a pistol to his head, demanding that he publish a retraction.  Gabel grabbed the gun from Gibbs and subdued him in an altercation that was chronicled in the newspapers.


 * On October 2, 1932, the Beacon unveiled the first electric guitar, made by George Beauchamp, by featuring a photo of Gage Brewer with the caption, "Gage Brewer, well known radio artist, is shown here with the Electro Steel Guitar, at top, as contrasted with the now out-moded steel guitar. Music from the new Electro Guitar is reproduced thru the loud speaker."


 * "Deadly Danger," by Elmer Theodore Peterson (1884–1969), associate editor of the Beacon, October 11, 1918 (accessible via Newspapers.com at https://www.newspapers.com/image/76321469)