Paper Celebrates 125 Years

Recorded Growth of City, State and Country Over the Years

Groundbreaking ceremony for the Springdale Morning News office on Lowell Road in 1991
Groundbreaking ceremony for the Springdale Morning News office on Lowell Road in 1991

— The first issue of The Springdale News came off the press in 1887, 125 years ago. Readers of the paper that first year would have known Grover Cleveland was president, Queen Victoria ruled England and Doc Holliday, of OK Corral fame, had died in Colorado.

Time Line

Springdale Morning News

1825: John and Mary Fitzgerald first settlers in Springdale

1840: Area becomes known as Shiloh

1872: Post office established with name of Springdale

April 1, 1878: Springdale incorporates as a town

1881: Frisco Railroad reaches Springdale

May 7, 1888: First issue of The Springdale News published

1900: Newspaper circulation tops 1,200

March 1903: The Springdale News offices move to Emma Avenue

1908: Electricity comes to city

1917: Springdale’s Company A National Guard sent to World War I

1922: Springdale water system online

1930: A paved U.S. 71 to Alma opens

Sept. 24, 1933: Original News owner John Stafford dies

September 1933: Marty Stafford becomes newspaper publisher

May 22 1938: Spring Creek floods downtown

July 1, 1945: First Rodeo of the Ozarks held

March 1946: Springdale becomes city of first class

June 1948: News publishes three times a week

June 6, 1949: Publication goes to five week days a week

Sept. 9, 1949: First radio station, KBRS, opens

1955: Bob Sanders purchases stock in News

1957: Marty Stafford dies, wife Glaphyra Stafford new publisher

1958: Sanders family purchases all of paper

1962: Bob Sanders retires, sells to brothers and sister-in-law

1965: Urban Renewal begins in downtown Springdale

1968: New offset press installed in Mill Street Building

June 1, 1970: Tornado rips through city, killing one man

1970: News moves to old Jones Terminal Building

1972: Sunday edition added

1973: Donrey Media purchases The Springdale News

1978: Charles McKinney starts first term as mayor, serves 20 years

1982: Charles Sanders retires, last of family to leave paper

1988: Sharing of Springdale and Rogers news copy begins

1990: New press building opens on Lowell Road

1990: Paper switched to morning publication

1992: New office building on Lowell Road opens

1992: Saturday edition added

1992: News’ Fayetteville office opened

1993: Stephens Media purchases Donrey

November 1994: Rogers and Springdale papers merge, forming Morning News of Northwest Arkansas

February 2001: Paper becomes The Morning News, publishes four zoned editions

January 2009: Ice storm hits city, power out up to five days, newspaper production temporarily moves to Rogers

November 2009: Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, Springdale Morning News’ parent company, formed by Stephens Media and WEHCO Media

SOURCE: Staff Repot

Readers through the years have followed two world wars, two presidential assassinations, man landing on the moon and the 9-11 attack. Little did John Pleasant Stafford, the first owner of The Springdale News, know what would appear in the newspaper’s pages.

Stafford, also the publisher and editor, was known as Jno. P. Stafford.

After working for three years at the Fayetteville Democrat, Stafford purchased his hometown paper, the Springdale Locomotive, from James Van Butler in 1887 and renamed it The Springdale News. The Democrat is the forerunner of The Northwest Arkansas Times.

Stafford was 18 and called one of the youngest newspaper editors in the country at the time.

The first edition was four pages and had a circulation of 186. Springdale was a growing city with a population of 198 in 1880 and 906 in 1890, according to the U.S. Census. In 1900, the circulation reached 1,200, when the city’s population was 1,251.

In 1903, the paper’s office moved to Emma Avenue, were it stayed at the same address, now 133 W. Emma, until 1970. The advertising rate was increased in 1905 to 10 cents per inch.

Stafford became a leading citizen of Springdale. He was elected to two terms to the state Legislature, was on the City Council, the School Board and was a founder of the Community Club, which became the Chamber of Commerce. He also was the postmaster for 10 years, beginning in 1914. He was elected president of the Arkansas Press Association in 1929.

Stafford died in September 1933, while still editor and publisher of the News. His son, Guy, also became a journalist, rising to become the city editor of The Los Angeles Times.

Edward Raymond Stafford, also known as Marty, replaced his father Jno. Stafford as publisher and editor. Another son, Ellis Stafford, became an associate editor and city editor.

Marty Stafford took over for his father at 35 and remained publisher and editor until his death in 1957. He helped modernize the paper by attending a linotype printing school in New Orleans. He was on the board of the Springdale Memorial Hospital, forerunner of Northwest Arkansas Medical Center-Springdale.

New presses were purchased over the years, with a press capable of printing 3,600 pages per hour installed in 1948. Newspapers came off the press folded and ready to deliver.

After several twice-a-week experiments, the paper moved to print Monday, Wednesday and Friday in 1948. The circulation was 2,600. Editions on Tuesday and Thursday were added in 1949 with circulation climbing to 3,300.

Ellis Stafford worked at the News from 1948 until 1955. He campaigned for a city park and swimming pool, the facility that eventually became Murphy Park. He championed more photos for the paper and introduced staff photography to the News. Ellis left the paper to join the public relations department of Douglas Aircraft in Tulsa.

Ellis Stafford’s departure opened the door for a new family to run the paper. R.R. “Bob” Sanders came to Springdale in 1946 as advertising manager. He quickly became the general manager for the paper and helped open an office supply department as a partner with Ellis Stafford in 1947.

Marty Stafford, Ellis Stafford and Sanders purchased the paper from the Stafford estate in 1948. When Ellis Stafford left, he sold his shares to Bob Sanders and Maudine Farish, the business manager of the paper.

Glaphyra Stafford, the widow of Marty Stafford, became publisher after his death in 1957 with Sanders becoming editor.

Office space for the paper doubled when the building next door on Emma was leased. The circulation mark reached 3,900 in 1957.

Glaphyra Stafford decided to retire in 1958 and sold her shares in the paper to Sanders and Farish. Sanders’ brothers, T.C and Charles, joined the News staff. T.C. came to the paper in 1958 as a printer and Charles in 1962 as general manager. Both became part-owners of the paper. Maudine Farish married T.C. Sanders in 1960.

Bob Sanders retired in 1962 and sold his share of the paper to T.C., Charles and Maudine Sanders, with Charles Sanders becoming publisher.

The paper moved from its Emma address in 1970 to the old Jones Trucking terminal building. Orscheln Farm and Home now occupies the building. A Sunday edition was added in February 1972.

Donrey Media bought the newspaper in 1973. The company also owned the Rogers Morning News at the time.

Donald Reynolds, the founder of the chain, was publisher of its newspapers. Charles Sanders became general manager and remained with the paper until his retirement in 1982, Dan Smith became general manager followed by Gene Kincy.

The Morning News and the Rogers Morning News started sharing news stories in 1988. A building on Lowell Road was constructed in 1990 with production, composing and printing for both papers moving there. The Morning News joined the Rogers paper by switching to a morning delivery that same year. It also opened an office in Fayetteville that year.

In 1992, the Springdale editorial staff also moved to the Lowell location. A Saturday edition was added.

Reynolds died in 1992. The Stephens family of Little Rock purchased Donrey Media in 1993, but kept the Donrey name until 2002. Tom Stallbaumer, the new general manager for both papers, became publisher.

In 1994, the two newspapers merged into one, becoming the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas. The combination created the state’s third largest daily newspaper.

In 2000, the name was shortened to The Morning News and began publishing zoned editions for the four largest cities in Northwest Arkansas.

In November 2009, WEHCO Media and Stephens Media formed Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, which they jointly own. The new company owns the Benton County Daily Record, The Northwest Arkansas Times, the Rogers Morning News and the Springdale Morning News, several smaller weekly newspapers and the Northwest Edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Stallbaumer became publisher of the four local daily newspapers. When he left in 2010, Rusty Turner replaced him as editor and publisher.

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