Newspapers: 1800s
California's Daily Newspapers
By 1830, the number of newspapers published in the U.S. was 715.
Typographic Composing New Machine. 1800s.
By 1853, in San Francisco there were 12 daily newspapers, of which 8 were morning, 3 evening and one German morning paper. There were 2 tri-weeklies, both in French.
Six weeklies included three religious publications. One was commercial, one French, one a Sunday paper. Of the two monthly publications, one was agricultural and one literary.
By 1854, papers were printed in English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese.
By July 1854, daily papers began to disappear, to be replaced by the Pioneer, a monthly magazine, a Chinese journal, and one or two weekly newspapers.
In addition to those noted below, dozens of other newspapers throughout the state were published, making it through one or two editions at most.
| Publication | Location | Dates/Notes |
| Amador Ledger | Amador, Jackson County | 1855 - 1857 Volcano Weekly Ledger, published by Thomas A. Springer October 1857: Weekly Ledger (Amador Weekly Ledger) 1911 Volcano Publishers: R. Webb and F. S. Briggs 1875: Amador Ledger. |
| Alta California (Weekly) | San Francisco | 1849: On January 4, 1849, The Star and Californian was dropped, and the Alta California, a weekly, was published by the same parties. (Changed to a daily paper in 1850.) |
| American Sentinel | Oakland | January 1886 - December 1889. |
| California Eagle | Los Angeles | 1879 - 1964. Publisher: John Hames Neimore. African-American newspaper. When The California Eagle shut down its presses, it was one of the oldest black-owned and operated papers in the United States established as The California Owl in 1879, to ease black settlers' transition to the West. Charlotta Bass left South Carolina in the late 1800s; when she reached Los Angeles, she sold subscriptions for the Eagle. After Neimore s death Bass bought the newspaper and became editor, renaming it the California Eagle. In 1914 she married Joseph Blackburn Bass, who was the newspaper s editor until his death in 1934. |
| California Farmer and Journal of Useful Sciences | San Francisco | January 1854 - January 1880 |
| California Farmer, Miner and Oil Reporter | Los Angeles | 1892 - 1893 |
| California Journal und Sonntags Gast | San Francisco | 1872 - 1879 (?). Publishers: Wentzel, Huefner, Golley & Co. Weekly. Language: German. |
| California Star | San Francisco | 1847 - 1848. Weekly. Published in San Francisco (then known as Yerba Buena). Samuel Brannan was also noted as publisher in January 1847 and the paper was to be published in Spanish and English. On November 18, 1848, The Californian was brought by the California Star. The new paper was titled The Star and Californian. |
| The Californian | Monterey |  
August 1846 - 1848. Commodore R. F. Stockton originated the publication. Walter Colton and Robert Semple became owners/editors. It was the first newspaper in English published in California. Portions of the newspaper were also printed in Spanish. In May 1847, Semple was the sole publisher. On November 18, 1848, The Californian was brought by the California Star. The new paper was titled The Star and Californian. On January 4, 1849, The Star and Californian was dropped, and the Alta California, a weekly, was published by the same parties. |
| The Californian The Daily Californian) |
Bakersfield | 1891 - 1907 Descendent of Kern County's first newspaper, The Weekly Courier, August 18, 1866, in the mining town of Havilah, California., then the the center of the 1864 gold rush. The newspaper's name was later changed to The Havilah Weekly Courier. In 1872, the newspaper became The Kern County Weekly Courier in Bakersfield. In 1876, the Courier merged with another Bakersfield newspaper, The Southern Californian, to form The Kern County Californian. The newspaper's name was changed to The Daily Californian in 1891 with the advent of daily publication. In 1897, the Kern County superintendent of schools, Alfred Harrell, purchased the newspaper and changed the name to The Bakersfield Californian. |
| The Chico Daily Courant | Chico | 1865 - 1868 |
| Chinese Daily News | Sacramento | 1857. Publisher/editor/translator: Hung Tai. Daily except Sunday. Published in Chinese and English. |
| Christian Advocate | San Francisco | 1853. Weekly. |
| Chung Sai Yat Po | San Francisco | 1900 - 1904. Chinese language newspaper |
| Courier | San Francisco | 1850 - 1851. Also called the California Courier and Daily California Courier. Publishers: James M. Crane and Francis W. Rice |
| Daily Alta California (Weekly Alta California) |
San Francisco | 1849 - 1891. On January 4, 1849, The Star and Californian was dropped, and the Weekly Alta California, was published by the same parties. The Alta changed to a daily paper in 1850. |
| Daily Globe (The Globe) |
San Francisco | 1856 - 1858. Publisher: Simonton & Co. |
| The Democratic Press | San Francisco | 1863; 1865 changed to Daily Examiner; 1880 changed to The Examiner by William Randolph Hearst. |
| Der Wecker | San Francisco | 1876 - 1878. Publishers: H. Brandt, G. Schumann, E. Steinle. Language: German. |
| Dos Republicas | Los Angeles | 1892-1898 |
| Eco del Pacifico | 1857 | |
| El Clamor Publico | Los Angeles | 1855 - 1859. The first Spanish-language newspaper in California after the American occupation. The initially moderate paper evolved into an activist tabloid and espoused strong political views generally in support of the Mexicanos. It was distributed as far north as San Francisco. |
| Elevator | San Francisco | 1865 - 1898. "A Weekly Journal of Progress." African American paper. Editor, P. A. Bell. |
| Emanu-el | San Francisco | Established 1895. Fridays. Jewish. Twenty pages 9x11. Subscription $2. A. W. Voorsanger, Editor and Publisher. Office: 508 Montgomery Street. |
| Evening Picauyne | San Francisco | August 3, 1850. Evening Paper. Dr. J. H. Gihon |
| The Examiner | San Francisco | Began as (The) Democratic Press in 1863; 1865 changed to Daily Examiner; 1880 changed to The Examiner by William Randolph Hearst. In 1880, mining engineer and entrepreneur George Hearst bought the Examiner. Seven years later, after being elected to the U.S. Senate, he gave it to his son, William Randolph Hearst, who was then 23 years old. The elder Hearst was said to have received the failing paper as partial payment of a poker debt. |
| Fresno Morning Republican | Fresno | 1887 - 1921 |
| Fresno Republican Weekly | Fresno | 1876-1899 |
| The Gold Hills | San Francisco | April 29, 1854 first publication. 4 pages. Printed in Chinese characters. (Gold Hills was the Chinese name for San Francisco.) |
| The Golden Era | San Francisco | 1859 - 1871. Mark Twain wrote articles. |
| Grass Valley Daily Union | Grass Valley | 1865 - 1877; 1879 - 1884. Eventually became "The Union." |
| Jiu jin shan tang ren xin wen zhi | San Franciso | 1874 - 1875. Chinese/English. Publisher Bogardus & Gordon. Weekly. Also called "San Francisco China News." Chinese and English. |
| The Journal of Commerce | Sacramento | 1850. Started as a daily journal by Washington Bartlett |
| Joven | Los Angeles | September 18, 1877 - April 12, 1878 |
| The Kaleidoscope | San Bernardino | 1891 - 1894. Weekly |
| The Kern County Californian | Bakersfield | 1880 - 1892 |
| La Gazette Republicaine | September 12, 1850. Octavian Hoogs | |
| Le Californien | 1850. French newspaper | |
| Livermore Herald | Alameda County | 1877 - 1899. In 1897, H. F. Ellis was Editor; S. E. Wright, Business Manager. Published Saturday. $2.00 per year subscription. |
| Los Angeles Herald | Los Angeles | 1873 - 1910 |
| Los Angeles Star | Los Angeles | 1852 - 1864. Bilingual Spanish-English newspaper. |
| Los Angeles Times | Los Angeles | 1881 |
| Marin Journal | ||
| Mariposa Gazette | ||
| Marysville Daily Herald | Yuba County | 1850. Published Tuesday and Friday mornings. Editor, R. H. Taylor. (See Weekly Herald below.) |
| The Miners' Advocate | Coloma | 1852 - 1855 |
| Mining and Scientific Press | May 24, 1860. George H. Winslow & Co., then J. Silversmith who sold half-interest to C. W. M. Smith (Ewer & Smith). In October 1862, Warren B. Ewer became editor and proprietor. December 1863, Alfred T. Dewey changed it to 16-pages. | |
| Monitor Mejicano | Los Angeles | 1895 - 1898 |
| The Morning Call | San Francisco | 1878 - 1895 |
| The Oriental | San Francisco | Tung-ngai san-luk. Published by Whitton, Towne & Co. |
| Pacific Appeal | 1862 - 1880. African-American newspaper | |
| The Pacific News | August 27, 1849 - 1851. Tri-weekly. Published by Falkner and Leland | |
| Pacific Rural Press | San Francisco | 1871- 1922. Published Saturdays. Agriculture and horticulture. 16 pages, 11x16. Established 1870. Dewey Publishing Co. 330 Market Street. |
| Pacific Skandinav | San Francisco | Est. 1888. Published Fridays, Norwegian-Danish. four pages 18x24. Subscription $2. Michael Salomon, Editor, Salomon & Olsen Publishing Co. |
| Palo Alto Live Oak | Palo Alto | October 1896 - 1903 |
| The Pictorial Union | Sacramento | April 1852 - 1856. J. Anthony & Co., Publisher (Also published as a steamer edition) |
| The Pioneer | San Francisco | 1854 - 1855. Monthly Journal/magazine. Publishers: LeCount and Strong. Noted as "first California magazine." The Old Pioneer Press |
| Placer Times | Sacramento | 1849 - 1850. (Placer Times and Transcript), Sacramento. 1849. Weekly. Converted into a daily and moved to San Francisco for publication. First published on June 28, 1852 under the management of Fitch, Pickering & Lawrence. (The name seems to have been changed to the Times and Transcript.) |
| Press and Horticulturist | Riverside | July 1878 - December 1905 |
| Public Balance | San Francisco | December 8, 1850. "Daily Public Balance" on January 20, 1851 (last issue). Benjamin R. Bucklew and Eugene Casserly. (Might have been just Balance.) Daily except Sunday. English and French. |
| Redondo Beach Compass | Redondo Beach | 1890 - 1893. Publisher: Redondo Beach Publishing Co. Weekly. |
| Riverside Daily Press | Riverside | 1886 - 1949 |
| Riverside Independent Press | Riverside | March 1891 - December 1911 |
| Sacramento Daily Record Union | Sacramento | 1875 - 1891. Also named Daily Union and Sacramento Sunday Union. Publisher Sacramento Publishing Co. In January 1852, the publisher C. L. Hansiker & Co. sold the paper to E. G. Jefferis & Co. Following the losses suffered in the Sacramento fire on November 12, 1852 (from which only a small printing press and some type survived), the paper was sold in May 1853 to James Anthony & Co. It printed the journal of Mark Twain's 1866 voyage to the Sandwich Islands. |
| Sacramento Transcript | Sacramento | 1850 1851. Published every morning except Sunday by Fitch, Weld & Co. G. Kenyon Fitch, G. C. Weld, F. C. Ewer, H. S. Warren, Theodore Russell. |
| Sacramento Weekly Union | Sacramento | October 1851 - April 1853 |
| San Diego Union | San Diego | Mach 1871 - December 1983 |
| San Francisco Call | San Francisco | December 1, 1856: Daily Morning Call. 1890 - 1913. Call-Chronicle-Examiner April 1906. Publisher Charles M. Shortridge. Among the original owners of the Call were James Joseph Ayers, Charles F. Jobson, and Llewellyn Zublin. Peter B. Forster soon joined the group, and, by May 1866, he became the paper's publisher of record. In 1869, George K. Fitch, Loring Pickering, and James W. Simonton, owners of the rival San Francisco Bulletin, purchased the Call and ran it for over two decades. Mark Twain was Nevada correspondent in 1863 and reporter upon moving to San Francisco 1864. |
| San Francisco Chronicle | San Francisco | 1869 -1969. Publisher deYoung Thieriot family. Daily beginning September 9, 1872. San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle 1965-1999 |
| San Francisco Daily Herald | San Francisco | June 1, 1850. In July 1852, the Herald was printed on coarse brown paper, "such as is commonly used for envelopes and for wrapping packages. Day by day, the old broad sheets were becoming narrower and coarser, while they assumed every color of the rainbow." |
| San Francisco Examiner | San Francisco | See "The Examiner" above. |
| San Francisco Vindicator | San Francisco | 1887 - 1889. Publisher: G. W. Dennis, Jr. & Co. Subjects: African Americans. |
| San Luis Obispo Tribune | San Luis Obispo | 1869 - 1884 |
| San Joaquin Republican | Stockton | 1854 - 1873. Publisher: Mansfield, Patrick & Co. |
| Saucelito Herald | Sausalito | 1870. Thomas P. Woodward, editor and proprietor |
| Sausalito News | Sausalito | 1885 - 1922 |
| Searchlight | Redding | January 1899 - December 1923 |
| Star (Weekly Star; San Francisco Star) |
San Francisco | Est. 1884 - 1921. James H. Barry. Editor and Publisher. An 1895 article referred to it as as "San Francisco Star." Published Saturdays. Independent. 16 pages, 9x12. Subscription $1.50. Office: 429 Montgomery Street. Circulation: 1894-1895, publisher asserts not less than 6,000. Actual average for 1895: 9,851. (Barry also published books for himself and others on religion, naval history, mining, political commentary.) |
| The Star and Californian | On November 18, 1848, The Californian was brought by the California Star. The new paper was titled The Star and Californian. On January 4, 1849, The Star and Californian was dropped, and the Alta California, a weekly, was published by the same parties. | |
| Star of Empire | San Francisco | September 17, 1856 - November 12, 1856., Publisher: C. A. Washburn. German/English weekly. Republican campaign paper, supporting John C. Fremont; intended to be issued in eight numbers. Masthead on page 4: Deutsche Republikaner. |
| Sun | San Diego | July 1881 - January 1884 |
| Tulare County Record | Visalia | 1859 |
| Visalia Weekly Delta | Visalia | 1859 - 1861 |
| Voz de Chile y de las Republicas Americanas | San Francisco | 1867 - 1868 |
| Walnut Creek Independent | Walnut Creek | 1882 |
| Watts Star Review | Los Angeles | 1875 - ?. Publisher: S. Alexander. Topics: African Americans. |
| Wave | San Francisco | Est. 1886, The Wave Publishing Co. Saturdays. Illustrated, 16 page, 10x14. Subscription $3. 24 Montgomery Street. Circulation 1894: 13,285. |
| Weekly Alta California | San Francisco | Refer to Alta California |
| Weekly California Express | Marysville | November 1857 - October 1859 |
| Weekly Herald | Marysville | 1850? Also "Marysville Herald". Publisher: L. W. Ransom; Publisher 1856: Louis R. Lull. "Devoted to politics, literature, and general intelligence." |
| Weekly Rescue | Sacramento | February 1864 - September 1877 |
| Western Outlook | San Francisco | Est. 1894. Saturdays. Negro. Four pages 18x24. Subscription $2.50. Jos. S. Francis and J. L. Derrick, Editors and Publishers. 425 Montgomery Street. |
| Wide West | San Francisco | 1854 - 1858 |
Inventor of the Printing Press
(Signature Lives: Renaissance Era)
Fran Rees
Edward Cleveland Kemble (1828-1886).
Kemble was born in Troy, N.Y. His father was a state Senator and editor of the "Troy Budget". At 18 years of age, E.C. Kemble traveled to California with Samuel Brannan, a New York newspaper publisher, in the ship "Brooklyn". He arrived in California July 31, 1846 and took charge of the first printing office established in San Francisco (Yerba Buena at the time). Kemble edited and printed San Francisco's first newpaper, the California Star (owned by Samuel Brannan). He bought Brannan out later and merged with another newspaper to establish the Alta California. Kemble's connection with the Alta California ceased in 1854. Kemble, as a volunteer and sergeant of Co. K of Fremont, participated in battle during the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846. In 1855, Kemble organized a "Committee of Pacific Coast Emigration", composed chiefly of California merchants and shippers resident in New York, and which was the pioneer movement for organizing emigration to the Far West. Kemble was Seretary of the Committee and published a paper in New York called "The Californian". In 1856, he edited the "Chronicle"- the first Republican paper printed in San Francisco. In the spring of 1857 Kemble joined the Sacramento Union as Associate Editor.
Frank Soule, John H. Gihon, James Nisbet
Written by three journalists who were witnesses to and participants in the extraordinary events they describe, The Annals of San Francisco, originally published in 1855, is both an essential record for historians and a delightful narrative for general readers. Over 100 historical engravings are included. An invaluable work for anyone interested in San Francisco's history whether you live in the City or are just passing through.
Printing Presses: History and Development from the Fifteenth Century to Modern Times
James Moran
A complete and detailed work of presses.
A History of the Book in America
Volume 2: An Extensive Republic
Print, Culture, and Society in the New Nation, 1790-1840
Robert A. Gross, Mary Kelley.
Contributors (many leading scholars on their subject) look at every facet - human and machine - of producing the written word. Gross and Kelley provide lucid, helpful overviews in their introductions to the book as a whole and to its six sections. A rich and comprehensive analysis of how the written word helped shape antebellum America.
The Invention of News: How the World Came to Know About Itself
Andrew Pettegree
“If you have ever wondered how this noisy, self-important carousel got going, Pettegree's book will tell you.” — Jeremy Paxman, The Guardian
Communities of Journalism
A History of American Newspapers and Their Readers (History of Communication)
David Paul Nord
Nord reviews how newspapers have intersected with religion, politics, reform, and urban life over nearly three centuries in a wide-ranging presentation that shows journalism to be a vital component of community. From the religion-infused towns of colonial America to the rapidly expanding urban metropolises of the late nineteenth century, Nord explores the cultural work of the press and how ordinary readers use journalism to form community attachments and engage in civic life.
The Golden Gazette:
News from the Newspapers of 1848-1857
Dudley T. Ross
"The Golden Gazette" turns out to be a fabulous collection of news stories for anyone curious about the quirky and sometimes frightening episodes of San Francisco's early days: hangings (including women), fires, fleeing criminals, notes on theatrical stars, ship wrecks, ads for things like "Oriental Tooth Wash," wheat crops shipping out of Martinez and Benicia, sheep prices, etc. His selection will please anyone wandering and exploring California.
A History of the Black Press
(Moorland-Spingarn Series)
Armistead S. Pride, Clint C. Wilson
A study of the seminal role that the Black press has played in recording American history, in interpreting that history for a predominantly Black audience, and in serving as Black American's voice.
The History of the Gold Discoveries of the Northern Mines of California's Mother Lode Gold Belt As Told By Newspapers and Miners 1848-1875
Lewis J. Swindle
A chronological history of the gold rush and gold discoveries from 1848 through 1875, as viewed and reported by the newspapers and miners, on what was called the Northern Mines area of California's Mother Lode Gold Belt.
Copyright ~ 1998-2018. 
