HUMESTON NEW ERA, Established 1880 (Still in business)

In 1880 Heck Sanford established The Humeston New Era newspaper

He was later joined by Milton O. Barnes and A.D. McGuire. The newspaper started in a room less than 20' square above the A. Humeston & Co. store on the southeast corner of Broad and Front streets. The HUMESTON NEW ERA moved to the Ross Annis Building in Nov. of 1896 and remained there until 1990. The original building was destroyed by fire in 1905 and they moved to the second floor of the Stanton bldg. then located south of the old City Hall. Approximately $2,500 damage was done in the fire. Other buildings damaged was a feed barn, meat market, livery stable, poultry house and sheds. Damage was also sustained to the new Congregational Church (now the First Baptist Church). In 1906 the New Era was rebuilt (pictured above) there has not been much change in the brick structure. The tall iron ornate columns and iron entrance step with large glass windows make it an ideal place for Carolie and Charles Winchell's YELLOW DAISY ANTIQUES. In 1919 the business was sold to Mr. and Mrs. E.B. McConnell. Mr. McConnell had been a publisher in the southwest and a native of Davis Co., IA. Mrs. McConnell and their four children were coming from Portales, N.M. In June of 1919 a linotype machine for setting type, the first in Humeston, was set up and was still in opation in 1949 when the PAST DECADES of the HUMESTON NEW ERA reported the event. In 1930 they installed skelgas for melting lead and found it a great improvement over liquid fuel. They kept it until 1946 when it was purchased by Merle and Marjorie Stanley it was then sold to Hugh and Veronica Doty of Wayne Co. Pub. Ltd. and it was the first time in its 105 year history that the NEW ERA was to be owned and published by out-of-town parties. The newspaper continues being published at offices in Corydon, Wayne Co. IA. In 1999 a grant from the Historic Resource Development Program was approved and the Wayne Co Genealogical Society used the grant money to mircofilm all the HUMESTON NEW ERA that they had available. These are located at the LeCompte Library in Corydon OTHER NEWSPAPERS Other newspapers in Humeston were: HUMESTON WORLD ceased in 1895, Seibert Chesnutt. HUMESTON RECORD 1876 Wm. Atwater. It was published only a few short years. HUMESTON ADVOCATE H. Sadler left in 1903 for PELLA CHRONICAL and he sold the newspaper to Pittman and wife. THE RECORD 1898 a newspaper started by Roberts and Crenshaw.