The Du Buque Visitor – Iowa’s First Newspaper – May 11, 1836.
Thomas Hughes and William Crum were hard-nosed newspaper competitors during the earliest days of Iowa City. Crum, who teamed up with W.D. Bailey from Bloomington, is credited with starting Iowa City’s first newspaper, The Iowa City Standard, publishing his first edition on June 10, 1841. Hughes was quick to follow, teaming with V.P. Van Antwerp, to roll out The Iowa Capitol Reporter six months later, on December 4, 1841.
Sadly, no copies of Crum’s first edition seem to have survived, but we do know that one of The Standard’s top stories during those first few months of publication happened only ten days later (June 20, 1841) when Captain Dan Jones steered The Ripple up the Iowa River, becoming the very first steamboat to dock in Iowa City.
READ MORE ABOUT THIS IOWA STORY HERE.
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