H.S. Fairall – Iowa City’s Newspaper Man Of The 1880’s.

Iowa City’s newspaper man of the 1880’s – Herbert Snowden (H.S.) Fairall – was born on July 27, 1854 in Keysers Ridge, Maryland (see below). The youngest of nine children, H.S. – at age 8 (1862) – moved westward with his family to Iowa City. Records don’t indicate what his father did for a living here, but like so many others in the 1850’s, Truman & Mary Fairall made Johnson County their home, and little Herbert certainly made a good name for himself over the next 40 years.

Quite the educated man, H.S. Fairall received a degree in Liberal Arts and Law from SUI, and later, a Masters in Art as well. In May of 1881, just as the ownership of The Iowa City Republican was transitioning, 27-year old Fairall was hired to serve as the general editor and manager – a position he held for 13 years – until May of 1894 – taking only a small eight-month break in 1883-1884 to coordinate Iowa’s participation in the 1884 World Exposition in New Orleans. But more on that later.

Besides the editorial work associated with a daily newspaper, H.S. was also actively involved in the political scene across Iowa and the nation. In 1881, he published a highly-popular book on Iowa politics – The Manual Of Iowa Politics – with annual revisions published through 1884…

Of course, his Iowa City Daily Republican was a great place to publish the bevy of positive comments coming in regularly from across the state…

As an Iowa City historian myself, I’m so glad that Fairall, as editor, also convinced his good friend, and long-time Johnson County pioneer – Cyrus Sanders – to begin writing a regular article for The Republican around 1880. As 63-year-old Sanders combined his first-hand knowledge with his wit and wisdom, Fairall published almost all of his material, and Iowa Citians absolutely loved it. Knowing that the Sanders’ column was helping to sell newspapers, Fairall also created a new department at The Republican, calling it Early Iowa, with Cyrus as the primary contributor for material. Read more here.

As we mentioned earlier, Fairall took an eight-month break (1883-1884) from his editor’s position in Iowa City in order to give his undivided attention to his new role as Iowa Commissioner for The World’s Industrial & Cotton Centennial Exposition coming to New Orleans in December 1884.

*The 1884 World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition* – *America’s Second World’s Fair.*

Many believe that it was the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago – the Columbian Exposition – that truly set off a long string of memorable World’s Fairs held around the U.S. between the 1890’s and 1960’s. On other posts, we’ve discussed Iowa’s involvement with –

The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair…

The 1898 World Exposition in Omaha…

The 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair…

The 1933 Chicago World’s Fair…

But, in all honesty, there were two earlier World’s Fairs/Expositions that caught the attention of Americans. In 1876, on the centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia held a highly-successful Centennial Exposition, which stirred leaders around the country to think about similar events in their part of the country. Eight years later, in 1884, the city of New Orleans – looking to heal some of the deep wounds that remained from the Civil War – decided to host the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition. The theme was a natural one as 100 years earlier, the first bale of cotton had been shipped from America to England.

Without a doubt, the Exposition planners thought big – building a main exhibition building (above right) which measured 1,378 feet by 905 feet – thirty-three acres under roof – and, at the time, it was the most expansive building of its day. Adjacent to this main structure was a Horticultural Hall – 600 feet by 194 feet – which was the largest greenhouse (below) in the world!

The **New Orleans Exhibition** opened on **December 16, 1884** and ran through **June 1, 1885**. The fair grounds covered 249 acres and had exhibits from 38 U.S. states, 27 nations, and 3 colonies. Adult tickets cost 50 cents, children – 25 cents, and school children – 15 cents.

Meanwhile – back In Iowa City – on January 1, 1884, the Governor of Iowa – like all the state governors around the U.S. – received an official invitation for the State of Iowa to have an exhibit at the New Orleans event. So, on January 10th, Iowa City’s Herbert S. Fairall was invited to be the State Commissioner overseeing Iowa’s involvement. And, as you can see from our rare postal cover below, Fairall said yes, and over the next year, he made sure all the details came together for Iowa’s massive exhibit at the fair – which was originally scheduled to begin on December 1, 1884.

*(JP-044)* This postal cover from 1884 has a beautiful cachet on both the front and back side (see below). Since Herbert S. Fairall worked for The Iowa City Republican, he had access to The Republican print shop which, undoubtedly, printed these attractive stationary items for his office.

Like the fair itself, there were major setbacks throughout 1884 that made planning difficult for Fairall and his committee co-chair – John S. Ely from Cedar Rapids. Delays in New Orleans pushed the grand opening back to mid-December, but the biggest snafu here in Iowa hit on December 1st, just days before the fair had been re-scheduled to begin.

The Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway was transporting two rail cars filled to the brim with exhibit materials headed to New Orleans. And, according to newspaper accounts (see below), there was a major derailment that pretty much destroyed all of the contents of those cars, leaving Fairall and his team to scramble to find a solution – which apparently, they did!

In the U.S. Government Building, a giant globe, 50 ft. tall depicting the earth, rose above the exhibits. Inside, alcoves had displays from U.S. consulates around the world, with conceptual axis furnished by Smithsonian ethnologists. The Women’s Pavilion was headed by Julia Ward Howe, author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and during some of the fair run, the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia was exhibited.

As we said, this hiccup in Burlington was only a small one in comparison to the larger problems at the fair. Unfortunately for the Exposition, those big ideas and big pavilions the committee planned, nearly sank the project. And while the fair did attract over one-million visitors, it was constantly in financial turmoil, which prompted a late opening and a fairground with unfinished buildings and exhibits. As far as mismanagement goes – look at this! E.A. Burke, the Director-General of the Exposition, embezzled $2 million in state funds, and by the fair’s end – in 1885 – had to flee to Europe. Apparently, Burke was not very good at construction as well, as the private hotel he was building for the fair – Burke’s Hotel – collapsed before the December 16th opening!

*The fair cost $1,675,000 with a deficit of $200,000.*

All these troubles, of course, caused bad press, which, in turn, dampened attendance. Interestingly, the fair’s troubles did have an unintended positive consequence for New Orleans, however. Journalists who were in town to report on the Exposition, wrote, instead, about some of the other exotic features of New Orleans, from the wharf district to the French Quarter, which, long-term, brought more tourists to the area than the fair!

When it was all said and done, Iowa’s part in the New Orleans Exposition came off as a huge success, leaving Iowans very satisfied with the work Fairall and his team had done. For some nice light reading, you can check out his two massive volumes published after the event closed on June 1, 1885…

Iowa at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial and the North, Central and South American Expositions, New Orleans, 1884-6 – 168 pages!

The World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, New Orleans, 1884-85 – 450 pages!

*The 1880 US Census shows H.S. & his wife Lillie, his mother – Mary, two sisters – May & Mattie, and their two children – Herbert & Henrietta.*

As we said earlier, H.S. Fairall remained at his editor’s position at The Iowa City Republican through May of 1894. While in Iowa City, Herbert and his wife – Lillie S. Adams of Solon (married in 1876) – had three children – two of which lived into adulthood – Herbert S. Fairall, Jr. (1878-1914), Henrietta Fairall (1879-1977), and Kirk Fairall (1882-1887).

Around 1900, at age 46, Herbert decided to move north to Wisconsin, settling first in Superior, where he became the owner/editor of the Superior Leader newspaper. A few of years later, he took the position of Secretary for the Northern Wisconsin Farmers Association in Iron River. While in Milwaukee on business, on May 13, 1907, H.S. Fairall suddenly died, at the young age of 52. Below are some of the many articles written around the loss of this influential newspaperman.

Lillie Adams Fairall (1856 -1927) and Herbert Snowden Fairall (1854-1907) are both buried in Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City. In closing, here’s a salute to H.S. Fairall – Iowa City’s Newspaperman of the 1880’s.