The Logan Republican Archive

When the Logan Republican debuted in 1902, the city of Logan, Utah, an outpost 80 miles north of Salt Lake City, was home to nearly 5,000 residents and a small agricultural college.

More than four decades earlier, in 1859, Mormon settlers had established Logan under orders from Brigham Young. Young was determined to continue expanding the Mormon kingdom following the “Utah War,” a period of tension between the church and the United States government over control of the territory. The conflict ended with Young’s removal as governor.

Built on the banks of the Logan River (named for trapper Ephraim Logan), east of the plush Cache Valley, the settlement included 100 homes by 1860. A decade later, a railroad spur connected Logan to the transcontinental line, and the city grew. Logan’s plentiful water supply attracted farmers. Early businesses included a sawmill, a tannery, and a lime kiln, but agriculture fueled the local economy. By 1900, the Cache Valley had become Utah’s hub of dairy production. Logan was its biggest town.

The Logan Republican first appeared on Wednesday, September 10, 1902, under the management of N. Ralph Moore, “editor and proprietor.” At the time, Logan’s dominant newspaper, the Journal backed the Democratic Party and enjoyed widespread influence and prestige and solid financial support. Challenging the Journal proved difficult for Moore. His name was dropped from the Republican’s masthead after only three months, and Joel Ricks, a Republican Party organizer, took over as manager.

Ricks purchased new printing machinery and solicited donations from Republican backers. On January 28, 1903, he established the Logan Newspaper Company to publish the Republican and set up offices in a small building on Center Street in Logan. Along with items of national interest and notices of agricultural statistics, the newspaper covered local events with the help of reporter Fred Turner, who for a time doubled as the Republican’s business manager.

Despite Republican Party successes nationally and in Utah, the newspaper struggled throughout the first decade of the 20th century. In 1910, unable to meet their debts, the Republican’s owners sold the newspaper to Herschel Bullen, a local businessman with ties to the Republican Party, and Preston Nibley, a Mormon writer and historian. Financial struggles continued for nearly 15 years.

Publication of the Republican ended with its final issue on April 1, 1924. “After twenty-two years of service to Logan, Cache County, and to the Republican Party,” the newspaper could no longer publish without heavy financial losses. The final insult came when the remains of the Republican, including its subscriptions lists and publishing facility, were purchased by Earl and England Publishing Company, owners of the rival Journal.