The Copper Era And Morenci Leader Archive
- Clifton, Arizona
- 1899–1922
About
April 24, 1899, marked the beginning of the Copper Era, a newspaper out of Clifton in Graham (and later Greenlee) County, Arizona. Because Clifton was a mining town, the newspaper included many articles and advertisements related to mining. An article entitled “The London Mining Journal predicts that Arizona will soon pass Michigan and Montana in the production of copper,” appearing in the June 1, 1899 issue of the Copper Era, shows early evidence that Arizona mining towns were boosting their copper output.
April 24, 1899, marked the beginning of the Copper Era, a newspaper out of Clifton in Graham (and later Greenlee) County, Arizona. Because Clifton was a mining town, the newspaper included many articles and advertisements related to mining. An article entitled “The London Mining Journal predicts that Arizona will soon pass Michigan and Montana in the production of copper,” appearing in the June 1, 1899 issue of the Copper Era, shows early evidence that Arizona mining towns were boosting their copper output.
Editor Charles E. Bull led the Democratic paper through its initial development until July 5, 1900. In his book, Those Old Yellow Dog Days: Frontier Journalism in Arizona 1859-1912, William H. Lyon notes that George Kelly, father of future Copper Era editor William B. Kelly, was also connected with the paper. At this time, in 1899, local governments were beginning to drop their contracts with newspaper publishers for public printing, assuming that the newspapers would print the information anyway. The subsequent loss of revenue forced many newspapers out of business.
From 1911 to 1929, William B. Kelly owned and published the Copper Era under the auspices of The Era Publishing Company. In 1929, he transferred ownership to his own Kelly Print and Publishing Company. This was not Kelly’s first experience as owner of a publishing company. In 1903, he and his father had organized the Consolidated Printing and Publishing Company in Bisbee, Arizona, which managed newspapers in Douglas, Tucson, Phoenix, and Globe. The Kelly’s welcomed the Phelps-Dodge Corporation into their enterprise, and the copper company eventually procured all the papers under the publishing company’s umbrella. On September 1, 1911, the Copper Era absorbed the Morenci Leader and changed its title to the Copper Era and Morenci Leader. According to Estelle Lutrell’s Newspapers and Periodicals of Arizona, 1859-1911, William Kelly continued as editor when the Copper Era consolidated with Duncan Valley News and Morenci Leader and became the Copper Era, Morenci Leader and Duncan Valley News through January 1944, when he sold out to the Gila Printing and Publishing Company.
Archive Info
- 6,913
- Clifton, Arizona
- 1899–1922
Source Information
The Copper Era And Morenci Leader, 1899–1922 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2024. Last updated: May 14, 2016