| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Country Media, Inc. |
| Founder(s) | J. H. Upton |
| Editor | David Hayes |
| Founded | 1868 (as Polk County Signal) |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Oregon |
| Circulation | 3,550 |
| Website | polkio |
The Polk County Itemizer-Observer is a weekly newspaper published in Dallas, Oregon, United States, and covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and the surrounding area. It was established in 1875. [1] The Itemizer-Observer is published on Wednesdays and its circulation is 3,550. [1] It is the newspaper of record for Polk County. [2]
In 1868, J. H. Upton founded the Polk County Signal in Dallas. It was political newspaper created to support Democrat candidate Joseph Showalter Smith who was running against David Logan for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. [3] The Signal was a four-page seven-column paper published on Mondays. An annual subscription cost $3. [3] It ceased in March 1869. [4] The paper's office space was bought by Frank Stuart who started a new title called the Polk County Times. [5] He sold the paper to D. M. C. Gault who in March 1970 relaunched it as the Oregon Republican. [6] About a year later R. H. Tyson became editor and publisher. At that time the paper claimed a 500 circulation. [3] In 1872, Tyson sold the paper to P. C. Sullivan, who renamed it to the Liberal Republican in support of Horace Greeley and his Liberal Republican Party. [7] [3] Henry Sullivan and A. R. Lyle were the paper's next owners followed by Reese Clark. [3] Casey and Hammond purchased the Republican around August 1874 and renamed it to the DallasItemizer. [8] Casey bought out his partner and then sold the paper to Walter Williams and George E. Good. Up until then the paper used a Washington hand-press when Good installed a power press. [9] In 1883, Good sold the paper to Rev. J. S. McCain, [10] who later that year sold the paper to V. P. Fiske, followed by Graham Glass Jr. and Mr. Prudhomme in 1885 [3] and W. A. Wash in June 1888. [11] Fiske repurchased the Itemizer from Wash in 1906. [12] M. L. Boyd with E. Bloom leased the paper in 1914. [13] Bloom dropped out after three years and Boyd operated the paper for the remainder of Fiske's ownership. [3]
In 1888, Charles C. Doughty and George Snyder started the Polk County Observer. The paper was originally in Monmouth but later moved to Dallas. [3] Doughty became the sole owner after a few months. Carey Hayter became a co-owner in 1892. [14] Hayter bought out Doughty in 1899. [15] He leased the paper to Jack Allgood and Dean Collins in 1910. [3] A year later the Observer was sold to Eugene Foster and William Totten. [16] Foster later died and Totten sold out to Gerald Volk and H. Parsell in 1914. Parsell was later bought out by Volk. [17] He sold the Observer a few months later to Lew A. Cates, former publisher of the Cottage Grove Sentinel. [18] Two years later Cates sold the paper to H. W. Brune. [19] [20] He returned it to Cates in 1917 to enlist in the army during World War I. [3] E. E. Southard then purchased the paper, [21] and Cates had it back after a few months. [3] E. A. Koen bought the paper in 1919. [22] The Observer plant was destroyed by fire in April 1921, [23] but Koen never missed an issue. [3] Earle Richardson became the owner on March 1, 1924. [24]
In 1927, Fiske sold the Dallas Itemizer to Earle Richardson, who then merged it with the Polk CountyObserver to form the Polk County Itemizer-Observer. [25] Richardson published the paper until selling it to Eagle Newspapers in 1964. [26] On November 11, 1970, a gas leak ignited in the newspaper's office and caused an explosion. Mechanical equipment including two offset presses valued at $175,000 were destroyed in the blast. The paper's total losses, covered by insurance, were estimated to be up to $500,000. [27] No one was injured. [28] In 1992, the Itemizer-Observer (circulation 5,200) absorbed the Sun-Enterprise (circulation 2,400) of Independence and Monmouth, both owned by Eagle Newspapers. The Sun-Enterprise was formed in 1975 after the merger of the Polk Sun and Enterprise Herald. [29] In March 2020, Eagle sold the Itemizer-Observer to Scott Olson. [30] [31] The newspaper was sold again in October 2023 to Country Media, Inc. [32]