A History of the Macomb Journal

Rachel Ginsberg
Macomb Junior High School, Macomb

The Macomb Journal, since its founding more than 150 years ago, has been a source of information about the world for Macomb residents. At first it started out as a weekly, and in 1894 began daily editions. It has witnessed and reported the major stories of the day. It has, like other papers, seen a big change in the technology of newspaper printing. Most important, it has kept residents in touch with their fellow citizens and given them a way to voice their opinions. This has helped in the development of the town's character and identity.

When Macomb, Illinois, was growing in population, the citizens decided they needed a newspaper to tell them the daily news. T.S. Clarke and D.W. Swan finally decided to start a newspaper, and they named it the Macomb Enterprise. The first edition of the Macomb Enterprise was printed on June 19, 1855.

Clarke and Swan were the first two writers for the paper. Clarke only worked there a few months. EC. Fowler took over Swan's position when he retired. J. W. Nichols changed its name to the Military Tract Journal. In 1865 B. R. Hampton became owner, and at that time B.R. Hampton and W.H. Hainline became partners.

Hainline was a busy writer for the Journal. Hampton became the "old man of the Journal." Hainline took over from Hampton when he could not work any more. Hainline was a successful owner and manager of the Journal until his death on April 18, 1921.

James K. Magie changed the paper's name to the Macomb Journal in 1894. Frank W. Harris was an active writer from 1894 to 1929. He worked there until he had to leave to serve in the military. Soon William H. Rudolf joined the staff and was one of the most hard-working editors.

Virgil Y. Ralston was the editor in the pre-Civil War days, until he lost his printing equipment in a pro-Confederate raid. He soon got someone to get most of it back for him, but it was damaged. As a result, the postmaster refused to mail him his important papers. Ralston called Federal troops to remove that particular postmaster. Later he served in the state senate for McDonough and Warren counties.

The early machinery had problems printing thousands of newspapers. Flatbed printing presses were first used. In this system letters were set on a "stick." Both sides of the paper were printed at the same time. This was a slow process. Today a highspeed duplex printer is used.

The Macomb journal has been witness to many famous events in history. In 1856 it supported the anti-Nebraska Act, the Republican Party, and the campaign of 1856. It was a Whig paper. It required several days to find out news after Civil War battles. It also took several hours for residents to get their local news to the press. During the Great Depression the newspaper office was located on the second floor of the Illinois Theatre building. It experienced hard times and in fact discontinued operations for a few months before returning to normal service.

At times the newspaper articles became more opinion than facts. As a result the paper had to approve a writer's stories before publishing them.

Delivery of the newspapers was hard in the early days of the paper. The editors had to travel around town themselves to deliver each edition. Later people were hired to deliver the copies, but every effort was made to get the paper to residents.

The high publication costs of a daily paper have sometimes been a burden for the paper, but the fair patronage by the town's residents has made the paper successful. Many papers in our country have not lasted as long as the Macomb Journal. Its long life is evidence that it is vital to the community. The people of Macomb wanted a paper and they have supported it for 150 years.—[From "Weekly Newspapers of McDonough County," McDonough County Historical Society, Nov. 18, 1988; John Hallwas, Macomb, A Pictorial History; History of McDonough County; Macomb Daily Journal, June 20, 1955.]

ILLINOIS HISTORY / DECEMBER 2001   9