About The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968
Kendrick, Idaho (1892-1968)

The Kendrick Gazette

Joseph S. Vincent first published the Kendrick Gazette in 1892, in Kendrick, Idaho, a newly established town in the northern part of the state. Vincent learned the printer's trade in Lewiston, working for his grandfather and uncle, Alonzo and Charles F. Leland, founders of the Lewiston Teller. As the owner and editor of the Gazette, Vincent never missed an issue, though his newspaper office burned out twice--once on August 16, 1892, and again March 16, 1894. Both fires were on a Thursday, and Vincent managed to keep to his schedule of putting out a weekly publication on Fridays.

In 1900, Daniel T.A. Mackintosh took over the Gazette for nine years, keeping with the paper's original publishing schedule and its Democratic leanings. In August 1904, another fire swept the town of Kendrick, and again the newspaper office burned, but the Gazette did not miss an issue. Immediately after the fire, the Kendrick Gazette was printed as a two-page folio on wrapping paper because of the scarcity of resources in the town. In 1909, when Mackintosh was elected as a Democratic representative in the state legislature, he sold the Gazette to George W. Hancock, who established the independent Kendrick Gazette Publishing Company. When Hancock's tenure as owner ended in late 1911, the Farmer's Bank and Trust Company took over responsibility for the publication for a few months. Thereafter, B.C. Johnson bought the paper and ran it successfully through March 1916. Ralph B. Knepper purchased the Kendrick Gazette from Johnson and had a long run as a successful editor until 1931.

The size of the paper varied through the years. In 1903, the Gazette was eight pages of six columns each. After the 1904 fire, it was reduced in size for a number of months. From 1911 to 1922, the page count fluctuated from four to six, though the column number per page remained six.

The content of the Gazette included news of other small mining and agricultural communities in Latah County, as well as coverage from the larger towns of Lewiston, Moscow, and Spokane. The paper worked hard to promote Kendrick and the surrounding area; in 1904 it released a 32-page "souvenir booklet" showcasing the town and providing "a brief resume of its business interests and possibilities." This booklet highlighted the desirable features of the region: prime agricultural conditions, mild climate, lumber and saw mill industries, natural springs that made irrigation unnecessary, excellent conditions for raising stock, plentiful fish and game, existing infrastructure such as telephone companies, and a vibrant social scene.

The Kendrick Gazette continued publication until 1968, when it merged with the Genesee News to form the Gazette-News. The Kendrick Gazette again re-emerged as a separate title from 1987 to 1998.

Provided by: Idaho State Historical Society