About Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931
Missouri Valley, Iowa (1874-1931)

Missouri Valley Times

The town of Missouri Valley, Iowa, was established in 1867 when the Chicago & Northwestern Railway was extended through Harrison County. The following year, Daniel M. Harris started the Harrisonian, the town's first newspaper. Harris, who left a career in law for the newspaper business, served as editor and proprietor of the paper until 1872, when he sold it to H.M. Goltry. Harris moved on to establish newspapers in Independence, Kansas; Exira, Iowa; and Atlantic, Iowa, before returning to Missouri Valley and repurchasing his former newspaper, now called the Missouri Valley Times, in 1876.

The Missouri Valley Times remained in the Harris family for many years. By 1880, Harris' sons, Robert H. Harris and John W. Harris, joined him in the business. Shortly after Daniel Harris' death in 1911, his grandson, Rush C. Lahman, partnered with Robert Harris' son-in-law, Guy W. Mahoney, to purchase the paper. Lahman was the son of Daniel Harris' daughter, Clara C. Harris, and John P. Lahman. Mahoney was married to Robert Harris' daughter Della. Two years after they purchased the paper, Lahman bought out Mahoney's interest to become the sole proprietor. Throughout Daniel and Robert Harris' editorships, the Times supported the views of the Democratic Party. When Lahman took over, the paper became politically independent.

During the early 1900s, a typical issue of the Missouri Valley Times featured major world, national, or statewide stories on the front page, with an emphasis on political news. The rest of the paper was dedicated to local news. General local news items were listed for each day of the preceding week, and correspondence columns reported news from many surrounding towns including Melrose, Saint John, Elmdale, Calhoun, and Whitsboro. The paper also included marriage announcements, obituaries, city council proceedings, school news, and announcements of social events.

In addition to the regular news items, issues of the Times included special feature pieces. The paper often printed serialized fiction, such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. After the United States entered World War I, the Times began a regular column called, "The Boys at the Front," featuring letters from local soldiers serving in the war.

The Missouri Valley Times was published weekly until 1931. A daily edition, the Missouri Valley Daily Times was published alongside the weekly edition beginning in 1891. After the weekly edition ceased publication, the Daily Times merged with the Harrison County News. The paper went through a number of title and ownership changes over the following years, but continues to publish today as the Missouri Valley Times-News, on a semiweekly schedule.

Provided by: State Historical Society of Iowa