About The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current
Wallace, Idaho (1907-current)

The Wallace Miner

H.W.C. Jackson founded the Wallace Miner on February 21, 1907. Wallace, Idaho, the "center of the Coeur d'Alene mineral belt," had a population of roughly 4,000 when Jackson published the first issue. Jackson claimed that the Coeur d'Alene district ranked among the top few of the greatest mining camps in the entire world, and the Miner would record "its general progress as well as the development of individual mines and properties." Jackson sold the Miner in November 1907 to George F. Stoney, who solidified the paper's political stance as Republican. He also clarified that the Miner was "heartily in sympathy" with organized labor and hoped to "prove itself a friend to the working man."

Devoting the majority of its content to mines, smelters, land claims, prospecting, and national mining news, the Miner was a weekly eight-page, six-column paper published on Thursdays. It covered all of Shoshone County, including the surrounding towns of Kellogg, Wardner, Murray, Mullan, and Avery. The Wallace Miner was full of statistics supporting Idaho's mining industries. For example, Idaho produced 1/3 of all the lead in the country in 1906, followed by Missouri, Utah, and Colorado. The paper reported on the production, in pounds and dollars, of gold, silver, lead, zinc, copper, and antimony, of each mine or company in the region. The Miner also covered stories on droughts, rainfall, and irrigation, as water supply was strategically important to the workings of the mines.

In August 1910, forest fires raged all around Shoshone County for weeks. On August 20, the fire hit the town of Wallace and burned many buildings, mines, and equipment, leaving extensive damage in its wake. Approximately 50 lives were lost, and the towns of Murray and Mullan also sustained some damage. After the fire, the Miner urged all the mining companies to be honest with stockholders and not exaggerate their losses, saying "it is time for candor, for staying shoulder to shoulder and working for a common end." Stoney commented that the greatest damage from the fire was to timber, which, "when analyzed, is not so great" a loss.

In July 1911, George F. Stoney sold the Wallace Miner to Thomas McCabe and Emil B. Reitzel, who formed the Wallace Miner Publishing Company, along with Harry A. McLeod and later Alfred J. Dunn as editors. They kept the paper Republican, campaigning for local candidates in its columns, and printing the Republican tickets during election years. They introduced a column of special interest to stockholders entitled "Mining and Development Companies of the Coeur d'Alene" that included "assessments levied, meetings called, and delinquent lists." The Wallace Miner remained in publication until 2014, reporting on and advocating for the mining industry in Idaho.

Provided by: Idaho State Historical Society