About The Green Forest tribune. (Green Forest, Ark.) 1890-1971
Green Forest, Ark. (1890-1971)

The Green Forest Tribune

Green Forest, in Carroll County, is in northwest Arkansas along the border with Missouri. By the 1920s, industries in the area included farming, dairy, canning, timber mills, and marble and granite works.

In 1889, Herbert Spencer Holden purchased the Arkansas Tomahawk (1888-1889) newspaper plant in Green Forest and used the equipment to establish The Green Forest Tribune in 1890. Holden published the eight-page paper on Thursdays with no stated political affiliation. In 1891, the paper changed hands to Bertie B. Eslinger and George Camp, who labeled the paper as politically independent. Later that year, Willis Caswell Russell and his son Jesse Lewis Russell took over the paper, beginning the Russell family's long tenure at the Tribune.

The Russells continued the Tribune as a paper with an independent political stance, but they changed it to four-page issues. In 1895, Andrew Jackson Russell, brother of Jesse Russel, took over as editor for their father. Though the Tribune was listed in the newspaper directory as an independent publication, other Arkansas newspapers called the Tribune the leading Republican paper. From 1899 to 1900, Martin Butler Russell, brother of Andrew and Jesse Russell, wrote letters back to his brothers about his service in the Philippine-American War, which they published in the Tribune.

In 1905, the Russells sold the paper to Edward Clarence Cooper, who began publishing the Tribune on Saturdays with a Democratic slant. In 1907, Cooper sold the Tribune back to Jesse Russell, who returned the paper to being politically non-partisan. In 1911, Martin Russell took charge of the paper while Jesse was away temporarily. In a newspaper interview, Martin reminisced about the old newspaper days when there were prolific crimes to write about, such as stagecoach robberies, shootouts, and moonshiners coming to town with barrels of "shine." While in charge of the paper, Martin changed the publication day to Fridays.

Jesse Russell returned to the paper and continued as editor until 1914. When he retired, the Arkansas Democrat (1878-1991) wrote that he was regarded as one of the best newspaper men in the state and the oldest Republican editor.

In 1914, the Tribune was consolidated with the Green Forest Sentinel (1914-1914), after Sentinel owner Charles C. Reed bought the Tribune. The paper continued to publish under the Tribune title, since the Sentinel was just a few months old and did not have a following like the Tribune. The next year, Reed sold the Tribune to Lee Hewitt Smith and Margaret Elizabeth "Margie" Russell Smith, sister of the Russell brothers. Margie Smith continued the family tradition of running the Tribune.

In 1919, the Smith's sold the paper to Ertie Otis Allred, who had J.C. Pinkerton act as editor. This ended the Russell family's reign over the Green Forest Tribune. Allred held the paper for over ten years, and sold it in 1933 to William King Wharton, who continued to publish the paper for decades.

Provided by: Arkansas State Archives