About The Richfield recorder. (Richfield, Idaho) 1909-1931
Richfield, Idaho (1909-1931)

The Richfield Recorder

The town of Richfield was made possible by the Carey Act—a piece of federal legislation passed in 1895 that allowed private companies to build irrigation infrastructure and profit from the sale of water in arid and semi-arid western states. The Idaho Irrigation Company opened the land that would become Richfield for settlement in 1907. A land drawing was held, and in a week almost 10,000 acres of farmland sold. By 1908, the town boasted two stores, a livery barn, buildings for the lumber yard, a bank, an office building, and the Alberta Hotel. Richfield was incorporated in 1909.

That same year, Richfield's first newspaper began printing. The Richfield Recorder's editors and publishers—Charles J. Lisle and Edward Thompson Barber—had established careers in business and news prior to arriving in Richfield. Lisle's newspaper experience dated to 1897 with his employment at Bozeman's Avant Courier, then with the Helena Herald, and Butte's Daily Inter Mountain. Lisle moved to Boise in 1906 and worked with the Idaho Daily Statesman. The following year, he moved to Shoshone and published the Shoshone Journal with Barber. Two years later, he and Barber founded the Recorder. Barber's experience was more in the business world. In 1904, he was general manager of the Gooding Townsite Company. His involvement in the community and its growth led to him editing the Burley Bulletin. Soon after, he was offered a job at the Daily Statesman in Boise. After a year in Boise, Barber joined Lisle in publishing the Shoshone Journal, then the Recorder.

The Richfield Recorder published from 1909–1931. The paper published weekly on Thursdays with four pages and six columns. The phrase "One good investment – in irrigated Idaho – is worth a lifetime of work," was printed above the paper's title from 1910–1913. In 1914, the phrase above the title changed to "Idaho offers the best bargains in irrigated lands for homes, of any state in the West. Invite your friends." The Republican paper published local and social news in the "Richfield in Paragraphs" or "Local Brevities" columns. State and national news appeared throughout. Local news included social items as well as reporting on irrigation improvements, building construction, and agricultural advancements. News from other nearby towns, including Shoshone, Challis, Rupert, Cambridge, Rockland, and Caldwell was covered in the "Items from Neighboring Towns and States" column. Legal notices and works of fiction were also published in the Recorder.

Provided by: Idaho State Historical Society