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Title:
Rock Island Argus. : (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920
Alternative Titles:
  • Argus Dec. 2, 1893-Nov. 5, 1909
Place of publication:
Rock Island, Ill.
Geographic coverage:
  • Rock Island, Rock Island County, Illinois  |  View more titles from this: City County, State
Publisher:
J.W. Potter
Dates of publication:
1893-1920
Description:
  • Vol. 42, no. 40 (Dec. 2, 1893)-v. 55, no. 301 (Oct. 3, 1906) ; 55th year, [no. 302] (Oct. 4, 1906)-69th year, no. 133 (Mar. 24, 1920).
Frequency:
Daily (except Sunday and various holidays) Jan. 1, 1919-Mar. 24, 1920
Language:
  • English
Subjects:
  • Aledo (Ill.)--Newspapers.
  • East Moline (Ill.)--Newspapers.
  • Illinois--Aledo.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01883802
  • Illinois--East Moline.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01226526
  • Illinois--Mercer County.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01215002
  • Illinois--Moline.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01210118
  • Illinois--Rock Island.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01206059
  • Mercer County (Ill.)--Newspapers.
  • Moline (Ill.)--Newspapers.
  • Rock Island (Ill.)--Newspapers.
Notes:
  • "A Western Illinois paper for Western Illinois," June 19, 1919-Mar. 24, 1920.
  • "Official paper City of Rock Island," Mar. 3, 1917-Mar. 24, 1920.
  • Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • Holiday publication is very irregular.
  • Irregular number of pages published per issue.
  • Issue for Dec. 14, 1907 called also "Merchants' Annual. Shoppers' Edition."
  • Issue for Dec. 17, 1899 called also "Special ed."
  • Issue for Dec. 30, 1916 called also "Sixty-Fifth Annual Review Number."
  • Issue for Dec. 31, 1915 called also "Annual Year-End Number."
  • Issue for Feb. 21, 1896 includes "Extra Evening ed."
  • Issue for Fifty-seventh year, no. 264 (Aug. 21, 1908) erroneously designated as "Weekly Edition."
  • Issue for July 2, 1898 includes an "Extra Noon" edition.
  • Issue for July 4, 1898 includes an "Extra War" edition.
  • Issue for Nov. 2, 1908 includes "First Edition Political Situation" edition.
  • Issue for Nov. 27, 1912 called also "Sixtieth Anniversary Achievement Edition."
  • Issue for Nov. 4, 1908 includes "Extra Election, Morning Edition."
  • Issue for Oct. 16, 1908 includes a "Midnight / Fire extra" edition.
  • Issue for Oct. 22, 1914 "prepared by students of the high school"; issues for Oct. 28, 1915 and Oct. 26, 1916 "edited by Rock Island high school students."
  • Issue for Oct. 25, 1896 is an "Extra" published on Sunday.
  • Issue for Oct. 4, 1906 lacks numbering.
  • Issue for Sept. 19, 1919 includes "Mercer County Fair Edition."
  • Issue for Sept. 4, 1899 called also "Labor Day Edition."
  • Issue for Sixtieth year, no. 22 (Nov. 11, 1910) erroneously designated as "Weekly Edition."
  • Issue for Sixtieth year, no. 220 (June 30, 1911) erroneously designated as "Weekly Edition."
  • Issues for Apr. 3, 1907 and Apr. 8, 1908 include "Extra Election" edition.
  • Issues for Dec. 25, 1916; May 30, Sept. 3, Nov. 29, and Dec. 25, 1917 called also "1 o'clock edition."
  • Issues for Dec. 31, 1917 and Dec. 31, 1919 called also "Year-End Review."
  • Issues for July 5, Sept. 6, Nov. 25, and Dec. 25, 1915; Jan. 1, and May 30, 1916; Jan. 1, 1917; May 30, July 4, and Dec. 25, 1918; Jan. 1, 1919 called also "Noon Edition."
  • Issues for June 22, July 4, and Sept. 4, 1916; Jan. 21 and 28, 1918 called also "2 o'clock edition."
  • Issues for Mar. 14, 1903-Oct. 25, 1904 called also "Last Edition / 4:30 O'Clock."
  • Issues for Oct. 8-13, 1915 called also "Extra."
  • Merged with: Rock Island daily union (Rock Island, Ill. : 1908), to form: Rock Island Argus and daily union.
  • Nov. 26, 1895 issue called also "Thanksgiving Number"; "Issued by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Young Men's Christian Association."
  • Some issues include supplements.
  • Various incorrect chronological, volume, issue numbering, and page designation.
  • Weekly ed.: Rock Island Argus (Rock Island, Ill. : Weekly), <1899-1908>
LCCN:
sn 92053934
OCLC:
26846738
ISSN:
2332-0680
Preceding Titles:
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Holdings:
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Rock Island Argus. December 2, 1893 , Image 1

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Argus, Daily Argus, Evening Argus, Rock Island Argus and Daily Union, Rock Island Argus and Rock Island Daily Argus

Located on the Mississippi River, Rock Island, Illinois, is one of the Quad Cities, along with Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf and is the seat of Rock Island County (Yes, there are five cities included within the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area). Rock Island gets its name from the largest island in the Mississippi River, which was formerly called Rock Island and is now called Arsenal Island.

The Rock Island Argus is one of Illinois’ oldest newspapers and has been in continuous publication since 1851, when a weekly paper titled Rock Island Republican was founded by F. S. Nichols. In 1854, Colonel J. B. Danforth purchased the paper and began publishing a daily edition, along with the weekly. In 1859, Danforth, who was a Democrat, changed its name to the Rock Island Argus, to distinguish it as separate from the Republican Party.

In 1882, John W. Potter bought the Rock Island Argus, and when he died in 1898, his wife, Minnie, took over its operation. The Rock Island Argus only had 500 subscribers when John Potter took it over, but, by all accounts, the newspaper thrived under Minnie Potter’s leadership. The Potter family owned and managed the entire family of Rock Island Argus newspapers, including Rock Island Daily Argus (1886-93), the Rock Island Argus (1893-1920), and its successors until the paper was purchased by the Small Newspaper Group in 1985.

On October 16, 1908, the “worst fire in [the] city’s history” broke out. It was brought on by an explosion of coal dust in the yards of the Rock Island Lumber Company. The Argus published a special “Midnight Fire Edition” and reported that “millions of feet of lumber” were “devoured” before the fire could be put out. Three people were injured; 500 men were “thrown out of employment”; and an estimated $550,000 in total damages was reported.

The Rock Island Argus is still in publication today, with its headquarters now in Moline, Illinois. The Small Newspaper Group—which also owns the Dispatch—combined the two newspapers, with the content varying only in their respective mastheads.

Provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL