About The old Abe eagle. (White Oaks, Lincoln County, N.M.) 189?-189?
White Oaks, Lincoln County, N.M. (189?-189?)

The Old Abe Eagle

The Old Abe Eagle was published weekly in White Oaks, New Mexico, from November 13, 1891, through July 1895. It was an English only paper that identified as a Democratic affiliate. The first known editor and publisher were H.L. Ross and Frank G. Raible. As with many other papers in the territory, the Old Abe Eagle had a number of editors and publishers. In 1895, the Old Abe Eagle was renamed the White Oaks Eagle. Previously, the Old Abe Eagle had been called the New Mexico Interpreter. The December 4, 1891 issue reported: the White Oaks Interpreter has changed its name to the Old Abe Eagle and is now neatly printed on four pages of seven columns each. The Old Abe Eagle had a fancy masthead with the title in capital letters and an eagle carrying a ribbon, with the following written in bold capital letters: gold, silver, copper, coal, iron and marble.

The Old Abe Eagle covered mainly local, territorial, and national news. An annual subscription paid in advanced cost $2.50, a six-month subscription $1.50, and a three-month subscription 80 cents. The front page typically featured activities at a local mine named Old Abe as well as news from surrounding area. When gold mines were discovered at White Oaks, the town sprang up quickly and soon attracted over 2,000 people. According to the Old Abe Eagle, gold, iron, marble of several varieties, lime, alabaster, white sandstone, silica, fire-clay, and bituminous coal could all be found within a three-mile radius of the White Oaks. As a sign of booming business in White Oaks, the Old Abe Eagle featured many advertisements from construction firms such as Building & Lumber Company; Contractors & Builders Masonry and Plastering, Painting, Wallpaper & Shades; and Fine House Furnishings & Carpets. Other businesses advertising in the Eagle were a real estate company, barbershop, bank, and many lawyers. One ad highlighted the availability of a new kind of aluminum tableware that was said to be durable and as pretty as solid silver, but at one-tenth the cost.

Stories on crime were also prominently featured in the Eagle. One, for example,observed that train robbery was becoming a regular incident of travel. The article continued to state that as long as the robbers confined themselves to robbing the express cars the passengers would make few complaints. Another reported that express robbers got in their work at Fort Wingate on the Atlantic & Pacific Railway on Sunday night, relieving the Wells Fargo Co. of a portion of their assets.

Like many territorial papers of its time, the Old Abe Eagle also addressed the status of statehood. It commented that the population of New Mexico exceeds that of either Idaho, Nevada or Montana, and yet we are still a territory! Oh! Lord! Oh! Lord! How long! The paper seemed to have little faith in the political process. In one article in October 1893, it commented that after the president is elected he will appoint his political wire pullers to the fat offices in the territory, while the meek and lowly citizens of the territory exercise their inalienable rights, which is to pay taxes and work the roads.

The Old Abe Eagle advocated for a new school and the construction of a railway through White Oaks. It invited railroad people to spend time in White Oaks to observe the high volume of freight traffic. Local businessmen were urged to join together to lobby on behalf of a railroad station in White Oaks. However, this never came to pass and after the mines became depleted, White Oaks began a slow decline.

Provided by: University of New Mexico