About Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960
Kingston, N.M. (1884-1960)

Sierra County Advocate

Sierra County, New Mexico, was founded in 1884, the result of a boom in population after silver and gold were discovered. Several towns were founded along Percha Creek in the Black Range including Hillsboro (originally spelled Hillsborough) in 1877 and Kingston in 1882. Hillsboro, a gold mining town, became the county seat in 1884. The Kingston area was rich in silver. Newspaperman James E. Curren established weekly newspapers in both towns.

Curren, formerly proprietor of the Deming Headlight sought to establish a chain of small newspapers in the Percha country mining camps. The Sierra County Advocate, "Published in the Heart of the Percha Country; Richest Mining District in New Mexico," was first produced in Kingston in 1884 with Curren serving as editor. The paper's offices were relocated to Hillsboro in March 1885.

Shortly after the move, Curren left the management of the Sierra County Advocate to W. B. Hardwicke, although Curren continued in the newspaper business, establishing the Folsom Idea in 1888 and acquiring the Clayton Enterprise in 1890.

Focusing on mining, the Sierra County Advocate produced articles and news notes about mine production, ore quality, and smelting operations. Railroads were closely tied to the mining industry; therefore, the paper contained abundant coverage of railroad business. A regular column, "Territorial Gleanings," contained brief news items from around New Mexico.

Political news, both national and state, was also important. In the early days, the Advocate leaned Republican; however, later publishers were solidly in the Democratic camp. Its pages closely followed the silver question, a national controversy over the reintroduction of silver along with gold as the basis for U.S. currency. Originally, the Advocate had called for the suspension of silver coinage. Later editors, however, saw the advantages that silver currency would have for silver mining, and by 1893, editor and proprietor P.J. Bennett boldly printed "Free coinage of silver 16 to 1" in every issue.

Bennett ran the Advocate from 1891 to 1900, when he sold it to W.O. Thompson. Formerly the proprietor of the Black Range, based in the Sierra County mining town of Chloride, Thompson ran unsuccessfully for territorial governor in 1896 and later served on the Democratic central committee of New Mexico. He used the Advocate to support free silver until he left the newspaper in December 1911.

In November 1929, the Sierra County Advocate relocated to Hot Springs (later called Truth or Consequences), New Mexico, where it remained in publication until 1960.

Provided by: University of New Mexico