About Estancia news-herald. [volume] (Estancia, Torrance County, N.M.) 1912-19??
Estancia, Torrance County, N.M. (1912-19??)

Estancia News-Herald

Located on the plains east of the Manzano Mountains, Estancia, New Mexico, had long been a resting place along the trail from Chihuahua to Santa Fe. The modern town of Estancia was founded at the turn of the century, and the post office opened in 1903. The town's importance increased with the arrival of the railroad around the same time, and Estancia became the seat of Torrance County in 1905. By 1910, the population had grown to over 500 people.

The Estancia News-Herald formed as a merger between two bilingual weekly and daily papers. The first, the Estancia Herald, was also published daily as the Daily Herald until January 1912. The second paper, the Estancia News, was issued as a daily under the title the Morning News until the same time.

On February 2, 1912, J. A. Constant commenced publication of the Estancia News-Herald. He stated in the January 26, 1912 issue that his new paper would be independent in politics and "devoted to giving the news--living up to its name, and boosting for Torrance county and every town and neighborhood in it." The February 2, 1912 issue mentions both Constant and Annie M. Porter as owners, while specifically indicating Constant's role as editor and publisher. Miss Porter's name does not appear on later issues, but she had previously been the editor and publisher of the Estancia Herald.

The Estancia News-Herald spanned four pages and included local, state, and national news. The towns of Manzano, Willard, Stanley, McIntosh, Mountainair, and Moriarty, New Mexico, received particular attention. Newsworthy items regarding crime, politics, baseball, weather, and the public schools appeared frequently.

Advertisements included feed stores, meat markets, banks, lumberyards, pharmacies, tobacco, general merchandise, and other local businesses. Later issues feature advertisements for Dodge Brothers Motor Cars, Ford, and other automobiles. Each issue included a professional directory of doctors, attorneys, and dentists, as well as a section for legal notices. The Estancia News-Herald also reprinted sections of literary works. For example, the February 27, 1919 issue included a selection of Gunner Depew by Albert N. Depew, a book that recounted the author's experiences in World War I.

In 1919, a subscription to the Estancia News-Herald cost $1.50 per year paid in advance. By 1921, however, the price had increased to $2.00 per year. The 1914 edition of N.W. Ayer & Son's American Newspaper Annual states that the independent paper had a circulation of 638 copies, and the 1919 edition shows that this had dropped slightly to 550 issues.

Provided by: University of New Mexico