The Polk County Itemizer-Observer is a weekly newspaper published in Dallas, Oregon, United States, and covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and the surrounding area. It was established in 1875.[1] The Itemizer-Observer is published on Wednesdays and its circulation is 3,550.[1] It is the newspaper of record for Polk County.[2]
In 1868, J. H. Upton founded the Polk County Signal in Dallas. It was political newspaper created to support Democrat candidate Joseph Showalter Smith who was running against David Logan for a seat in the United States House of Representatives.[3] The Signal was a four-page seven-column paper published on Mondays. An annual subscription cost $3.[3] It ceased in March 1869.[4] The paper's office space was bought by Frank Stuart who started a new title called the Polk County Times.[5] He sold the paper to D. M. C. Gault who in March 1970 relaunched it as the Oregon Republican.[6] About a year later R. H. Tyson became editor and publisher. At that time the paper claimed a 500 circulation.[3] In 1872, Tyson sold the paper to P. C. Sullivan, who renamed it to the Liberal Republican in support of Horace Greeley and his Liberal Republican Party.[7][3] Henry Sullivan and A. R. Lyle were the paper's next owners followed by Reese Clark.[3] Casey and Hammond purchased the Republican in August 1874 and renamed it to the Dallas Itemizer.[8][9] Casey bought out his partner and then sold the paper to Walter Williams and George E. Good. Up until then the paper used a Washington hand-press when Good installed a power press.[10] In 1883, Good sold the paper to Rev. J. S. McCain,[11] who later that year sold the paper to V. P. Fiske, followed by Graham Glass Jr. and Mr. Prudhomme in 1885[3] and W. A. Wash in June 1888.[12] Fiske repurchased the Itemizer from Wash in 1906.[13] M. L. Boyd with E. Bloom leased the paper in 1914.[14] Bloom dropped out after three years and Boyd operated the paper for the remainder of Fiske's ownership.[3]
In 1888, Charles C. Doughty and George Snyder started the Polk County Observer. The paper was originally in Monmouth but later moved to Dallas.[3] Doughty became the sole owner after a few months. Carey Hayter became a co-owner in 1892.[15] Hayter bought out Doughty in 1899.[16] He leased the paper to Jack Allgood and Dean Collins in 1910.[3] A year later the Observer was sold to Eugene Foster and William Totten.[17] Foster later died and Totten sold out to Gerald Volk and H. Parsell in 1914. Parsell was later bought out by Volk.[18] He sold the Observer a few months later to Lew A. Cates, former publisher of the Cottage Grove Sentinel.[19] Two years later Cates sold the paper to H. W. Brune.[20][21] He returned it to Cates in 1917 to enlist in the army during World War I.[3] E. E. Southard then purchased the paper,[22] and Cates had it back after a few months.[3] E. A. Koen bought the paper in 1919.[23] The Observer plant was destroyed by fire in April 1921,[24] but Koen never missed an issue.[3] Earle Richardson became the owner on March 1, 1924.[25]
In 1927, Fiske sold the Dallas Itemizer to Earle Richardson, who then merged it with the Polk County Observer to form the Polk County Itemizer-Observer.[26] Richardson published the paper until selling it to Eagle Newspapers in 1964.[27] On November 11, 1970, a gas leak ignited in the newspaper's office and caused an explosion. Mechanical equipment including two offset presses valued at $175,000 were destroyed in the blast. The paper's total losses, covered by insurance, were estimated to be up to $500,000.[28] No one was injured.[29] In 1992, the Itemizer-Observer (circulation 5,200) absorbed the Sun-Enterprise (circulation 2,400) of Independence and Monmouth, both owned by Eagle Newspapers. The Sun-Enterprise was formed in 1975 after the merger of the Polk Sun and Enterprise Herald.[30] In March 2020, Eagle sold the Itemizer-Observer to Scott Olson.[31][32] The newspaper was sold again in October 2023 to Country Media, Inc.[33]
