The ''Kansas City Journal-Post'' was a

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1854 to 1942. It was the oldest newspaper in the city when it went out of business. It started as a weekly, ''The Kansas City Enterprise,'' on September 23, 1854, a year after the city's founding and shortly after ''The Public Ledger'' went out of business. Kansas City's first mayor, William S. Gregory, and future mayors Milton J. Payne and

E. Milton McGee E is the fifth letter of the Latin alphabet. E or e may also refer to: Commerce and transportation * €, the symbol for the euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the ...

, along with city fathers William Gillis, Benoist Troost, Thompson McDaniel, Robert Campbell and Kansas City's first bank and biggest store, Northrup and Chick, pooled $1,000 to start it. William A. Strong was its first editor, and David K. Abeel the first publisher. It operated above a tavern at Main Street and the Missouri River in the

River Market The River Market (formerly known as Westport Landing, the City Market, and River Quay) is a riverfront neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri that comprises the first and oldest incorporated district in Kansas City. It stretches north of the down ...

neighborhood. In 1855, Strong enlisted another future mayor,

Robert T. Van Horn Robert Thompson Van Horn (May 19, 1824 – January 3, 1916) was an American lawyer, the owner and publisher of '' The Kansas City Enterprise'', the 6th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri during parts of the Civil War, a member of the Missouri General ...

, to take over the paper. Van Horn bought it for $250 and retained Abeel as publisher. In 1857 it became ''The Western Journal of Commerce,'' and in 1858 it became ''The Kansas City Daily Western Journal of Commerce''. Before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

the paper espoused the popular Missouri view that the status quo should be maintained, that Missouri should remain in the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and remain a

slave state In the United States before 1865, a slave state was a state in which slavery and the internal or domestic slave trade were legal, while a free state was one in which they were not. Between 1812 and 1850, it was considered by the slave states ...

. When the war began, Van Horn enlisted in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

, and the paper became staunchly

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. The paper encouraged city officials to persuade the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad to build the first bridge across the Missouri River at Kansas City. In 1880 William Rockhill Nelson started ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

,'' which became ''The Journal-Posts primary competitor. In 1896 Van Horn sold the paper to Charles S. Gleed and

Hal Gaylord HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

, who renamed it ''The Kansas City Journal''. In 1906 Fuller Brooker founded ''The Kansas City Post,'' proclaiming in its first issue: :It will be our purpose in politics to avoid participation in factional disputes and personal quarrels, and seek the general welfare of the Democratic Party as a whole, and that only. In 1909 ''

Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

'' publisher

Frederick Gilmer Bonfils Frederick Gilmer Bonfils (December 21, 1860 – February 2, 1933) was an American publisher who made the ''Denver Post'' into one of the largest newspapers in the United States.Staff report (February 3, 1933). F. G. BONFILS DEAD; VETERAN EDITOR; ...

and Harry Tammen bought ''The Post,'' with

J. Ogden Armour Jonathan Ogden Armour (November 11, 1863 – August 16, 1927) was an American meatpacking magnate and only surviving son of Civil War–era industrialist Philip Danforth Armour. He became owner and president of Armour & Company upon the death of ...

as a silent partner.Bonfils Building, 1200 Grand, National Register Application - July 1982
''The Post,'' with its tabloid format, red headlines and

yellow journalism Yellow journalism and yellow press are American terms for journalism and associated newspapers that present little or no legitimate, well-researched news while instead using eye-catching headlines for increased sales. Techniques may include ...

was linked to the rise of the

Tom Pendergast Thomas Joseph Pendergast (July 22, 1872 – January 26, 1945), also known as T. J. Pendergast, was an American political boss who controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri, from 1925 to 1939. Pendergast only briefly held elected ...

political machine. In 1921 Walter Dickey bought ''The Journal''. He bought ''The Post'' in 1922 and combined their operations at 22nd and Oak. Dickey invested in the papers so as to compete with ''The Star,'' ultimately bankrupting his own lucrative clay-pipe manufacturing company. The papers combined as ''The Kansas City Journal-Post'' on October 4, 1928. Dickey died in 1931, and his home became the first building at the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

. In 1938 with the beginning of the collapse of the Pendergast machine, the paper changed the name of ''The Post'' to ''The Kansas City Journal''. Also in 1938 ''Journal'' photographer Jack Wally bylined an

undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an ind ...

photo exposé of gambling houses under Pendergast that ran in ''Life'' magazine. The paper's last publication was on March 31, 1942. It had been the last daily competition to ''The Star''.

References

{{Reflist
UMKC.edu history of paper
Other sources are given there.

External links

100-Year-Old Weblog of the ''Kansas City Journal''
Mass media in the Kansas City metropolitan area Defunct newspapers published in Missouri Newspapers established in 1854 Publications disestablished in 1942 1854 establishments in Missouri 1942 disestablishments in Missouri