''The Columbia County Chronicle'' & ''Chief'' is a weekly newspaper published in

St. Helens, Oregon St. Helens is the county seat of Columbia County, Oregon. It was founded by Captain Henry Montgomery Knighton, a native of New England, in 1845, as "Plymouth". The name was changed to St. Helens in the latter part of 1850 for its view of Mount ...

, United States. It was formed in December 2023 by the merger of ''The Chronicle'' in St. Helens and ''The Chief'' in Clatskanie, both published by Country Media, Inc. It is the

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the o ...

for Columbia County.

History

''The St. Helens Chronicle'' originated in 1881 as the ''Oregon Mist,'' later renamed to the ''St. Helens Mist''. In 1933, the ''Mist'' bought out the ''St. Helens Sentinel'', which was established in 1926, and the paper was renamed the ''Sentinel-Mist''. In 1936, a paper named the ''St. Helens Chronicle'' was started. The ''Chronicle'' bought the ''Sentinel-Mist'' in 1968 and the combined publication became known as ''The Sentinel-Mist Chronicle'', Columbia County's only newspaper. Later the name became ''The Chronicle and Sentinel-Mist'', finally becoming ''The Chronicle'' in 2009. That same year the newspaper was sold to Country Media, Inc. ''The Clatskanie Chief'' was founded in 1891 by F. T. Shute. In its early days it offered a bundled subscription with ''Better Fruit'', a publication in

Hood River, Oregon The city of Hood River is the seat of Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is a port on the Columbia River, and is named for the nearby Hood River. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 8,313. It is the only city in Oregon whe ...

. E. W. Conyers, a businessman and a former state legislator, became the controlling owner in 1889. Conyers had been a lifelong Whig, and became a Republican when that party was formed. Arthur Steele purchased the paper in 1922. He was named president of the

Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association is a trade association for all paid-circulation daily, weekly, and multi-weekly newspapers in the U.S. state of Oregon. It represents and promotes newspapers, and encourages excellence in reporting and ...

in 1953. Arthur and his wife Melvina ran the paper until Melvina's death in 1972, when their son Gail took over. As of the early 2000s the owner was Deborah Steele Hazen. In 2014, ''The Clatskanie Chief'' 's name was changed to simply ''The Chief''. That same year the newspaper was acquired by Country Media, Inc. In December 2023, Country Media announced ''The Chronicle'' and ''The Chief'' will merge to create a new weekly newspaper called ''The'' ''Columbia County Chronicle & Chief.''

References

External links

''The Chronicle''
(official website)
1881 establishments in Oregon Newspapers published in Oregon Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Newspapers established in 1881 St. Helens, Oregon {{Oregon-newspaper-stub Columbia County, Oregon