Harrington history

As early as 1882, Harrington news items appeared in the Northwest Tribune which was published in Cheney and in Spokane, depending on the year. In it in 1884, mention is made of Frank Gray of the Harrington Times and again in 1885. An article by Rev. E.C. Scott in 1919 stated, "The first newspaper to be printed in Harrington was the Lincoln County Times, the first issue appearing in June, 1884, being issued from a blacksmith shop." It was said to have moved to Davenport in 1885.

In 1888, Harrington was covered quite responsibly by the Sprague Herald with mention of J.F. Green, Chas. Lathem, C.O. Lybecker, Wm. Yarwood, Horace Haynes, Chas. Hannum, Adam Ludy, Bertha Dyke, Jeannette McCann, Aaron Miller, Harry Glasscock, Wilbur Hinshaw, Della Charlton, John Taylor, John McCarty, Rus Warwick, Prof. Peck, Chas. Hotaling, James Hart, Wm. Kals family, Tim Hansard, Thos. Gill, Dave Yarwood, B.B. Glascock, Wm. Earl, John Cormana, Wm. Markham, James Hart, Wm. and Edward Hill, Richard Brenchley, A.L. Smalley, Ben Hurley, Dora Hinshaw, the Cardwells, the Page family, the Cleary family, the Browns, the Crisp family, the Trumbulls, Frinks, Parkers, Gunnings, Chris Knapp, Dr. Hammersmith and Mr. Lamona. Sprague generally had a correspondent from the area, most often from Duck Lake Draw, who kept the Herald abreast of the activities, births, and deaths, through 1892.

Major items were sometimes carried in the Spokane Review as when the saloon of F.B. Wright burned to the ground, saving only the piano and the two roomers asleep at 3 a.m. in the upper rooms, F.C. Lee and Harry Long, in 1893. The Lincoln County Times covered the Harrington news well during the 1893 to 1898 period, during which time Harrington had its own papers published called the Harrington Leader (edited by M.P. Stephens) and the Harrington Kicker (edited by C.B. Grace) in 1894.

March 2, 1894 was the huge fire in the business district removing the businesses in the Wilson Building: Great Eastern Clothing Co. and the King and Reeves drug store. The Wilson Building was rebuilt that same year and stands today in the center of the Harrington Historic district on Third Avenue. Most people familiar with Harrington would recognize the building as the home of the Challenger Cafe, the Harrington Drug, and the Hardware store at the corner of Third and Main.

Since the early editions of the Harrington Leader and the Harrington Kicker seem not to have survived, we are fortunate that the papers which did survive were kind enough to quote or mention them in their columns.

A short Harrington Democrat was published briefly as well in 1894. The Kicker seemed to survive into 1895. Another paper surfaced briefly, called the Harrington Independent, published in 1896 by Middaugh & Moore, "a bright and newsy little six column paper." In the fall of 1896, the Harrington Banner was printed, however its size and duration are not available. The Lincoln County Times was consistent in inclusion of the Harrington news while these fledgling papers came and then ceased to print.

M.P. Stevens, in August of 1895, ceased publication of The Leader with the following farewell: "The Leader has stood the trials and tribulations of hard times as long as it possibly can. Our subscription list was quite large and increasing, but nearly all were "standoffs," and the more we had the worse we became financially. Our advertising has dwindled down from $90 per month to a miserable $10. These facts staring us in the face, a dreary winter approaching and a large family to be cared for, make it imperative for us to seek a livelihood elsewhere."

James Goodwin and Verne L. Joslyn published the first edition of the Harrington Citizen on Nov. 11, 1898. In 1902, C.G. Garretson became the new owner for a short period of time when Goodwin took the helm again until 1907. His wit can be seen in that first edition where he wrote, "If there are those who do not agree with our opinion, as expressed in these columns, we will say, in the words of another country editor: 'When a subscriber finds a line in his paper that he does not like, and can't agree with, if he will bring his paper to the office, and point out the offending line, the editor will take his scissors and cut it out for him'." (Citizen: 11-11-1898)

In 1907, Herman Bassett took over and kept his hands involved even when he sold The Citizen several times. Robert Gay came to Harrington as a superintendent of schools in 1909, for several years, moved away, but returned by 1917, as he was more interested in publishing a paper than in managing schools. He kept Bassett on as foreman and eventually resold the paper to Bassett in 1927 when he moved on to Prosser. Others at the Citizen included: W.M. Miller and Adelia Scott. A date of occupancy of the room in the Opera House was not located, but for many years The Harrington Citizen was written and published from what is now the Art Room of the 1904 Bank Block. A familiar sight to older citizens of Harrington, Mr. Bassett standing outside his business or seated inside the window at his work. Herman Bassett retired in 1958 and Adelia, his daughter, continued to publish the paper. Gradually the paper moved to Davenport where Adelia continued to write the Harrington Citizen as a one- to two-page insert of the Davenport Times.

Bound editions of the Harrington Citizen are archived by the city in the Harrington Public Library. These are essentially complete from the first edition through 1965. When the transition of the paper to the ownership by the Davenport Times occurred, papers were not obtained and saved for several years. During the 1970s, the papers were again collected and sent out for binding. Presently collections are accumulated of both the Davenport Times and the Odessa Record for preservation. The local newspapers are vital to collecting the news which becomes the history of tomorrow.