The Californian (1840s newspaper)
Encyclopedia
The Californian was the first California
newspaper.
The Californian was first published in Monterey, California
on August 15, 1846, by Alcalde
Walter Colton
and his friend Robert B. Semple
, from a well-used Ramage printing press
that Agustín V. Zamorano brought from Hawaii to Monterey in 1834. Zamorano used it to print books, letterheads and proclamations, but not a newspaper. When Commodore Robert F. Stockton
arrived in Monterey with the American naval invasion in July 1846, he found the printing press stored in the Custom House and notified Colton.
The paper Colton and Semple printed on was cigarette paper, the only kind available in quantity. The single-sheet publication was printed on a series of 11.75 by sheets, with English on one side and Spanish on the other. The biggest news item in the first edition was the United States declaring war on Mexico
. On October 3, 1846, The Californian printed the first poem published in a California periodical, entitled "On Leaving the United States for California." The next issue carried the poetical rejoinder "On Leaving California for the United States." Both poems were unsigned, but were probably the same author.
The Californian moved to Yerba Buena, as San Francisco was then called, in mid-1847. The city was about to undergo rapid changes as the California gold rush
got underway. The newspaper did not report about the discovery of gold because word spread so quickly from person to person. The Californian was forced to shut down May 29, 1848 because its entire staff had departed for the gold fields. Its rival newspaper, the California Star run by Mormon Samuel Brannan
and Edward C. Kemble, suspended publication for the same reason on June 14.
Both The Californian and the California Star were bought in 1848 and their printing equipment was combined into one publication, the Alta Californian. Finding that one printing press was sufficient, the older press from Monterey was moved by Kemble to Sacramento
to print the Placer Times beginning in April 1849. Kemble wished to preserve the press in a museum, but sold it to an Englishman, H. H. Radcliffe, who used it in Stockton
to print the Stockton Times and Tuolumne City Intelligencer from mid-1850 to April 1851. Radcliffe also used the old press to print the Sonora Herald for Dr. Gunn beginning in July 1850. Gunn eventually bought out Radcliffe. In October 1851, Gunn sold the press to George Washington Gore who brought the equipment to Columbia, California
to print the Columbia Star. Gunn regained possession in November when Gore was unable to pay the balance of the purchase price. The old press was brought to Sonora, California
to be displayed as a museum piece, and was soon lost there to one of the many fires that destroyed the town before 1858.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
newspaper.
The Californian was first published in Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
on August 15, 1846, by Alcalde
Alcalde
Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...
Walter Colton
Walter Colton
Rev. Walter Colton was a Chaplain for the United States Navy, the Alcalde of Monterey, and the author of Three Years in California and Deck and Port. He was also co-publisher of California's first newspaper, The Californian....
and his friend Robert B. Semple
Robert B. Semple
Doctor Robert Baylor Semple was a 19th-century Californian newspaperman & politician.A newspaperman in Kentucky, he came west over the California Trail with Lansford Hastings in 1845, before the gold rush. During the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt, he led the Americans around Sutter's Fort in the...
, from a well-used Ramage printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
that Agustín V. Zamorano brought from Hawaii to Monterey in 1834. Zamorano used it to print books, letterheads and proclamations, but not a newspaper. When Commodore Robert F. Stockton
Robert F. Stockton
Robert Field Stockton was a United States naval commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican-American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-powered navy. Stockton was from a notable political family and also served as a U.S...
arrived in Monterey with the American naval invasion in July 1846, he found the printing press stored in the Custom House and notified Colton.
The paper Colton and Semple printed on was cigarette paper, the only kind available in quantity. The single-sheet publication was printed on a series of 11.75 by sheets, with English on one side and Spanish on the other. The biggest news item in the first edition was the United States declaring war on Mexico
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
. On October 3, 1846, The Californian printed the first poem published in a California periodical, entitled "On Leaving the United States for California." The next issue carried the poetical rejoinder "On Leaving California for the United States." Both poems were unsigned, but were probably the same author.
The Californian moved to Yerba Buena, as San Francisco was then called, in mid-1847. The city was about to undergo rapid changes as the California gold rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
got underway. The newspaper did not report about the discovery of gold because word spread so quickly from person to person. The Californian was forced to shut down May 29, 1848 because its entire staff had departed for the gold fields. Its rival newspaper, the California Star run by Mormon Samuel Brannan
Samuel Brannan
Samuel Brannan was an American settler, businessman, and journalist, who founded the "California Star" newspaper in San Francisco, California...
and Edward C. Kemble, suspended publication for the same reason on June 14.
Both The Californian and the California Star were bought in 1848 and their printing equipment was combined into one publication, the Alta Californian. Finding that one printing press was sufficient, the older press from Monterey was moved by Kemble to Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
to print the Placer Times beginning in April 1849. Kemble wished to preserve the press in a museum, but sold it to an Englishman, H. H. Radcliffe, who used it in Stockton
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
to print the Stockton Times and Tuolumne City Intelligencer from mid-1850 to April 1851. Radcliffe also used the old press to print the Sonora Herald for Dr. Gunn beginning in July 1850. Gunn eventually bought out Radcliffe. In October 1851, Gunn sold the press to George Washington Gore who brought the equipment to Columbia, California
Columbia, California
Columbia is a former California Gold Rush boomtown located in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The central portion of the town is preserved as a California state historic park and a National Historic Landmark that preserves the original, gold-rush-town flavor of the town, once dubbed the "Gem of the...
to print the Columbia Star. Gunn regained possession in November when Gore was unable to pay the balance of the purchase price. The old press was brought to Sonora, California
Sonora, California
Sonora is the county seat of Tuolumne County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,903, up from 4,423 at the 2000 census. Sonora is the only incorporated community in Tuolumne County.-Geography:...
to be displayed as a museum piece, and was soon lost there to one of the many fires that destroyed the town before 1858.