umbian newspaper is founded in Olympia, Washington. In 1854, the “Kansas Weekly Herald,” the first newspaper in Kansas, began production under an elm tree on the townsite of Leavenworth. The paper continued under two other names until 1861. In 1855, “Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper” began publication in New York and “Harper’s Weekly” both end up becoming pioneers of visual communication. Joseph Medill and Charles Ray purchased the “Chicago Tribune” and transform it into one of the most important newspapers in the United States. In 1857, Congress authorized the postmaster general to secure bids for an overland stage service to carry mail and passengers from Missouri to San Francisco. The Brigham Young Carrying and Express Company, known as the XY Company, won the contract. The first mail delivery from Independence, Missouri, to Salt Lake City took twenty-six days. The federal government canceled the contract after only six months. A rail line between St. Louis and New York City is completed, inspiring dreams of a transcontinental railroad. England and America were connected for the first time by the Atlantic telegraph cable; it breaks within a few weeks. In 1859, William N. Byers launches “The Rocky Mountain News,” a modest newspaper that he used to boost the fortunes of Denver. Horace Greeley began a trip across the country, sending dispatches about his journey to the “New York Tribune.” Greeley attested to the rich land and resources in the West and scouted the best route for the transcontinental railroad. He is less impressed with the Indians he encountered along the way, calling them children. Arizona’s first newspaper, the “Weekly Arizonian,” was printed in Tumac. The paper’s press was shipped around Cape Horn to California and then by wagon to the town. (Chronicle of America; American Eras; Encyclope...
