Suicide

[W. Gray]

From the front page of the Boston, Mass Globe, December 28, 1872.





At this time in history, Elk Falls was the county seat of Howard County. (Howard City was struggling just to survive, Longton and Boston were doing great, Moline and Grenola had not yet came along.)

As a result of this untimely suicide, the Elk Falls Examiner had to be sold but it took a few months, during which time it was not published.

In the meantime, another newspaper from another town sensed an opportunity and moved into Elk Falls. This newspaper became the Elk Falls Journal.

By fall of 1873, the Elk Falls Examiner had been sold but the new owner moved the newspaper to Winfield in November and changed the name to the Winfield Courier.

The deceased editor of the Elk Falls Examiner always claimed that his newspaper was the first in Howard County, but the Longton newspaper editor always fiercely responded by saying his was the first. Both weeklies started up in February 1871.

All of the Longton newspaper is on microfilm in Topeka, but there are no known issues of the Elk Falls Examiner or the Elk Falls Journal in existence. Another Elk Falls Journal newspaper did come to Elk Falls a quarter century later.