Oregon Statesman The
Oregon Statesman was founded by
Samuel Thurston, the first delegate from the
Oregon Territory to the US Congress. His editor and co-founder was
Asahel Bush; the paper was a
Democratic Party response to the
Whig-controlled
Portland-based paper,
The Oregonian. The first issue was dated March 28, 1851, printed on a hand press in
Oregon City, the provincial capital from 1848 to 1851. Thurston died on April 9 of that year while returning from the nation's capital to the Territory, and Bush then assumed ownership of the paper. The territorial capital was relocated to
Salem later that year, so by 1853 the printing operation was transferred to Salem. When the territorial capital was relocated to
Corvallis in 1855, the printing process also moved there, but that decision was quickly reversed and the capital reverted to Salem. The printing operation also relocated to Salem in the late fall of 1855. The paper was used as a mouthpiece of the Democratic Party and of the
Salem Clique that ran the party in Salem. The 'Unionist' was soon dropped from the title, and Clarke sold the paper in 1872. In 1929 the paper was sold to
Charles A. Sprague (two-thirds interest) and Sheldon Sackett (one-third interest). Sprague had previously published newspapers in
Ritzville, Washington and in Corvallis. By the end of the year, Parry sold the
Journal to William H. Byars (who also was elected that year as Salem's City Surveyor), one of many ownership changes in subsequent years. (In 1890, Byars was appointed by Pres.
Benjamin Harrison as U.S. Surveyor General for Oregon.) Around 1918, George Putnam purchased the
Capital Journal and served as editor for 30 years before selling to Bernard Mainwaring in 1953. In the 2006 contest, the paper took first place in its division for overall excellence, best editorial page, and best editorial. ==Details==