The Dick Smith Library was awarded a Texas Cultures Online
grant through The Portal to Texas History to digitize the Texas Miner newspaper. The project has been completed and the
newspaper is now available online. The Portal to Texas History is a project of
the University of North Texas Libraries to provide a gateway to Texas history
materials. The Portal features unique collections from Texas libraries,
museums, archives, historical societies, genealogical societies, and private
family collections.
The Texas Miner
was the company newspaper of the Texas & Pacific Coal Company located in
Thurber, Texas. The newspaper began publication in 1894 as The Texas Miner in 1897 the title changed to The Texas Mining and Trade Journal. The Dick Smith Library’s
collection of the newspaper consists of 99 issues that run from 1894 to 1900.
This is the only online collection of the newspaper and is also one of the
largest and most complete collections of the paper. The Texas Newspaper
Collection at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at UT-Austin does
have a collection of its successor the Thurber
Journal.
Thurber was
a community of 10,000 residents at its peak and was the site of a coalmine and
a brick plant. The majority of the miners were from Europe. Ethnic groups
represented in Thurber were Italians, Poles, Hispanics, African Americans, and
Anglos. These newspapers recount life in the company town of Thurber. The
papers featured a section in Italian and occasionally public notices published
in Spanish, Italian, and Polish. While the majority of the newspaper is in
English, they clearly illustrate how life was in a town as diverse as Thurber. Published
weekly the papers detail events such as meetings of fraternal organizations,
donations to African American schools, and company promotions.
Order was
maintained in the town at times by keeping the different groups apart at
celebrations. This is illustrated by on article in the July 7, 1894 issue recounting
a Fourth of July celebration. The article states that a good time was had by
all with minimal conflicts. The article makes it clear that each ethnic group
held its own celebration, instead of a community wide celebration. The
September 1, 1894 issue has an account of a shooting that took place in Thurber
and an account of the capture of the assailant. While reading the newspapers it
should be remembered that this was the company paper of the coal company and
the paper often reflected political views of the company. The paper did report
on international and national news as well as the events in Thurber and Erath
County. These newspapers provide a wealth of information about what was
happening in this area. The newspaper also featured several pages of ads for
goods that could be purchased at the company store.
The Texas Miner can be found on the Portal
to Texas History at: http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/partners/TSU/browse/?fq=str_title_serial%3AThe+Texas+Miner
The Texas Mining and Trade Journal can be
found at: http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/partners/TSU/browse/?fq=str_title_serial%3ATexas+Mining+and+Trade+Journal
Both newspapers are full
text searchable to aid researchers. If you would like to know more about Thurber,
The Texas & Pacific Coal Company, and the brick plant visit the W. K.Gordon Center for Industrial History of Texas located in Thurber, Texas.
1 comment:
Great information. Great job Gary!
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