History

A New York native, Hunter was on the 3rd train to arrive in Guthrie before the Land Run in 1889 and one of the first printers and publishers in the Oklahoma Territory. He set up his office in a tent, the contents of which were scattered throughout the county in June of 1889 during a tornado. He was back in business within six days.

A prominent Republican politician in the Territory (later the state of Oklahoma) and Oklahoma Federal District Court clerk, Hunter also went on to found the Okarche Times and the Eagle at Enid.

In 1892 Hunter sold to Harry B. Gilstrap, who edited and published the paper with his sister, Effie, until 1907. Still a weekly newspaper, the Chandler News boasted they had 1250 readers out of the 1430 population living in Chandler in 1905 and had reduced the weekly rate to $1.00 per year. They added Warren Zimmerman as co-editor and publisher.