History

With an annual subscription cost of $1.00, Volume 1, Number 1, of the Courier consisted of four, five-column pages, measuring 13 inches by 20 inches. The newspaper endeavored to “induce immigration” to Crescent City and the surrounding areas and to aid the local economy by attracting business and industry. To assist in his reporting Widner sought a correspondent for his paper in every school district in Logan County.

The May 11, 1894, edition of the Courier included a six and one-half-inch by ten-inch supplement. The insert contained an article concerning the Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory, publication Home, Field and Forum. A free one-year subscription to Home, Field and Forum was offered to the first 50 individuals who subscribed to the Courier, or renewed their Courier subscription.

Rufus L. Stewart became Widner’s associate, and the October 19, 1894, issue of the Courier identified Stewart as editor and proprietor. Widner was again listed as Courier owner and editor in May 1895. The latest issue of the Crescent City Courier in the Oklahoma Historical Society collection is Volume 2, Number 26, from July 5, 1895.

The Courier was perhaps succeeded by Stewart’s Crescent City Times, a weekly Democratic newspaper that began publication on August 22, 1895.