Latest newspaper on the Arizona Memory Project highlights pre-statehood Mesa

PHOENIX – Between 1892 and 1915, the Mesa Free Press became an important resource for community and mining news during Arizona’s territorial days. The paper also published information on livestock, farming, train timetables and even local feuds. The newspaper took on weekly, daily and evening formats during its 23-year run.

“It was the first newspaper published in Mesa. Latter-day Saint colonists were beginning settlements across Arizona when they arrived in Mesa in 1878. This newspaper provides a look at a frontier religious community in the early stages of civic growth and expansion,” said Sativa Peterson, National Digital Newspaper Program grant project director and news content program manager for the State of Arizona Research Library.

This is just one of the 40 newspaper titles that were digitized and added to the Arizona Memory Project by the Arizona State Library in partnership with the University of Arizona Libraries, thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities and Library of Congress’ National Digital Newspaper Program. The Mesa Free Press will be available indefinitely and can be viewed for free on any digital device at https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/mesafree.

For questions about this or any digital collection, or for cultural institutions interested in sharing collections on the Arizona Memory Project, contact [email protected].

The Arizona Memory Project provides free online access to the wealth of primary sources in Arizona archives, museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions. The Arizona Memory Project is supported by the Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.