Arizona Miner
former newspaper published in Prescott, Arizona
Arizona Miner (alternatively the Arizona Weekly Miner, Miner, or Weekly Miner) was a newspaper published in Prescott, Arizona Territory, from 1868 to 1885 and circulated throughout Yavapai County. The paper merged with the Arizona Weekly Journal in 1885 to create the Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner, which was published until 1934. It underwent a succession of owners and changes in its publishing frequency and political leanings.
History
The predecessor paper, the Republican Fort Whipple Arizona Miner, was established in 1864 at Fort Whipple as a monthly. It was owned by then Territorial Secretary Richard C. McCormick, who purchased a press in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on his initial journey to the territory and transported it in government wagons and other personal belongings. The first publisher was Tisdale A. Hand. The first issue was published on March 9, 1864, making it the oldest newspaper in Arizona. The paper was published under military protection by staff who had "rifles strapped to their backs." Later that year, after the first six issues, McCormick moved the publication to Prescott, the new capital of the Territory. Emmet A. Bentley, editor from July 1866, was shot by Apache Indians on Weaver Mountain in February 1867 and died a few days later in the paper's office at age 27. Bentley was born in Burlington, Iowa and came to Arizona in 1863.
“Arizona Miner” enters the record as former newspaper published in Prescott, Arizona. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Arizona, Miner and former can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Arizona Miner” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Arizona, Miner and former provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q65049116. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1868, 1885, 1934 and 1864.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Arizona Miner”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Arizona Miner primary sources, Arizona Miner archive and Arizona research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Arizona Miner”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Arizona Miner” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.