Thoughts on Elihu Stout, establisher of the first newspaper in Indiana

In 1804 the first newspaper in Indiana was erected by a man named Elihu Stout. Stout, a New Jersey native, moved to Vincennes in order to aid William Henry Harrison who was in dire need for a printing press so that government documents could be printed.

Stout had a printing press shipped from Kentucky by boat through the river channels. He then purchased an abandoned shop on what is now 1st Street. Stout named his paper the Indiana Gazette and released its first issue on July 4, 1804. The Gazette came out every Thursday and cost $2.50 for a monthly subscription. At this time the paper had around 300 subscribers, and contained a lot of ads because of this.

Getting national news from papers from the east, Stout kept the people of Indiana informed as to what was going on in their country.

In 1806, Stout’s shop burned down and he relocated and renamed the paper in 1817, changing the name to the Western Sun. This newspaper was mainly just a redesign of the Gazette. Yet again in 1819, Stout’s second shop burned down. A determined man,  he continued his pursuit for his passion.

Stout, devoted to his cause, promised the settlers at the time accurate and legitimate news.

Establishing the first newspaper in Indiana, he set the precedent for all journalists hailing from the midwest. Starting from the ground up and working to earn the trust of his viewership, a lot can be learned from this man even if you are not a journalist. Work ethic is something that is universal and applies to all jobs: the harder you work the better the results.

There are pioneers in every aspect of life, trailblazers if you will. Someone always has to be the first one to do something. Elihu was a true journalistic pioneer, and maybe does not receive the recognition that he perhaps should.