Fullerton Tribune: 1905 Headlines

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

The Local History Room of the Fullerton Public Library has microfilm from the Fullerton Tribune newspaper stretching back to 1893. I am in the process of reading over the microfilm, year by year, to get a sense of what was happening in the town over the years. Here are excerpts from some of the articles from 1905.

Click HERE to read highlights from previous years.

The Fullerton “Snooze”

Tribune editor Edgar Johnson spends considerable space ruthlessly attacking a competing newspaper in town, the Fullerton News, which was evidently funded by mayor/orange grower Charles C. Chapman because he didn’t like the coverage he was getting in the Tribune. The Fullerton News, edited by a man named Vivian Tresslar, was often mocked by Johnson. When Chapman sought to end the city’s contract with the Tribune to publish official notices and give the contract to the News, Johnson called him “Czar Chapman,” an epithet he would use numerous times.

Here are some of the numerous clippings related to Johnson’s mini print war against the Fullerton News:

Prohibition

Although a majority of Fullerton residents had voted in favor of allowing saloons in town, the issue continued to divide the community, with the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and Anti-Saloon League still holding regular gatherings.

Death

Tragedy struck the Fullerton community when a four-year-old little girl named Esther Schultz burned to death in a barn fire.

The Pacific Electric

Fullerton leaders and residents wanted the sprawling Pacific Electric passenger rail service to extend to Fullerton.

Carnegie Library

Fullerton would receive funding for a new library courtesy of industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who funded numerous libraries around the United States.

Water

As Southern California agriculture grew, securing water became an increasingly urgent issue–some advocated taking water from faraway regions (like the Owens Valley), while others sought to exploit the large (but not well understood) underground aquifers.

Socialist Meeting

Although the minority, socialists were active in Southern California at the turn of the century. Perhaps the most prominent among them was Fullerton’s own Henry Gaylord Wilshire.

Stay tuned for headlines from 1906!