Los Angeles Star facts for kids

The Los Angeles Star (also known as La Estrella de Los Angeles) was the very first newspaper in Los Angeles, California, USA. It was printed from 1851 until 1879. This newspaper played a big part in sharing news and information during the early days of Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Star Newspaper

Starting the First Newspaper

The idea to start a newspaper in Los Angeles first came up on October 16, 1850. A man named Theodore Foster asked the city council for a piece of land. He wanted to build a printing house there.

The city council thought a printing house would help people learn more. They decided to give Foster the land. This was because he was the first to offer such a helpful public service.

The printing house was built on what is now Los Angeles Street. It was a small, two-story wooden building. The printing machines were on the first floor. The printers lived on the second floor. A sign above the door said "Imprenta," which means "printing office" in Spanish.

The first issue of the Los Angeles Star came out on May 17, 1851. It was called La Estrella de Los Angeles (The Star of Los Angeles). The newspaper had four pages and five columns. Two pages were in English, and two were in Spanish.

It cost $10 a year to subscribe. This was paid in advance. The first publishers were John A. Lewis and John McElroy. Theodore Foster had left the project before the first paper was printed.

Early Years and Challenges

In July 1851, William H. Rand joined the newspaper. The company became Lewis, McElroy & Rand. Later, McElroy sold his share. John A. Lewis edited the English pages. Manuel Clemente Rojo edited the Spanish pages for some time.

The newspaper used an old "Washington Hoe" printing press. This press traveled a long way around the Horn of Africa. It took six or seven months to arrive. The newspaper only printed about 250 copies for each issue.

One of the first jobs for La Estrella was printing badges for the city police. These badges said "City Police" in both English and Spanish. The newspaper charged $25 for this job.

Changes in Ownership (1853–1855)

In July 1853, William Rand sold his part of the Star to John A. Lewis. Then, on August 1, 1853, Lewis sold the newspaper to James M. McMeans.

John A. Lewis wrote about the challenges of running a newspaper in Los Angeles. He said the city was very isolated. News from other places could take weeks to arrive. He had to rely mostly on local news. Printing half the paper in Spanish was also new.

Lewis said the Star was not tied to any political party. He wanted to print an independent newspaper. He believed in reporting the news fairly.

After McMeans bought the paper, he left for a short time. William A. Wallace managed it then. In early 1854, M. D. Brundige bought the paper. Wallace continued as editor.

Later in 1854, J. S. Waite & Co. bought the Star. The printing office moved to Main Street. Waite lowered the subscription price to $6 a year. If you paid later, it cost $9. Money was very expensive back then.

In July 1855, the price dropped to $5 a year. The publisher even accepted farm products like corn, wheat, or butter as payment. In November 1855, Waite became the postmaster of Los Angeles. It was hard for him to run the newspaper, manage the mail, and handle payments in produce.

New Owners and Difficult Times (1856–1864)

In February 1856, Waite offered to sell the Star for $1,000 less than it cost him. He said it was a great chance for a young, energetic person. Two months later, William A. Wallace bought the paper. Wallace had been an editor for the Star before. He said the Star was an old favorite of his.

Two months after buying it, Wallace became ill. Henry Hamilton then bought the Star. Hamilton was an experienced newspaper man. He was known for writing strong political articles.

During the American Civil War, Hamilton supported the Southern states. He wrote strong opinions about Abraham Lincoln and the government. Because of his views, he was arrested. He promised to support the government and was released. However, the Star stopped printing. The last issue, a single page, came out on October 1, 1864. The printing press was sold and used for another newspaper.

The Final Years (1868–1879)

On May 16, 1868, the Star started printing again. Hamilton wrote that the "unpleasantness" (the Civil War) had calmed down. The newspaper was no longer as politically harsh as before. It focused on helping the county grow. It was a good newspaper for a town of 5,000 people.

On June 1, 1870, the Daily Star began. Hamilton & Barter published it. Barter later left to start the Anaheim Gazette. He bought the old Star printing press. This press became a pioneer again in Orange County. When the Anaheim Gazette office burned down in 1877, the old press was destroyed.

After G. W. Barter left the Anaheim Gazette in 1872, he leased the Daily Star from Hamilton. He ran it for less than a year. Hamilton then took back the newspaper. In July 1873, he sold it to Ben C. Truman. Truman made the paper exciting and interesting.

Truman continued publishing until July 1877. Then, Paynter & Company bought it. After that, Brown & Company took over. A minister named Rev. Campbell also ran it for a while. In its last year, the Star had several different owners and editors.

Its quality slowly went down. In early 1879, the sheriff took control of the newspaper because of debts. Printing stopped. The equipment and old newspapers were stored in a building. Later, this building caught fire and everything that remained of the Star was destroyed.