Territorial Enterprise facts for kids

The Territorial Enterprise was an important newspaper in Nevada. It was started by William Jernegan and Alfred James on December 18, 1858. At first, it was published in Genoa, which was then part of Utah Territory.

In 1859, new owners moved the paper to Carson City. Then, in 1860, Joseph T. Goodman and Dennis E. McCarthy moved it again. This time, it found its home in Virginia City.

Antique printing press at the Mark Twain Museum in Virginia City, Nevada

A very famous writer, Mark Twain, worked for the paper in the 1860s. He worked alongside another writer named Dan DeQuille. When Dan DeQuille took time off, a young man named Sam Clemens was hired. Sam Clemens later became known as Mark Twain! Mark Twain and Dan DeQuille were lifelong friends. They even shared a room near the newspaper office in Virginia City.

The Blake family owned and ran the newspaper from the 1890s through the 1920s. The paper stopped publishing for a while. But it was brought back by Helen Crawford Dorst in 1946. Later, in 1952, author and journalist Lucius Beebe and his friend Charles Clegg bought and revived it again. Clegg and Beebe sold the Territorial Enterprise in 1961.

The Territorial Enterprise building in Virginia City, Nevada

History of the Newspaper

Joseph T. Goodman was the owner and editor of the Territorial Enterprise in the 1860s. After him, William Sharon took over. In 1874, William Sharon hired Rollin Daggett as the managing editor. Charles Carroll Goodwin joined the team in 1873. He was the chief editor from 1875 to 1880. Later, he moved on to work for The Salt Lake Tribune.

A composing table at the Mark Twain Museum at the Territorial Enterprise

The Newspaper in TV Shows

The Territorial Enterprise has even appeared in television shows! In 1959, the NBC western TV series Bonanza had an episode called "Enter Mark Twain." This show was set in Nevada. In the episode, Howard Duff played the young Mark Twain who came to work at the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise.

The newspaper was also mentioned in a 1959 episode of the series State Trooper. That episode was called "Silver Spiral."

The Territorial Enterprise Today

Today, Thomas Muzzio is the president of the Territorial Enterprise Historical and Educational Foundation. This group works to keep the history of the newspaper alive. They also preserve the history of journalism in the American West.

Mark Twain Museum at the Territorial Enterprise

Mark Twain's desk when he worked at the Territorial Enterprise

The Mark Twain Museum at the Territorial Enterprise is a special place. It is located in the original Territorial Enterprise building in Virginia City, Nevada. The museum has many interesting things to see. You can see the actual desk that Mark Twain used when he worked there!

Other exhibits include old printing presses and an early Linotype machine. There are also stone tables where workers, including Mark Twain, sometimes slept. The museum has many other old items from the newspaper's past.

In 2019, a copy of the Territorial Enterprise from 1872 was found. It was inside a time capsule in Reno, Nevada. The time capsule was in the cornerstone of an old building that was being torn down.

See also

In Spanish: Territorial Enterprise para niños