The Hawk Eye facts for kids
The Tuesday, March 5, 2013, front page of
The Hawk Eye |
|
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Gannett |
| Founded | 1837 (as The Wisconsin Territorial Gazette and Burlington Advertiser) |
| Headquarters | 800 South Main Street Burlington, Iowa 52601 United States |
| Circulation | 16,637 daily |
The Hawk Eye is a newspaper from Burlington, Iowa, United States. It is proud to be known as "Iowa's Oldest Newspaper." This newspaper shares local news and stories with people in Burlington and nearby areas every day.
Contents
A Look Back: The History of The Hawk Eye
How It All Started
The newspaper began on July 10, 1837. It was first called the Wisconsin Territorial Gazette and Burlington Advertiser. Two people, James Clarke and Cyrus Jacobs, started it. They moved to Burlington from Belmont, Wisconsin, because Burlington became the capital of the Wisconsin Territory. They also did printing work for the government.
In 1838, a new area called the Iowa Territory was created, and Burlington became its first capital. The newspaper then changed its name to the Iowa Territorial Gazette.
A Sad Story and a New Leader
Sadly, in 1838, Cyrus Jacobs died in a disagreement with a local lawyer named David Rorer. James Clarke then became the postmaster of Burlington and later its mayor. He even became the third and last governor of the Iowa Territory. A place called Clarke County in southern Iowa is named after him. After being governor, Clarke returned to Burlington to run the Gazette. He died in 1850 when he was only 38 years old.
The Birth of the "Hawkeye" Name
Around the same time, another newspaper called the Iowa Patriot moved to Burlington. It was run by James G. Edwards. With help from David Rorer, Edwards changed his paper's name to the Burlington Hawk-Eye and Iowa Patriot. This was to honor Chief Black Hawk, a Native American leader who was a friend of Edwards.
Rorer also suggested that Iowa should be called the "Hawkeye State." He wrote letters to other newspapers saying, "If a division of the territory is effected, we propose that the Iowans take the cognomen of Hawk-eyes." This idea stuck, and now Iowa is famously known as the Hawkeye State.
New Buildings and Mergers
In the 1920s, both the Gazette and The Hawk Eye built new homes for their offices. During the tough times of the Great Depression, both newspapers faced money problems. A man named Omar N. Custer bought them and combined them into one paper called The Burlington Hawk-eye Gazette.
In 1941, Custer sold The Burlington Hawk-Eye Gazette to Jack and Sidney Harris, who owned many newspapers. The Harris family owned The Hawk Eye for 75 years!
Moving and Facing Floods
In 1959, the newspaper moved to a new building at 800 S. Main Street, where it still is today. When they moved, they also started printing a Sunday edition. The newspaper's building is near the Mississippi River.
During the big flood of 1993, everyone got ready to move the printing to another city, but the water didn't get high enough. Interestingly, during the Flood of 2008, which was even bigger, The Hawk Eye still managed to stay dry!
New Owners Again
On December 1, 2016, The Hawk Eye and other Harris newspapers were sold to a company called GateHouse Media. Later, GateHouse Media became part of a bigger company called Gannett.
What's Inside The Hawk Eye Newspaper?
The Hawk Eye focuses on news from Burlington, West Burlington, Des Moines County, and other parts of southeast Iowa and west-central Illinois.
Each day, the newspaper usually has three main parts:
- News stories
- Sports news
- Classified ads (small advertisements)
On Tuesdays, there's a special section about health called "Living Well." Thursdays feature a guide to weekend fun and entertainment. Fridays include a "Currents" section with interesting features. The Saturday/Sunday "Weekend Edition" newspaper has even more, like sections for Home & Garden, Lifestyles, Business, comics, and TV listings.
In May 2018, The Hawk Eye stopped printing a Monday edition.
Special Facts About The Hawk Eye
- The Hawk Eye is the oldest newspaper in Iowa, tracing its history back to the Territorial Gazette.
- It is famous for helping to give Iowa its nickname, The Hawkeye State.
- One of its writers, Robert Jones Burdette, became very well-known in the late 1800s for his funny stories. He was called the "Burlington Hawk Eye Man." His humorous writings were published in books.
- Another editor, John McCormally, helped another newspaper win a big award called the Pulitzer Prize in 1965. When he was editor of The Hawk Eye, the newspaper was named the best newspaper in Iowa three times!
The newspaper serves many counties in southeast Iowa and west-central Illinois, including Des Moines, Lee, Henry, Louisa, Van Buren, Henderson, and Hancock counties.
Ownership Changes
On December 1, 2016, Gatehouse Media took over The Hawk Eye and other newspapers from the Harris group. By January 2021, the newspaper's owner, now known as Gannett, put its building up for sale. The printing of the newspaper had already moved to Peoria, Illinois, two years before.
