Arkansas Intelligencer

The Arkansas Intelligencer, published in Van Buren (Crawford County), was an important antebellum newspaper in western Arkansas and the first paper west of Little Rock (Pulaski County). The editors promoted the newspaper as the farthest-west paper published at the time.

Francis M. Van Horne and Thomas Sterne founded the paper in 1842, shortly after moving from Little Rock to avoid a scandal. The Pennsylvania natives trained as printers and, as young men, moved to Little Rock, where they worked at various newspapers, including the Arkansas State Gazette and Arkansas Times and Advocate. While in Little Rock, both men became involved in a criminal conspiracy to counterfeit various forms of currency, including notes issued by the Little Rock City Corporation. These notes could be exchanged for money printed by the state. Van Horne and Sterne helped create the fake notes, and Van Horne stole type from the Arkansas Times and Advocate to assist him in his efforts.

The leader of the criminal group was Samuel Trowbridge, who would become mayor of the city in May 1842. Trowbridge’s wife spent large amounts of the counterfeit money, leading to the discovery of the scheme and the conviction of Trowbridge and Van Horne, as well as other members of the gang. Van Horne received a sentence of six and a half years, while Sterne escaped prosecution. Trowbridge received a reduced sentence of five years after turning state’s evidence.

Van Horne’s trial was held in June 1843, about a year and a half after the first edition of the Arkansas Intelligencer appeared on January 22, 1842. Sterne continued to publish the paper after his co-publisher’s conviction and hired John Foster Wheeler to serve as editor. Wheeler, a native of Georgia, printed the first newspaper published in a Native American language when he worked on the Cherokee Phoenix. Moving to the Indian Territory, he published various items in Cherokee, Creek, and Choctaw. After working for the Intelligencer, he returned for a time to the Indian Territory before founding a newspaper in Fort Smith (Sebastian County).

The March 11, 18, and 25, 1843, editions of the newspaper included a notation that the publishers were waiting on a shipment of paper up the Arkansas River to print the next edition. These issues appeared on smaller sheets of paper.

George Washington Clarke joined the newspaper the same year, and Sterne departed from the publication in 1844. Clarke shifted the newspaper from the original neutral political tone to one that supported the Democratic Party. Sterne responded by creating a short-lived Whig newspaper, and his editor, John S. Logan, fought a duel with Clarke over the animosity that built between the two publications. The duel was inconclusive. Clarke left the Intelligencer in 1845, and Sterne closed his new publication the following year. He moved to Texas, where he began a newspaper in Victoria.

Josiah Woodward Washbourne and Cornelius David Pryor served as the publishers of the newspaper from 1845 until 1847, when Clarke returned to retake control of the publication. He remained in charge of the publication until 1853. His home in Van Buren was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Clarke turned the publication of the Arkansas Intelligencer over to his brother, Anslem Clarke, who operated the newspaper until his death in 1859, when it ceased publication. The printing plant was sold to William Henry Mayers, who moved it to Fort Smith and published the Thirty-Fifth Parallel newspaper.

The Arkansas Intelligencer is an important source for historians researching life in western Arkansas and the Indian Territory before the Civil War. Many issues of the newspaper have been digitized by the Arkansas State Archives as part of the Chronicling America project sponsored by the Library of Congress.

For additional information:
“Arkansas Intelligencer.” Chronicling American, Library of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016488/ (accessed November 20, 2025).

“Clarke-Harrell-Burson House.” National Register for Historic Places registration form. On file at Arkansas Historic Preservation Office, Little Rock, Arkansas. Online https://www.arkansasheritage.com/docs/default-source/national-registry/CW0116-pdf (accessed November 20, 2025).

Dougan, Michael B. Community Diaries: Arkansas Newspapering, 1819–2002. Little Rock: August House, 2003.