The History of the Edmond Sun

The Edmond Sun has helped provide a sense of place for
Edmondites since it premiered as a small weekly in Oklahoma Territory on a hot
July 18, 1889, day, in what was known then as a train refueling town.

Today, many of Edmond’s sprawling population
of more than 80,000 residents connect with their community by subscribing to
The Edmond Sun.

Oklahoma’s
oldest continuously published newspaper and the hometown voice of Edmond during
its territorial days, wars, dust bowls and the Great Depression. It has served
Edmond through joy and despair, through drought, tornadoes and prosperity.

One-hundred-eighteen years of publication
has witnessed Edmond Public Schools grow from the seeds of the Territorial
School House to one of the best educational systems in the United States.
The Edmond Sun saw the Territorial Normal School evolve into a vibrant
University of Central Oklahoma.

Following the great Land Run of 1889, many early day community leaders in
Edmond’s history took part in the establishment of Edmond’s history through
present day. By telling their stories through the decades, The Edmond
Sun has given the community a sense of place amid the backdrop of a
sprawling metroplex.

On a hot July 18,
1889, The Edmond Sun premiered as a small four-page weekly in what was
then a train refueling town.

Milton
“Kicking Bird” Reynolds’ legacy as founder of The Edmond Sun secured
more than a century of local news. Though Reynolds died in 1890, his community
vision swept across the 20th Century to succeed the new millennium. Countless
generations of residents have placed in scrapbooks cut-out articles about family
life and impacting news events — all because Reynolds brought his manual
printing press, typewriter and determination from Kansas to Edmond in 1889.

“I arrived in Oklahoma and at once began a
diligent search for suitable locations for friends … but Edmond is
unquestionably the center of the garden spot of Oklahoma,” he wrote in one of
his first issues.

“This is the first
issue of The Edmond Sun in the beautiful land,” Reynolds wrote. “It is
here to stay and lay the foundations of a growing city and prosperous trade
center. The country is here. The people are here to lay the foundations and
start right. We commence with schools and churches, temperance and sobriety,
enterprise and thrift. The recognition of these factors and a unity of purpose
on the part of our people cannot fail to build a prosperous city.

God made the country. Man makes the towns.
This city will be what the people will it to be. If there be an intelligent,
liberal, progressive spirit and a untied purpose, we shall build up one of the
great cities in Oklahoma. There is not doubt of this. We have the location and
the surrounding. Edmond is growing and will continue to grow. It is the center
of a splendid agricultural country. Here are fine fields. Fruits of all kinds
will do well here.”

The newspaper’s first
location was in a small wooden-frame building at 109 N. Broadway. It was later
moved to the back of the former Citizens National Bank on the southeast corner
of Broadway and First Street, where it remained until 1948.

From the Article: The History of the Edmond Sun, by James Coburn

To read the full article Click Here.

Milton Kickingbird Reynolds

a True Edmond Pioneer

Milton Reynolds portrays a true image of the frontier journalist. Following work as a news editor/correspondent in Michigan, Nebraska and Kansas, Reynolds participated in the 1889 Land Run and founded the Edmond Evening Sun.  He is commonly known as “Kickingbird Reynolds,” a pen name he chose in honor of his friend Kiowa Chief Kicking Bird.

Milton Reynolds established the Edmond Sun  in a one-room building near Broadway and Second Street. The first issue appeared on July 18, 1889. Reynolds died on year later in 1890. This paper continues to be published  today. Reynolds would be proud of the legacy he began, having lived only one year following the first published issue.