The first attempt at journalism in Page county was the founding of the Page County Herald, the first issue of which bore date of May 24, 1859. … The Herald was a six column folio, all home print, for that was before patent ready print or “plates” were even dreamed of. … When first established it enjoyed but four columns of advertisements and as the whole population was less than four thousand, the subscription list was very small and profitless to the publishers.
— History of Page County, Iowa (1909)
The 1909 Page County history book carried a list of defunct newspapers, “and upon their tombs we lay a flower as a tribute to their memory.” In the span of 18 months in the 21st century, three more were added to the list.
The Clarinda Journal was established in 1893, according to that history book. The Herald and Journal merged in 1930, and I’ve used its archives for multiple features including East River Township School and the untold story of IA 999. Shenandoah’s first newspaper came about in 1882. The Essex Independent was established in 1894, and its final edition was printed on July 29, 2021.
Now the Herald-Journal and Shenandoah Valley News have been combined into the Southwest Iowa Herald, effective Jan. 25. The title does call back to Page County’s oldest paper, so it might be considered a linear descendant of the H-J, although the name and the coverage area are the only things in common. The rebranded/merged Herald is the only paper in Page County.
Next door, Fremont County still has one newspaper within its borders, the Hamburg Reporter. The Sidney Argus Herald ceased publication in February 2021.