The paper was founded on 13 March 1900 by Robert Henry Spedding. He had begun the Manitou Mercury with John Murdoch on 23 January 1885, four months after the beginning of the Village of Manitou itself, but had sold the paper in 1898. When the new owners, Rorke and Brown, dissolved their partnership in 1900, Spedding again became publisher and changed the name to the Western Canadian. It has been designated as an MHS Centennial Business.
In April 2023, the business was merged with the Pilot Mound Sentinal Courier to form The Hometown View.
Period
Publisher
1900-1903
Robert Henry Spedding (1850-1924)
1903-1909
Brown and Campbell
1909-1947
William James “Billy” Rowe (1872-1947)
1947-1965
Grace Rowe (c1899-1965)
1965-?
Charles G. Hawkins
The Story of Manitoba’s Weekly Newspapers by Major A. M. Pratt, The Manitoba Weekly Newspapers Association, 1970.
“News to us, new to us,” The Hometown View, 4 April 2023.
We thank Al Thorleifson for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 24 July 2023
