1890
Oct. 10, 1890: Vancouver Columbian begins when local printer Tom Carolan publishes the first issue of the weekly. It is established as a Democratic paper to counter the local Republican paper. (A few years later, it switches to the Republican party.)
1900
Oct. 19, 1908: The Columbian is printed for the first time as a daily paper. As publisher E.E. Beard makes the change from a weekly to Clark County’s first daily, it is renamed The Vancouver Daily Columbian.
1910
Sept. 1, 1918: George Hyland becomes owner and editor of The Columbian, taking over from Elmer E. Beard, who had been publisher for 14 years.
May 1919: W.H. Hornibrook becomes owner and editor.
1920
April 1921: Herbert J. Campbell buys The Columbian. A Republican, Campbell changes the editorial stance to neutral. The was in a renovated post office building at Fourth and Washington but soon outgrows that space, too.
1928: Campbell constructs the first building in Clark County specifically designed to house a newspaper. The site at 10th and Broadway was designed by noted Vancouver architect Day Hilborn. (It’s a mixed-use building that the paper shares with Storm King Ice Cream; today it houses Dirty Hands Brewing.)
1930
April 1937: The Columbian is the first plant in the world, newspaper or otherwise, to install the Model 30 Linotype typesetting machines. They are the largest, latest, finest and incidentally, the most expensive Linotypes ever built at that time. The newspaper also announces that it is inaugurating the use of “Pictures by telegraph”– the Associated Press wire picture service.
Aug. 6, 1938: The Columbian ceases publishing on Saturdays as the Great Depression continues.
Feb. 20, 1939: Publisher Herbert J. Campbell is appointed by Vancouver Mayor A.N. Stanley to succeed John P. Kiggins as chairman of the Fort Vancouver Restoration Committee.
1940
May 29, 1941: Herbert Campbell is stricken with a heart attack and dies. His widow, Anna Boyd Campbell, becomes the newspaper’s president, a title she carries until 1965. Editor Ray Bachman, a 15-year Columbian veteran, is named publisher.
Aug. 30, 1947: The Sun, a competing paper founded in 1906, is sold to the Campbell family and merged into The Daily Columbian. The newspaper’s logo carries the name of both papers for the next 10 years.
1950
Nov. 3, 1954: Anna Boyd Campbell turns over the first spadeful of earth, inaugurating the construction of the new home of the Vancouver Columbian at West Eighth and Grant streets. Cost of the building: $375,000. Like The Columbian’s previous home built in 1928, this facility is designed by Day Hilborn, whose other work in town includes Kiggins Theatre and the Clark County Courthouse.
Aug. 22, 1955: The Vancouver Columbian opens at its new home at West Eighth and Grant streets.
Nov. 2, 1955: The Vancouver Columbian for the first time uses its newly installed “photo facsimile machine,” plugged into 21,000 miles of leased wire, enabling the paper to illustrate the day’s news with pictures taken the same day.
1960
January 1962: Herbert and Anna Boyd Campbells’ sons, Don P. and Jack R. Campbell, become co-publishers. Don handles the business side of the newspaper as general manager and younger brother Jack is editor.
Jan. 15, 1968: The Columbian becomes the first newspaper west of the Mississippi River to use the new Goss Metro offset press, now the workhorse of the newspaper industry. The same press still is used to print The Columbian today.
1970
Aug. 6, 1972: The Columbian publishes its first Sunday edition.
July 15, 1978: Jack R. Campbell dies of a sudden heart attack at age 49. Don Campbell becomes the sole publisher.
1980
May 18, 1980: Columbian photographer Reid Blackburn is killed as Mount St. Helens erupts and rains chaos throughout the Pacific Northwest.
August 1987: Don Campbell retires. His son, Scott Campbell, becomes publisher of The Columbian at age 31.
1990
Oct. 10, 1990: The Columbian marks its 100th anniversary with a special centennial edition (and cake).
November 1994: The Columbian.com website is launched. The site consists of a subscription-request form, a classified-ad form, a list of contacts at the paper and a couple of other items available online.
May 5, 1996: The Columbian’s TV Times has a cover photo that actually was taken in the paper’s pressroom during filming of an episode of the TV series “Nowhere Man,” starring Bruce Greenwood.
September 1997: With the Vancouver-Portland commute disrupted by the partial closure of the Interstate 5 Bridge, The Columbian temporarily offers a morning edition for commuters. For several days, thousands of copies of the tabloid-sized publication are distributed for free at the Amtrak station, Park & Ride lots and the C-Tran bus mall.
July 10, 1999: The Columbian publishes its first Saturday edition in 61 years, becoming a seven-day-a-week newspaper for the first time.
2000
July 2000: The Columbian converts to morning delivery, seven days a week.
December 2002: The Columbian purchases approximately 6 acres near Esther Short Park, laying the groundwork for developing a new site in the downtown core area.
October 2004: The Columbian purchases the weekly Camas-Washougal Post-Record newspaper.
March 2006: The groundbreaking ceremony is held for The Columbian’s new office building.
January 2008: The Columbian’s new office building opens its doors.
December 2008: Due to a severe recession and drop in advertising revenue, The Columbian suffers its worst financial year in decades, eventually filing for bankruptcy protection. The company returns to its former location at 701 W. Eighth St. and the office building becomes Vancouver City Hall.
2010
May 2011: The Columbian launches its first mobile applications for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.
April 2014: The Columbian launches its full-service digital marketing agency, Sprout Digital, which specializes in website design and search engine optimization for area businesses.
