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The Healdsburg Enterprise was a newspaper that covered the community of Healdsburg, California from 1876 to 1929.
History
The Healdsburg Enterprise was established in May 1876 by brothers John E and Felix Mulgrew, along with Samuel Englehart. Both John and Felix had served printer's apprenticeships under big republican John Howell at the Russian River Flag, but they were not swayed from their democratic party ideals. Their established Enterprise was politically democratic.
Financial partner Sam Englehart was a republican, and soon sold his interest to the Mulgrews. Felix Mulgrew took charge of the editorial management, while John handled the business and mechanical department.
Felix remained editor of the Enterprise on and off during the next few years. He first left to become deputy to Santa Rosa democrat T.L. Thompson, who was elected as secretary of state. Three years later he returned as editor of the Enterprise, only to leave when chosen as assemblyman. In 1881 John becam the county clerk, and sold his interest in the paper to Felix. In 1883 Felix was appointed wharfinger in San Francisco, and sold the paper to dry goods merchant William Ruffner. Ruffner sold a year later in 1884 to Robert Lee. Lee in turn sold a year later to W.D. Crow. A year after that, in 1886, Felix Mulgrew returned and bought back the Enterprise with Frank Merrin. Mulgrew resumed the editorial duties, while Merritt ran the mechanical department. In 1887 Mulgrew bought out his political rival—the Russian River Flag—and for a short time (one year), the Healdsburg Enterprise was the only paper in town.
In 1888 Felix Mulgrew, wanting to return to politics, sold the Enterprise to Julius Myron Alexander and C.H. Pond. Alexander and Pond made the Enterprise an "independent in politics" paper, and paid much attention to civic and educational matters. They sponsored a clean-up and ornamental planting of the downtown plaza, and helped in the formation of the first high school district. In 1890 they sold the Enterprise to Edward J. Livernash and his brother John, who returned the paper to democratic ideology.
Edward soon left for San Francisco to join the San Francisco Examiner staff. John took over the paper, and was aided by his sister Lizzie. John too left for San Francisco to work on the Call, and Lizzie, aided by her sister Mary, was left to run the paper. Lizzie Livernash ran the paper with great success. She was a compositor and business manager, as well as a writer (she wrote under the pen name "Mignonette"). In 1898, upon the sale of the Healdsburg Enterprise, the Healdsburg Tribune wrote of Lizzie, "it is not too much to say that "Mignoneue has perfonned a task in the last few years that not many men could have carried out. (HT l/'2011898)
In 1898 Winston Harper bought the Enterprise, but sold it the same year when he formed a company of volunteers for the Spanish American War, and then became a captain in the army. The new owner, J.P. McDonnell was a Sebastopol newspapennan, and made E.S. Fyfe editor. In 1901 Fyfe became the owner of the Enterprise, but Gaice Bros. became the financial backers of the paper, and when Fyfe decided to leave, it was Grace Bros. that put the Enterprise on the market. They sought out R.E. Baer, owner and publisher of the Cloverdale Reveille and in 1901 Baer bought the Enterprise. He ran the Enterprise until 1929 (one of the longest stinL5 of ownership of any paper to date).