STANISLAUS COUNTY WEEKLY NEWS, Modesto, California, Sept. 23, 1881  

* Rare Old West publication

An early newspaper from this city in North-central California which when it began in 1868 was the first newspaper in Modesto. In 1881 the population of the town was less than 1000.
Various news events of the day, local, regional and national, with a wealth of advertising.
Page 2 begins with a report headed: "The President Is Dead" which is black-bordered and takes close to half a column. The best begins: "James A. Garfield, 20th President of the Republic...after a lingering illness of 79 days from a wound received at the hands of an assassin, departed this life at Long Branch last Monday..." with much more.
Four pages, large folio size, very nice condition.

Background: The Stanislaus County Weekly News stands as a foundational pillar of California journalism, tracing its lineage back to the very birth of Modesto. Originally founded in February 1868 by John Dillard Spencer as the Tuolumne City News, the publication followed the shift of local commerce and the Central Pacific Railroad to the newly established site of Modesto in 1870, where it was rebranded to reflect its role as the primary voice of the county. In 1881, serving a burgeoning frontier population of fewer than 1,000 residents, the paper functioned as a vital lifeline connecting the rural Central Valley to the rest of the world, balancing local agricultural reports and regional trade news with grave national bulletins like the assassination of President Garfield. Spencer, who would eventually serve as a state senator, operated the paper as a Democratic-leaning organ during a period of fierce "frontier journalism" and political rivalry. Through a series of mergers and sales across the decades—most notably its consolidation into the Modesto News-Herald and its eventual acquisition by the McClatchy family—this 19th-century weekly evolved directly into what is known today as The Modesto Bee, making it one of the oldest continuously operating news lineages in the San Joaquin Valley.