IT’S THE FIFTH OLDEST BUSINESS IN THE KC METRO
With this week’s edition, The Platte County Landmark begins its 161st year of continuous publication.
The Landmark is the oldest newspaper in Platte County, older than the Kansas City Star, one of the oldest in Missouri and one of the longest-running continuously published newspapers west of the Mississippi.
Founded in the closing days of the Civil War and published for the first time in September of 1865, The Landmark has never missed a week of publication.
The Kansas City Business Journal has recognized The Landmark as the fifth oldest local business in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Led by publishers who were unafraid, The Landmark Newspaper’s debut edition hit the streets on Sept. 28, 1865, when the first Landmark was published at Weston with the motto “Remove not the ancient landmarks.” About six years later, The Landmark moved from Weston to Platte City, where it has since been published.
After The Landmark moved to Platte City in 1871, it took up shop in a variety of downtown locations until settling in at what would become its longtime home at 252 Main Street in the year 1899.
In late August of 2023, The Landmark sold its 252 Main Street building and moved to its current modernized and more functional location at 212 Marshall Road, Suite C, in Platte City, in what is the former Platte County Health Department building.
SOME HISTORY
In March of 1899, The Landmark moved into the building at 252 Main Street. Historical records indicate this building had been constructed in 1869 by Dr. G.W. Smith as a drug store and a post office. In later years a grocery store and hardware store occupied the building before the newspaper took over occupancy.
In 1899, The Landmark installed a huge sheet-fed Babcock press that would be used until 1979. A gasoline engine originally furnished the power to run the press until an electric motor was installed in 1928.
In 1916, Max Jones, who had been the shop foreman, began managing the newspaper for the estate of the previous owner. On Jan. 1, 1918, Max Jones purchased The Landmark and became the editor and publisher. Jones had begun serving an apprenticeship in printing at The Landmark at the age of 16 in 1892. Jones served as editor and publisher until his death in 1956.
Until 1923, the type had been set by hand. In May 1923, a Linotype machine was purchased. The Linotype allowed the operator to set more type than could ordinarily be produced by five or six men working by hand.
After Max Jones’ death in 1956, his widow, Lucile L. Jones, took over as editor and publisher, with Roland Giffee handling printing and press room duties. In 1979, Mrs. Jones sold The Landmark to Dwayne Foley, who was the owner of two weekly newspapers and a central printing plant.
In the first edition under his ownership in November of 1979, Dwayne Foley switched The Landmark from the hot lead (known as ‘letterpress’) style of printing to the offset method, the modern thing at the time. Dwayne Foley, 50, died unexpectedly in July of 1980, just months after buying The Landmark. The paper continued to be owned and published by his widow, Ethel Mae Foley, and family.
Veteran newsman Clay McGinnis, with previous experience at the Independence Examiner and other Kansas City area publications, served as news editor of The Landmark from 1980 until 1993.
Ivan Foley, Dwayne Foley’s youngest son, is now in his 43rd year at The Landmark, having started with reporting and managing duties in May of 1982. Foley added the role of editor to his duties after McGinnis died in August of 1993.
Late in 1993, The Landmark took its first step into the computer world, buying its first two desktop publishing computers. The newspaper’s news and editorials began taking a more aggressive approach, with a focus on accountability journalism. Steadily throughout the next 15 years, The Landmark’s circulation grew to become the largest paid readership in the county, and it remains Platte County’s largest paid circulation newspaper today.
Over the last 30 years the newspaper has won many statewide awards in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. In 2016, Ivan Foley was recognized with a national award for courage, tenacity and integrity in rural journalism, winning the Tom and Pat Gish Award presented by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues presented by the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media.
THE LANDMARK BUILDING
In 2002, Ivan Foley and his wife, Linda, purchased the newspaper operation and also The Landmark building at 252 Main Street in Platte City from Ethel Mae Foley.
In 2008, Ivan and Linda renovated the exterior of the historic 1869 Landmark building to return it its original look. Commercial Waterproofing of Parkville was hired to strip away paint that for years had covered the building’s original brick, tuckpointing the brick for a fresh new look and adding water-repellant sealer. Topping off the rehab project were four new large arch-style windows installed on the second story. The aluminum energy efficient windows were installed by Jim Plunkett’s JPI Glass of Platte County.
The rehabilitation work was recognized by the City of Platte City, with Ivan and Linda Foley being presented the first William Paxton Preservation Award for preserving Platte City Main Street’s architectural heritage. The award was presented by Mayor Frank Offutt and the board of aldermen in March of 2009.
On Sept. 1, 2023, Ivan and Linda Foley sold the building at 252 Main Street to Blake Barth and moved the newspaper to its updated and more functional space for today’s world of journalism, in the lower level of the former Platte County Health Department building at 212 Marshall Road. The former health department building is owned by David Barth, father of Blake Barth.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
In recent years, The Landmark has become a multi-media news outlet. The newspaper’s website at plattecountylandmark.com was revamped during the pandemic of 2020, debuting with its new look on May 1 of that year. It is the most popular media website in the county, with as many as 290,000 page impressions monthly.
Platte County Landmark can be found on Facebook, where its page has more than 10,000 followers, and on X, formerly known as Twitter, where it has more than 3,000 followers. Platte County Landmark videos can be found on its YouTube channel.
Included among current Landmark employees are office manager/graphic designer Cindy Rinehart, now in her 33rd year at the newspaper. Debbie Coleman-Topi has been a contributing reporter for nine years. Valerie Verkamp, now in ad sales, has been with the paper since 2011. Bill Hankins, who has been inducted into the Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame, remains a contributor.
Weekly columnists include 14-year veteran Chris Kamler and his The Rambling Moron colum. Kamler is formerly known as the popular and unpredictable @TheFakeNed on Twitter. Guy Speckman, with his amusing Ponder the Thought column, is in his sixth year with The Landmark after previously being owner/publisher of the Savannah Reporter, a weekly newspaper in Savannah, Mo.
Fred Felix of Platte City has assisted with distribution of the newspaper for several years.
