W. K. Harber
1858-1922

Inducted May 20, 1971

W. K. Harber, a British newspaperman who settled in Fort Benton, Mont., in 1883, seldom wrote editorials. But when he did – in the words of a colleague – “they made the round of the state.”

Harber was born in Pentlow, Essex County, England, Nov. 22, 1858, the son of the Rev. and Mrs. Stephen Harber. He attended Catersham College, then served the long apprenticeship required in England to learn the printer’s trade.

He subsequently worked as a printer and writer in London and was the London correspondent for the Deer Lodge (Montana) New Northwest.

Harber had lent money to a brother who immigrated to Fort Benton in 1881 and invested in the River Press, founded Oct. 27, 1880. When the newspaper appeared to be losing in an intense rivalry with the Fort Benton Record, Harber journeyed to Fort Benton to help manage the River Press. Both newspapers at that time published weekly and daily editions, and Fort Benton was known as the smallest American city with two daily publications.

Under Harber’s guidance the River Press won the circulation battle, and the Record suspended publication in 1885. That same year the River Press building was destroyed by fire, although most of the equipment was saved. Only one edition was missed. The daily River Press was published from 1882 to 1920. Harber became editor and manager of the River Press Sept. 19, 1891.

Harber participated vigorously in community affairs. He was a member of the Fort Benton school board for 20 years. Long after his death it was learned that Harber had for years anonymously donated $60 annually for scholarships for outstanding students in Fort Benton.

A fellow editor once said Harber wrote an editorial “only when he thought there was something worth writing about,” such as developments in Fort Benton and north central Montana or the Republican Party, which Harber supported.

Joel R. Overholster, who became editor of the River Press when Harber died, commented that he was “a clear thinker, a user of pure English and fearless in expressing his views.”

Harber died July 19, 1922, at age 64 while vacationing in Seattle. His legacy, the Fort Benton River Press, is the second oldest weekly in Montana.

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