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William J. Hill
Hill c. 1915
Member of the California Senate
from the 6th district
In office
January 5, 1880 – January 8, 1883
Preceded byThomas Flint
Succeeded byBenjamin Knight
Mayor of Salinas
In office
1898
In office
1886–1892
Personal details
Born(1840-03-03)March 3, 1840
Prescott, Upper Canada
DiedFebruary 14, 1918(1918-02-14) (aged 77)
Salinas, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Other political
affiliations		New Constitution (1879)
Workingmen's (1879)
SpouseIsabella Amelia Peck
ChildrenWilliam
OccupationProspector, ferryman, newspaper publisher, politician
Signature

William J. Hill (March 3, 1840 – February 14, 1918) was a Canadian American prospector, ferryman, newspaper publisher, and politician. He published the first daily newspaper in Idaho, the Idaho Daily Avalanche, in 1876. He was also the publisher of the California Salinas Index. Hill was a California state senator from 1880 to 1883 and mayor of Salinas, California from 1886 to 1892 and again in 1898.

Early life

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Hill was born in Prescott, Upper Canada (now Ontario) in 1840 to John Hill and Elizabeth Smades, the eldest of thirteen children.

John Hill, born in Lochmaben, Dumfries-shire, Scotland, and Elizabeth Smades, born in Prescott, Upper Canada (now Ontario), were married about 1835. John Hill died at the age of 80 by drowning.[1] When Elizabeth Samdes died, she was described in her obituary as an "old pioneer of Augusta" New York.[2]

At 22, Hill travelled to British Columbia, then a British colony, via the Panama Canal, to prospect for gold. This prospecting took him to Alaska and Idaho, where he founded Hill's Ferry on the Owyhee River "at the junction of the Chico road from California, and the Humboldt road from Nevada," which operated from 1865 to 1867.[3]

Massacre of Indigenous peoples

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In the 1860s, relations between the Indigenous people of the Owyhee and the settlers was frayed. The U.S. government reneged on its promises regarding Indigenous people of the region and their land, the Paitue people, in their joint treaties. White settlers began invading the area as well as prospectors against the terms of the treaties.[4][5][6][7][8] This resulted in conflict between the two groups, with several atrocities being committed on both sides.[9]

In 1866, US troops fought with Paiute warriors in what is called the Battle of Owyhee River, with one casualty and one wounded among the US troops. It was reported the 30 Paiute warriors were killed.[10]

Around this time, it was reported, Hill and a group of 150 white settlers massacred 100 Indigenous people, with one death among the settlers. Hill was claimed to have been "shot through the left thigh."[11] For this, Hill gained the sobriquet "Old Hill."[3]

Political career

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Engraving of Hill c. 1889

Hill began his political career in Silver City, Idaho Territory in the 1870s, where he was elected "County Clerk, Sheriff, and Tax Collector."[3]

Hill was elected to the California State Senate in 1879 on a Republican-New Constitution Fusion ticket[12][13] (in addition to support from the Workingmen's Party of California),[14][15] representing Monterrey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties in the 23rd (1880) and 24th (1881) sessions.[16] Although the State Senate's official record lists him as a member of the Workingmen's Party,[17] newspaper accounts indicate he remained in the Republican Party during this time.[18]

Hill served three terms as mayor of Salinas, California, USA, in 1886-92 and 1898. He was postmaster at Salinas from 1902 to 1915.

Newspaper publisher

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Front page of the Salinas Daily Index for Sunday, August 25, 1901

In 1875, in Silver CIty, Idaho Territory, USA, Hill purchased the Owyhee Avalanche, remaking it the Idaho Daily Avalanche, in 1876, as the first daily newspaper in Idaho.[19] He later turned the paper into a weekly, renamed the Idaho Weekly Avalanche.[20] He sold the paper in 1876, which continued to be published until 1897 as The Idaho Avalanche.[21] The paper continues, published as The Owyhee Avalanche.[22]

In 1876, Hill took over the publication of The Salinas Daily Index.[23] In a retrospective of his work, he is quoted writing at the time,

It having already been announced in these columns that I had purchased [in 1876] the INDEX establishment with the view of making Salinas City my permanent home… I have selected Salinas City as the place to pitch my tent, and have come to stay…I hope to be able to aid materially in developing, building up and promoting the best interests of this city and valley, as well as the county at large.

...

I have now on the way hither, and it will arrive inside of two weeks, about 12,000 pounds of printing material and machinery among which are a handsome little steam engine and a cylinder press. When I get my office fitted up to suit me, which will be in the course of three or four weeks, Salinas City will be able to boast of the best, the most extensive, and complete newspaper, book and job printing establishment in the State south of San Francisco.[24]

The office for the paper was "conveniently located...on the first floor of Ball & Frank's fine brick building, a few steps north of the Abbott House."[24] The paper continues to be published as The Salinas Californian.[25]

In 1885, Hill purchased a weekly publication, The Salinas City Index, at Salinas City, Monterrey County, California, USA,[26] which he continued to publish as The Salinas Weekly Index until 1895.[27]

Family and death

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In 1873, he and Arabella Amelia (Belle) Peck married in Silver City, Idaho, USA. They had one child, William Charles Hill, born in 1874.[28]

Hill died of uremia on February 14, 1918, in Salinas.[11][29]

References

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  1. ^ "Drowned at Prescott". Manitoba Weekly Free Press. p. 1.
  2. ^ "Obituary, ELIZA HILL Hill". The Californian. Salinas, California, USA. August 19, 1905. p. 3.
  3. ^ a b c Sanford Harrison, Edward; T. Stockdale, James (1890). Monterey County Illustrated: Resources, History, Biography. Pacific Press Pub. Co. pp. 66–68.
  4. ^ Kappler, C. (1904). Indian Affairs: Law & Treaties. vol. 2. Washington D.C., 876-878.
  5. ^ Fowler, Catherine S.; Lilijeblad, Sven (1986). "Northern Paiute". In Warren, L. D’Azevedo (ed.). Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 11. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian. pp. 435–465. ISBN 9780874741919.
  6. ^ "Treaty with the Southern Paiute, 1865". treaties.okstate.edu. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  7. ^ "Shoshoni and Northern Paiute Indians in Idaho" (PDF). Idaho State Historical Society (484). November 1970.
  8. ^ "About The Tribe – Burns Paiute Tribe". Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  9. ^ Rusco, Elmer (2002). "The Chinese Massacres of 1866" (PDF). Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. 45 (1): 3–30.
  10. ^ Liljeblad, Sven. "The Indians of Idaho" (PDF). Idaho State Historical Society.
  11. ^ a b "The passing of a prominent pioneer of Salinas". Salinas Daily Index. February 14, 1918. pp. 1, 8.
  12. ^ "W. J. Hill". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Santa Cruz. August 2, 1879. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  13. ^ "POLITICAL". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Santa Cruz. August 16, 1879. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  14. ^ "THE NEW REGIME". The Daily Examiner. San Francisco. December 24, 1879. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  15. ^ "Personal Notes". The Weekly Bee. Sacramento. January 10, 1880. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  16. ^ Record of State Senators 1849–2024. (2024). Office of the Secretary of the Senate of California. https://secretary.senate.ca.gov/system/files/2024-09/senators-and-officers-1849_2024.pdf
  17. ^ Contreras, Erika. "Record of State Senators 1849–2020" (PDF). secretary.senate.ca.gov. Secretary of the California State Senate. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  18. ^ "Political Notes". The Weekly Bee. Sacramento. August 7, 1880. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  19. ^ "The Idaho Daily Avalanche (Silver City, Idaho) 1875-1876". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  20. ^ "Idaho Weekly Avalanche (Silver City, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1875-1876". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  21. ^ "The Idaho Avalanche (Silver City, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1876-1897". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  22. ^ "The Owyhee Avalanche (Homedale, Idaho) 1985-Current". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  23. ^ "Salinas Daily Index (Salinas City, Monterey County, Cal.) 1896-1928". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  24. ^ a b "W. J. Hill Came to the Index in 1876, Guided it for 33 Years". The Californian. November 28, 1946. p. 23.
  25. ^ "The Californian (Salinas, Calif.) 1990-2004". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  26. ^ "The Salinas City Index (Salinas City [Calif.]) 1872-1883". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  27. ^ "The Salinas Weekly Index (Salinas City, Monterey County, Calif.) 1883-1895". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  28. ^ "Mrs. W. J. Hill, pioneer, passes". The Californian. Salinas, California. December 10, 1928. p. 4.
  29. ^ Underwood, J. E. (February 24, 1918). "William Hill, Monterey Co. Pioneer. Had Notable Career". San Jose Mercury Herald. p. 13.
[edit]
  • Media related to William J. Hill at Wikimedia Commons
  • William John “W. J.” Hill at Find a Grave
  • JoinCalifornia - William J. Hill
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