The Benton County Enterprise was founded January 1, 1879 by Thomas Benton White. Mr. White arrived in Benton County in 1878 from Denver, Colorado, where he had worked on the Denver Post. He had $500 in his pocket, a Washington handpress (which is on display in our lobby), and an abundance of faith in Benton County.
T.B. invested a chunk of his money in an ice-bound riverboat that he had hauled up the banks of the Osage and used as the first Enterprise Building that also served as living quarters for the family. In 1973 the original building was razed and the newspaper's current headquarters were constructed on the same site. Visitors can view T.B.'s original composing stone from 1879.
Members of the Thomas Benton White family have published the Enterprise since his death in 1915. They include: Edwin Mahlon White Publisher 1915-1943, Mahlon Neill White Publisher 1943-1962, Mahlon Kelly White Publisher 1962-2004, and the current Publisher James Mahlon White.
Times have changed greatly since T.B. arrived here. Printing equipment is computerized and $500 would probably be laughed at as a down payment on the cheapest machines now used.
But one thing hasn't changed. We still share his abdundance of faith in the Osage Valley.
