Barlow Granger
Barlow Granger was a politician and the founder of the The Des Moines Register. Granger was the mayor of Des Moines from 1855 – 1856, and the mayor of Sevastopol, which was a settlement in Des Moines, twice after.
Early life
Granger was born is Cayuga, New York on May 31, 1816. In 1828, he moved with his family to Rochester and attended public schools until he was 13 when he worked as a printer's apprentice. In 1835, he moved to New York City and experienced the Great Fire of New York. Granger travelled to many cities as a journeyman such as Detroit, New Haven, and Cleveland. In 1838 he moved back to New York and lived in Albany for 10 years. In 1847 he went west to cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Louis to continue working as a journeyman.Work in Iowa
In St. Louis, Granger met up with an old friend from Albany and they both agreed to explore Iowa, which was the newest state at the time. They took a boat from St. Louis to Keokuk, then hired a horse and buggy to Des Moines which they arrived in 1848. Granger founded a plot of land in Des Moines which is now known as Terrace Hill. At first, Granger started buying and selling real estate. Granger later started a newspaper business called the Iowa Star which is now known as The Des Moines Register today. Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junction of the Des Moines and Raccoon River. On July 26, 1849, the first papers came into publication and only a few hundred copies were distributed. The newspaper was known as "a spicy, well-gotten-up paper" mostly democratic leaning, but people from the whig party willingly bought the paper as well. On February 20, 1850, Granger was succeeded by Curtis Bates.Due to his previous experience with law in New York, he was admitted to the bar in 1848, and from 1850 to 1854 he served as colonel on the staff of Governor of Hampstead. In August 1854, he was elected prosecuting attorney of the county and served until July 1855. He served as the Mayor of Des Moines for 1 year and twice as the Mayor of Sevastopol.