Menard Index

City: Petersburg

County: Menard

State: Illinois

The Menard Index was a newspaper published in Petersburg, Illinois. The paper originated as the Petersburg Express in 1854. In 1855, the publisher changed the name to Menard Index, with Henry L. Clay as editor. Under Clay’s stewardship, the paper adopted a neutral course in politics before becoming sympathetic to Stephen A. Douglas. In 1858, Clay sold the paper to Hobart Hamilton, who changed it to a Republican paper and continued to publish it until 1863, when it was sold and removed from Menard County.

The History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois (Chicago: O.L. Baskin, 1879), 308; Franklin William Scott, Newspapers and Periodicals of Illinois, 1814-1879, vol. 6 of Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1910), 283.