"The Collinsville News" was first published May 11, 1899, at the original Collinsvile townsite and was published weekly for the next 115 years. A few months later the newspaper (and the town) moved about a mile west to meet up with the new railroad location in the fall of 1899. That second building was just east of the current day Silver Dollar Cafe. The newspaper was printed in that location from late 1899 to early 1912. "The Collinsville News" then moved to the building now occupied by the "Newspaper Museum In Colllinsville" in early 1912.

The 1912 brick building (built by Frank Fenley) originally had a wooden and glass front facade but was upgraded in 1925 to a brick facade with colored glass over the front windows (designed by Harry Hamilton). The building size was doubled with an addtion in the back in the mid-1950s. During some years there were multiple newspapers in Collinsville (especially during the smelter years approximately 1911-1920) and some even published daily during parts of that period when Collinsville's population boomed. After the smelters played out "The Collinsville News" was the only newspaper left in Collinsville and also carried correspondent news items for Owasso, Vera, Oologah, Avant, Ramona, Talala, ... into the 1970s. By the mid 1970's the News had expanded into the next door east building and converted from letterpress to offset printing.

There were a few competitor newspapers in the 1980s and John Wright eventually sold out to Bill Retherford in 1987 ended 88 years of continuous ownership and publishing of "The Collinsvile News" by the Wright family (a record at the time for Oklahoma).

William Lincoln (W.L.) Wright was the first publisher having moved here in 1899 from Kansas (where he had published "The Lebanon Journal" and later "The Ellsworth Populist") before being recruited to the new Collinsville, Indian Territory, community.

W.L.'s son Francis Albert (F.A.) Wright briefly held the reins to "The Collinsville News" before becoming city clerk. W.L. and another son, Claude Henderson (C.H.) Wright, then took over the News. W.L. died in 1923 with C.H. running the New until third generation John Wright joined in (and partnered here with his brother Bill briefly, before Bill took over the Skiatook newspaper.)

The fourth generation of Wrights followed other career paths but Ted Wright (John's son) returned to Collinsville in 1999 and opened the "Newspaper Museum in Collinsville" on the 100th anniversay of the News in May of 1999 in the same building. The museum is open by appointment only - (email wrightted@aol.com) at 1110 W. Main.

-- Ted Wright -- January 23, 2024