David L. Kost published the first issue of the Gallatin North Missourian in September, 1864, assisted at that time by B.J. Waters. Mr. Waters remained with the paper only six months, selling his interest to Mr. Kost who edited the paper alone until 1868 when Jehiel T. Day formed a partnership agreement with him. Kost later died at his home in Gentry, Arkansas, at the age of 90.
Founding publisher David Kost was born at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, on Feb. 18, 1835. He taught school when he was 17 years old, graduated from law school at Oberlin, Ohio, at age 21, and served in the Civil War as secretary to the general of the 65th Ohio, Company H. He was involved in several battles and contracted an abcess caused by extreme exposure and was discharged after 11 months of service.
Kost was state representative once and a state senator twice while living in Daviess County, MO. He spent the last 12 years of his life at Gentry, Ark., where he was the editor of Gentry’s second newspaper while also farming. Kost was the father of four: Paul and Victor of Chicago; Byrdie of Cleveland; and Nona May of Gentry.
In an article commemorating the newspaper’s 65th anniversary, the following was published: “The Missourian is one of the oldest business institutions in Daviess County and is proud of its record. It is also a service institution, and thru all the years has endeavored to merit approval by striving to serve in the way a newspaper should. Canvassing the very earliest files of the paper back in the 1860s, we find the editor taking a decided stand for the building of railroads in the county and urging the people of the county to assume the responsibility of seeing that the railroads were built as the welfare and progress of its citizens depended upon improved transportation facilities. And such has been the course of the Missourian, at all times sponsoring and encouraging what was considered would be of benefit to the people, and serving as a newspaper duty.
“The Missourian has had a long and honorable career, and many of the paper’s editors were men of strong character and outstanding ability. Ed W. Howe, the famous Kansas philosopher, worked on the Missourian when a young man, and in a recent article “Plain People” now running in the Saturday Evening Post, Mr. Howe tells of his printing office experiences on the Missourian, and pays compliment to both Mr. and Mrs. Kost in whose home he lived while working on the paper.”
Those succeeding Kost as publisher of the Gallatin North Missourian include Judge Jehiel T. Day, Col. W.T. Sullivan, Robert Harrah, Robert Selby, D.H. Gilchrist and, in 1899, C.M. Harrison whose son, Scout, followed. The newspaper was in the Harrison family for decades, save a period of about four years when it was published by S.G. McDowell and sons. Scout Harrison operated the newspaper for nearly 20 years before Joseph and Katherine Snyder purchased the newspaper in the 1950s. Then Darryl and Elizabeth Wilkinson joined the Snyders in 1978, taking minority interest and eventually full ownership in the 1980s.
Taken from a death notice Aug. 18, 1925; and from an anniversary article published in the Gallatin North Missourian on Sept. 13, 1925.