A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign – initiated Aug. 1 by historian, Gus Frederick, and a group referring to themselves as the “Silverton Freethinkers” – has succeeded in raising over $2,500 to fund the digitization of The Torch of Reason, a weekly newspaper published by the Liberal Oregon University from 1896 to 1903.
“It was a prominent voice during the ‘Golden Age of Freethought,’ advocating for secularism, science, and reason in a time when religious conservatism dominated American society,” Frederick wrote in a press release celebrating the campaign’s success.
Currently available on microfilm in the University of Oregon’s library, the money raised by private donors with the help of the Oregon Historical Society – who provided a free family membership to those donating more than $100 – will provide online access to an archive of 2,978 pages via the website, Historic Oregon Newspapers (www.oregonnews.uoregon.edu) in six to nine months.
“The Freethought movement of the late nineteenth century was a significant cultural force in American history, and The Torch of Reason was one of its most prominent publications,” Frederick wrote. “By digitizing and making this newspaper available online, researchers will be able to easily access and study primary source materials that were previously difficult to find.”
– Melissa Wagoner
