Adapted from material contained in History of Mendocino and Lake Counties by Aurelius Carpenter and Percy Milberry, published 1914.
The Middletown Independent was established in 1886 by P. B. Graham and
J. L. Read. Read bought Graham's interest in 1889 and later in the same year
sold a half interest to W. C. Pentecost. In 1895 Read again acquired full control, placed T. A. Read as editor until 1899, and then Warren E. Read until 1904, when the paper was sold to J.D. Kuykendall. The latter conducted it one year and sold it back to J. L. Read, Warren Read again becoming editor. On October 11, 1906, the paper passed to A. O. Stanley, who published it up to January 1, 1911, when he leased it to his son, "Mort" Stanley, one of the present owners (at 1914).
The Independent was Republican in politics up to 1906, and independent since.
We're not yet certain when The Independent, ceased publishing. It seems The Independent continued into the mid-1920s. The Times-Star was established in 1930.