While the city of Signal Hill has experienced endless transformations and donned many monikers, so too have the newspapers documenting it all.
Unfortunately we could not track down a newspaper article about when oil was struck and spouted 114 feet into the air at the Discovery Well (in 1917), or when Signal Hill decided to establish itself as a city separate from Long Beach to avoid high oil taxes (in 1924).
The earliest archived Signal Hill newspapers begin just a year after Signal Hill became its own city, showing the ever-present need and importance of a small town newspaper.
A Signal Hill Beacon entry from a resident from 1925 shows that porch pirates have been slighting communities for 100 years. (From Signal Hill newspaper archives) 
A 1925 Signal Hill Beacon newspaper covers random tidbits going on in the city. (From Signal Hill newspaper archives) 
Signal Hill City employees look at an artist’s rendering of a Long Beach oil field in 1950. (From Signal Hill newspaper archives) 
The Signal Hill Beacon would often announce the arrival of new tiny community members, from 1925. (From Signal Hill newspaper archives) 
A Signal Hill Leader newspaper article from 1926 documents employees from a local oil company going on vacation. (From Signal Hill newspaper archives)
We found stories that give us an intimate peek into the peculiarities of the people who lived here long before us, from vacations recapped and engagements announced to watermelons stolen and highways approved.
With help from the Signal Hill Public Library and the Signal Hill Historical Society, we’ve been lucky enough to pore over the archives of the newspapers that came before us. We tried to gather stories that capture the time of a changing, growing city, and I have to admit it was quite emotional to read the words of reporters before us, and to reprint their work in a sort of continuing legacy.
We’re honored to take part in Signal Hill’s 100th anniversary and to share in this moment of history. Here’s to hoping there’s still a local news team around dedicated to Signal Hill during its 200th birthday.
-Samantha Diaz, Managing Editor
See our Centennial Issue:
