Minnie F. and Merris Clark Barrow papers, 1902-1916

The Barrows were early settlers and entrepreneurs in Douglas, Wyoming. Merris C. Barrow and Minnie Florence Combs were married in Nebraska in 1877 and soon moved to Laramie, Wyoming, where Merris worked for the "Laramie Boomerang." In 1886, the Barrows began publishing their own newspaper, "Bill Barlow's Budget," at Fort Fetterman, Wyoming, with Merris as editor and Minnie as bookkeeper. When the town of Douglas, located eight miles from Fort Fetterman, was founded in the fall of 1886, the Barrows moved their weekly newspaper to the new townsite. In 1904, the newspaper began publishing a monthly supplement, "Sagebrush Philosophy," written by Merris under the pen name Bill Barlow.

The Barrows also operated a stationery and office supply business located in the "Budget" building and served as subscription and sales agents for magazines and newspapers, including the "Denver Post." Minnie continued operating the businesses after Merris' death in 1910 and published "The World of Just You and I," a selection of Bill Barlow columns, in 1911. She sold the "Budget" in 1914 and the stationery store in 1917. Minnie died in Thermopolis, Wyoming, in 1944.