On May 7, 1887 five hundred shares of the paper was sold to William H. Brearley, who assumed ownership of the Journal.
[citation needed] The Journal struggled financially until 1901; that year it was sold to a syndicate that included the future owner of the Detroit Free Press, Edward D. Stair.
In 1908 with a majority stock purchase of the paper, Henry Stevens and Edward D. Stair took over ownership.
[citation needed] A new group of owners assumed control of the Journal in 1917, but did not organize it as a corporation until April 25, 1919.
The "temporary" paper ran four years until the strike finally ended in November 1997.