Carl Butz, the new owner of The Mountain Messenger, works on the latest edition of the paper during his first week at The Mountain Messenger in Downieville, Calif. The Mountain Messenger is the oldest newspaper in California and was set to close before Butz bought it.

Cigarette butts lie on a plate on a desk at The Mountain Messenger.

Downieville, California.

A framed picture of Mark Twain sits on the wall of The Mountain Messenger. Twain once wrote articles for the paper.

Scott McDermid, Distribution Manager for The Mountain Messenger, puts this week’s edition into a vehicle outside of Feather Publishing Co., Inc., where The Mountain Messenger is printed, in Quincy, Calif.

Copies of The Mountain Messenger are reflected in a car window as the newest edition of the paper is delivered throughout Sierra County.

Carl Butz, the new owner of The Mountain Messenger, puts the newest edition of the paper in a distribution stand outside of the Golden West Saloon in Loyalton, Calif.

Carl Butz holds a stack of this week’s edition of The Mountain Messenger in Downieville.

Scott McDermid, Distribution Manager for The Mountain Messenger, left, and Carl Butz, the new owner of The Mountain Messenger, drop off copies of the paper at various businesses in Sierraville, Calif.

Carl Butz works on the newest edition of the paper with Jill Tahija at The Mountain Messenger in Downieville, Calif.