Way Back Wednesday in Calhoun County---August 15-21

For much of our nation’s history, the main form of communication was the local newspaper. These local newspapers provided information from around the nation, albeit months after the fact, through the printed word. This is the way death notices, politics, and general community happenings were passed on to the general public. Calhoun County was established in 1832 and just four years later the first newspaper appeared.

The Jacksonville Republican was first published in 1836 as a weekly newspaper for the entire county. The subscription rate for one year was $3 paid at the end of the year but only $2.50 if the subscriber paid in advance. Advertising rates were reasonable at $1 for the first insertion and 50 cents for each additional insertion. J. F. Grant served as one of the early editors of the local newspaper. This newspaper was published in Jacksonville until December 1895 when the editors decided to move the printing operation to Anniston. By 1904, the paper ceased publication. Part of the reason for the demise of the Republican was the competition with their main rival the Anniston Daily Hot Blast.

The Daily Hot Blast published their first edition in August 1883, one month after the town of Anniston was open to the public. This was not the only newspaper in Anniston at the time but it was very much considered Samuel Noble’s paper and the opinions expressed in the paper were his. In the mid-1880s a “feud” developed between the Republican and the Daily Hot Blast that played out in the pages of both newspapers. In 1888, the Daily Hot Blast was sold to William H. Edmonds and by 1902 was consolidated with the Anniston Star, owned by the Ayers Family.

Anniston’s other newspapers including the Watchman, published in the 1880s, which represented the “democrats of Anniston”. The African-American newspaper, the Vindicator, was published in the city for many years during the early days. The Daily Evening Bulletin, The Daily Anniston Press, and the Free Lance were just a few of the numerous papers from Anniston available to residents of the county.

Other cities and towns in the county had publications. Cross Plains (Piedmont) had the Democrat which was published in the 1870s as a single-page newspaper and later the Post. Col. B. F. Sawyer established the Oxanna Tribune in September 1883.

Oxford was the next largest town to Jacksonville in the county. The little town on the southern end of the county had numerous newspapers throughout the years including the Rising Star (1869), the Chronicle (c. 1873), the Echo which later became the Voice (est. 1891).

Throughout the history of Calhoun County there were always newspapers to keep the citizens up-to-date on the news and happenings in not only the county but also the world. With the advent of the internet, newspapers suffered from loss of subscription for the paper editions. As a result, the surviving newspapers in Calhoun County include the weekly News Journal serving the northern portion of the county and the semi-daily Anniston Star serving the southern portion of the county.

To learn more about the history of Calhoun County pick up a copy of Images of America: Calhoun County (ISBN 978-0738589985), Anniston (ISBN 978-0738506012), or Anniston Revisited (ISBN 978-1467114752) by Kimberly O’Dell.