A Dozen Or So Newspapers Have Operated In The County Since 1834
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DAVE’S WORLD
By David Howell
They must have been desperate for a speaker last month at the Yalobusha Historical Society as Barron Caulfield requested me to talk about the history of newspapers in the county. Thankfully I had plenty of notice and have a decent archive of newspaper history I have compiled during the last 20 years.
Admittedly I was a little intimidated about sharing local history in a room full of history buffs, but I have learned a few tricks when it comes to public speaking. Talk loud, and act like you know what you are talking about and maybe you will fool some of the audience.
I started with a little trivia, asking if anyone attending knew what the oldest businesses still in operation in the county are. The answer is the two newspapers – the North Mississippi Herald was founded in 1882 and the Coffeeville Courier was founded in 1891. It is pretty cool that these two businesses have been around for so many years.
Next we went straight into history with information about the first newspaper that was established in Yalobusha County. Decades earlier Ed Meek had compiled the history of a colorful editor and printer, E. Percy Howe, and his escapades in Yalobusha County and across Mississippi.
Howe launched the Yalobusha Pioneer in Plummersville (south of Coffeeville near Bryant) in 1834, only a year after Yalobusha County was organized. Plummersville was the temporary site of the county courthouse at that time, but Meek wrote that Howe’s choice of towns was unfortunate.
Just across the road was Hendersonville and with 14 stores, it was twice the size of Plummersville. Both towns sought to be Yalobusha’s permanent county seat but Coffeeville captured the courthouse location by a majority vote despite the efforts of some angry defenders of Plummersville including Howe.
Howe express his ire in a poem published in the Pioneer and Meek shared one stanza of the poem in his research paper.
“Upon a hill near Durden Mills, stands the town of Coffeeville.
The damnedest town I ever saw, save Plummersville Okchicama.
Howe left Yalobusha County shortly afterwards but came back in 1844 after several unsuccessful newspaper ventures including a stint in Marshall County and another in Oxford where he apparently lost his press to the tax collector.
In 1844 he published the first edition of the Dollar Democrat in Coffeeville. He lasted 18 months this time, and financial difficulty was listed in his last edition.
I was not able to find much information about newspapers in Coffeeville after the Dollar Democrat went under until the launch of the Coffeeville Courier of 1891.
Marie Beshears Horton found a few snippets after the historical society meeting, including a story in a Vicksburg paper stating that a publication named the Coffeeville Intelligencer was operating in 1857.
According to an article in a Vicksburg paper, the Coffeeville Intelligencer sustained fire damage on February 2, 1857, with arson deemed the origin. The fire was discovered soon after it was set and losses were minimal.
One of the best resources I found on the history Water Valley newspapers is an article that appeared in the Herald in 1941. The article reported that there have been at least eight newspapers in Water Valley at one time or another. Ironically the first newspaper in Water Valley, the Southern Eagle, wasn’t mentioned in this article. The Southern Eagle was a four-page weekly published after the Civil War.
There is only one known edition of the Southern Eagle that was, an issue printed on July 10, 1869. A copy of this edition is viewable online on the National Library of Congress’ website.
Other newspapers published in Water Valley include:
• Water Valley Courier, 1867 to unknown;
• The Mississippi Central, 1869 or possibly 1871 to 1888;
• The Water Valley Progress, 1882 to 1918;
• The North Mississippi Herald, 1888 to present;
• The City Itemizer – 1894 – to 1918;
• The Progress-Itemizer – 1918 to 1929;
• The Progress-Herald ( only published a few weeks in 1929);
• The Yalobusha Democrat, 1930 to 1934.
Sarah Williams was recognized during the Yalobusha Historical Society’s meeting on Nov. 21 for 53 years of dedicated service to the Coffeeville Courier and her community.
The city had three newspapers operating at the same time during its heyday, from around 1894 to 1918 – the Progress, the Itemizer and the Herald. At the end of the day the Herald was the sole survivor.
According to my research there were seven publishers of the Herald from 1888 to 1943. On Feb. 4, 1943, Edward B. Shearer was named publisher. He published the paper until his death in 1977, making him the longest-serving publisher in Herald history. Edward B. Shearer followed in his father’s footsteps, serving from 1977 until his death on Dec. 29, 2003.
I just passed the 20-year mark after purchasing the paper from Betty Shearer in 2004 and I can attest – time flies when you are having fun!
The highlight of the historical society meeting came after my talk as Sarah Williams, former editor of the Coffeeville Courier was honored for 53 years of service. She wore many hats during her tenure including secretary, proofreader, editor and manager and still writes a weekly column.
Friends, 53 years is a long time in this business and Sarah’s recognition was well-deserved! Her daughter and son-in-law, Tammy and John Beshears, publish the Coffeeville Courier and do a great job. We are blessed to have two newspapers still in operation in Yalobusha County!
