Newspapers the backbone of chronicling local history
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It has been said that four “estates” contribute and develop our history. We readily understand the executive, legislative and judicial departments of our government shape history; however, a fourth estate, the media, wields considerable influence in this process.
In Warren County’s history, the prime media in our development was the newspaper. For the 200 years of our written history, we have had newspapers printed locally for at least 177 of that time. We owe much to the fourth estate for daily and weekly chronicles of our people and its rich history.
As we reflect on the recording of our 200 years as Warren County, we readily realize newspapers detailed a major portion of our written history. Not only authenticating our activities, but enriching each era of our existence with interesting knowledge as our story moved forward from the 19th century into the 21st century.
We have had a newspaper available to our citizens for most of the period between the early 1830s (The Central Gazette) to the present.
An even more miraculous fact is our people saved their newspapers over much of our history, giving us a history of the events taking place. Even in the early years of our settlement there existed a newspaper, The Mountain Echo. We know little of its history, since only one copy now exists (on microfilm) dated 1816. Published in Lyonville, now Faulkner Springs, it was unique in that it was printed on paper also made in Lyonville. The paper and community ceased to exist in 1821, but was resurrected shortly thereafter as Faulkner Springs.
Without question, the major newspaper of our history is the Southern Standard. Founded in 1879, it has published almost continuously from that date to the present. Its owners and publishers, together with its editors, have been individuals with a keen insight into the community and its people providing a progressive momentum to our county’s advancement through wars, depressions, droughts, booms, floods, lawlessness and whatever arose to affect our land and its people.
Begun in the reconstruction period after the Civil War, it experienced many difficult times. Our people faced almost impossible problems in a county devastated by both armies during the war. The area had been stripped of almost anything of value. It is estimated that over 20 percent of our young men between the ages of 16 and 35 were either killed, wounded severely, or debilitated by disease and hardships during the war. In effect, we had lost a generation. There was no money or credit available.
In spite of the problems, progress was made and the area revived and recovered. The brandy industry, breeding of good horses and mules, utilization of our timber resources, and the growing of wheat in the Viola Valley aided greatly in this recovery.
By 1882, a young man from Maury County, Radford M. Reams, had assumed control of the Southern Standard. Moving to Warren County in 1876 to work for the McMinnville New Era, his background in the printing business was excellent. With his editorship and operation over the next 42 years, the reputation of the Southern Standard assured the reading public that this was the newspaper, not only to read, but to get the facts.
Succeeding owners and editors emulated the virtues of Reams in presenting the news and providing a sounding for the peoples attitudes on their social, political, religious and business activities and views throughout the past 125 years.
Our history would be most drab, somewhat uninteresting, and incomplete had we not been provided with weekly accounts of our citizens’ activities by the Southern Standard.
In addition to weekly papers, the Standard gives us additional information with special publications such as the 1902 Special edition, the 1922 business edition, a 1926 industrial issue, the 1902 flood, the 1960 Sesquicentennial booklet (published jointly with Womack Printing Company), and numerous special inserts over its history on our people and its communities.
One can only wonder what our knowledge of our past would have been had we not been blessed with the Southern Standard newspaper. Each of us owe them a hearty “thank you,” for giving us wonderful insights into our rich heritage.
Yes, we owe much to the “fourth estate.”