Athens Banner-Herald
HISTORY
Newspapers
Athens Banner essay Georgia Historic Newspapers: "On January 5, 1827, O.P. Shaw began publication of the Athenian, Athens’ first commercially successful newspaper, at a subscription cost of three dollars a year. This newspaper replaced the gap left behind by P. L. Robinson’s Athens newspaper, the Columbian Centinel. The Athenian abandoned the ‘long s’ printing style of its predecessors and, in 1828, politically took a strong anti-tariff stance. In 1832, Albon Chase and Alfred M. Nisbet purchased the Athenian and renamed it the Southern Banner. The owners, both Democrats, quickly aligned their new publication with Georgia's Union Party and the John Clark political faction. In 1846, Chase retired and handed over control of the Banner to Hopkins Holsey who enlarged the paper to a size rivaled only by the Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel. Holsey was also a constitutional unionist and wrote editorials in support of Henry Clay’s 1850 compromise. Holsey sold his shares to union Democrat James A. Sledge in 1853 who then sold half controlling interest to A. A. Franklin Hill in 1855. The Banner maintained strong support for Howell Cobb and frequently featured editorials reflecting Cobb’s political views. At the open of 1860, the Banner maintained that it was not pro-secession, but, much like Cobb’s policy shift began to treat secessionist opinions more favorably. The Banner supported the Breckinridge and Lane presidential ticket, but the election of Abraham Lincoln catalyzed the paper’s shift towards secession. The Banner and its foil, the Southern Watchman, supported the Confederate government once separation became inevitable.
The Southern Banner experienced several ownership changes in post-war years. James Sledge, who owned and edited the paper during the war, sold the Banner to S. A. Atkinson. The Banner’s masthead and owners went unchanged for forty years until T. W. and T. L. Gantt, a father and son partnership, purchased the newspaper. They changed the masthead to North-East Georgian which continued as such for three years until H. H. Carlton and Company purchased controlling interest of the paper. Under the new ownership, the paper’s title was the Athens Weekly Georgian. By 1878, the paper returned to its original masthead under the ownership of W. F. Combs. The Banner experienced significant growth in 1879 with the introduction of a daily edition. The paper’s title was Athens Banner with weekly or daily included depending on the edition. The publication became the Southern Weekly Banner briefly in 1881 under the ownership of J. T. Waterman. In 1882, the Banner merged with its rival the Southern Watchman to form the Athens Banner-Watchman. Yancey, Cranford, and Gantt were owners of the paper until 1886 when T. L. Gantt became the sole proprietor. The Banner-Watchman’s masthead went largely unchanged until 1889 when the weekly edition became the Athens Weekly Banner. Later in 1891, the weekly edition became The Weekly Banner and printed as such until 1921 when the weekly edition ceased printing. The daily edition was titled the Athens Daily Banner from 1889 to 1902. In 1902, the daily became the Athens Banner under the ownership of H. J. Rowe. The Athens Banner continued with that title until 1923 when the Banner merged with the Athens Daily Herald to become the Banner-Herald. In 1933, the Banner-Herald became the Athens Banner-Herald and continues to publish under that masthead today."
Athens Daily Herald essay from Georgia Historic Newspapers: "On August 1, 1912, Bowdre Phinizy, T. J. Sheron, William G. Gredig, and J. C. Latimer petitioned to incorporate the Athens Herald Publishing Company as a stock company in Athens, Georgia. The company appointed Latimer as business manager while Gredig managed editorial duties, and they published the first issue of the Athens Daily Herald in late August, 1912. Mirroring the Athens Banner format almost exactly, The Herald was a 13-column, Democratic daily, that carried a subscription cost of five dollars. By 1915, the Herald’s circulation exceeded 3,000 which placed the paper on even ground with the equally popular Athens Banner. Eugene Winston Carroll, former owner of the Jackson Argus, joined the Herald in 1915 as business manager and replaced Gredig as editor in 1917. Carroll also held stock in the Herald, and acted as part owner, publisher, and editor of the paper until 1922. Carroll’s wife, Willie Victoria Carroll, edited the “women’s section” of the Herald. By mid-1921, the Athens Daily Herald and the Athens Banner shared the same parent stock company, the Athens Publishing Company. The largest share owners of this company were Bowdre Phinizy, A. C. Erwin, J. B. Joel, and Blanton Forton, but the two papers were effectively run by Earl B. Braswell. Braswell was joined by H. P. Brennan and R. F. Read at the Herald and Charles E. Martin at the Banner. On June 26, 1921, the two papers began published merged Sunday edition of the Banner-Herald. Separate daily editions of the Athens papers continued to circulate until the Herald’s last issue published on February 9, 1923. On February 12, 1923, the dailies combined under the Banner-Herald title. In 1933, the Banner-Herald became the Athens Banner-Herald and continues to publish under that masthead today as Athens’ legal organ."
Legal organ for Athens-Clarke County
Other
City
Athens and Clarke County combined to form a unified government in 1990.
County
Superior Court Districts
Western Circuit, Dec. 5, 1801 —
Population - Census
1810: 7,628
1820: 8,767
1830: 10,176
1840: 10,522
1850: 11,119
1860: 11,218
1870: 12,941
1880: 11,702
1890: 15,186
1900: 17,708
1910: 23,273
1920: 26,111
1930: 25,613
1940: 28,398
1950: 36,550
1960: 45,363
1970: 65,177
ALREADY DIGITIZED BY DLG
List of all digitized North Georgia titles, organized by county.
Including its lineage, the Banner-Herald is digitized up to Dec. 31, 1928.
FILM HOLDINGS within Proposed Theme (32 Reels)
Feb 1, 1938 - Jun 30, 1938
Jul 1, 1938 - Nov 30, 1938
Dec 1, 1938 - Apr 30, 1939
May 1, 1939 - Sep 29, 1939
Oct 1, 1939 - Feb 29, 1940
Mar 1, 1940 - Jul 31, 1940
Aug 1, 1940 - Dec 31, 1940
Jan 1, 1941 - May 30, 1941
Jun 1, 1941 - Oct 31, 1941
Nov 2, 1941 - Mar 31, 1942
Apr 1, 1942 - Aug 31, 1942
Sep 1, 1942 - Feb 28, 1943
Mar 1, 1943 - Jul 30, 1943
Aug 1, 1943 - Jan 31, 1944
Feb 1, 1944 - Jul 31, 1944
Aug 1, 1944 - Jan 31, 1945
Feb 1, 1945 - Jul 31, 1945
Aug 1, 1945 - Dec 31, 1945
Jan 1, 1946 - May 31, 1946
Jun 2, 1946 - Oct 31, 1946
Nov 1, 1946 - Mar 31, 1947
Apr 1, 1947 - Aug 31, 1947
Sep 1, 1947 - Dec 31, 1947
Jan 1, 1948 - May 31, 1948
Jun 1, 1948 - Sep 30, 1948
Oct 1, 1948 - Jan 31, 1949
Feb 1, 1949 - May 31, 1949
Jun 1, 1949 - Sep 30, 1949
Oct 2, 1949 - Jan 31, 1950
Feb 1, 1950 - May 31, 1950
Jun 1, 1950 - Sep 29, 1950
Oct 1, 1950 - Jan 31, 1951