Ector County Newspapers
Odessa, Ector County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1895, William C. "Uncle Billy" griffin came to Odessa from Midland and began publishing Ector County's first Newspaper, the Odessa "weekly news'. The "weekly news" lasted only a year, and was followed by six other short-lived weekly publications until Agu. 1927, when production of Odessa "times" and Odessa "news" began. In Oct. 1928, the two weekly papers were merged as the Odessa "news-times". The towns of penwell and Goldsmith supported for a short time, during the oil boom of the 1930s, the only Ector County newspapers known to have been published outside of Odessa. The first daily newspaper, the "daily bulletin", began in 1936. The "news-times" followed with a daily in 1937. On Oct. 2, 1940, R. Henderson shuffler consolidated the "daily bulletin" and the "news-time" into the Odessa "Amerinca", which he sold on Aug. 11, 1945. Ownership of the newspaper changed twice before Aug. 13, 1948, when it was purchased by Raymond Cyrus Hoiles of freedom newspapers, Inc. V. L. Debolt was appointed publisher and has held that position for 26 years. The Odessa "American" has withstood brief competition from 5 newspapers since its first publication and has been published at this site since 1951.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Odessa's newspaper history began in 1895, when William C. 'Uncle Billy' Griffin launched Ector County's first paper, the Weekly News. A string of short-lived weeklies followed until the late 1920s, when the papers that would become the Odessa American took shape through a series of mergers. Consolidated in 1940 and sold several times, the American outlasted its many competitors and has been published from this site since 1951.
Why it matters
The winding history of Odessa's press mirrors the boom-and-bust growth of a West Texas oil town, told through the newspapers that chronicled it.
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Related people
- · William C. Griffin
- · R. Henderson Shuffler
- · Raymond Cyrus Hoiles
Themes & tags
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