Hubbard City News
Hubbard, Hill County, Texas
Marker Inscription
S. H. Sayer began publication of the "Hubbard City News" in 1881, the year the town was founded. The business later merged with S. R. Boyd's paper, the "Texas Pick and Pan" and the "Hubbard City Progress", a newspaper started in 1901 by brothers George and Jim Mecklin, former "City News" workers. Through their leadership and later ownership by Andy and Ralph Mecklin, the paper became a prominent publication of central Texas. In 1969 it was purchased by the News Publishing Co. of Mexia. A "City News" office at this site was destroyed by a tornado in 1973.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1881, the same year the town rose, the Hubbard City News grew through mergers with rival papers and decades of family ownership to become a leading voice in central Texas. Brothers who had once set type for the paper went on to lead and own it, and it survived until a 1973 tornado destroyed its office. The paper was sold to a Mexia publisher in 1969.
Why it matters
Small-town newspapers like the Hubbard City News were the connective tissue of rural America, recording community life long before radio or television reached the prairies.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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