Killeen Herald
Killeen, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
W.E. Bennett began publishing the Killeen Herald in June 1890, eight years after the town of Killeen was founded. Later owners of the newspaper included W.T. Carter, an active civic leader who served as publisher and editor from 1907 to 1950. Begun as a weekly publication, the Herald has been a daily paper since 1953. From the earliest days of Killeen, the Herald has grown with the town and has chronicled the area's dynamic progress. It is now the oldest privately owned and continuously operated business enterprise in the city of Killeen. (1990)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
W.E. Bennett rolled out the first Killeen Herald in June 1890, just eight years after the Central Texas town itself was founded. Under later owners — notably civic leader W.T. Carter, who edited it from 1907 to 1950 — the weekly grew into a daily by 1953 and became the oldest continuously operated business in Killeen. Its columns chronicled the town's growth from a small railroad stop into a city.
Why it matters
A hometown newspaper was the connective tissue of a frontier community, and the Herald's long run makes it a living record of how a small Texas town became a city.
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Related people
- · W.E. Bennett
- · W.T. Carter
Themes & tags
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