Near Offices of "Rains County Leader"
Emory, Rains County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Only newspaper in county. Founded 1887 by H. W. Martin as "The Argus." By 1900 was renamed "Leader." Sold 1904 to Tom W. Hill, Sr., editor until 1937. Earl Hill, Sr., was editor 1937-1960; Earl Hill, Jr., 1960-1962; since 1962 publishers have been Nell Hill Butcher and Kathleen Hill Becknell.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1887 by H. W. Martin as "The Argus," this paper became the "Rains County Leader" by 1900 and remained the county's only newspaper. Tom W. Hill, Sr. bought it in 1904 and edited it for more than three decades, beginning a remarkable family stewardship. From 1937 onward the Hill family—father, sons, and daughters—carried the paper forward across generations.
Why it matters
A rural county's single newspaper, held by one family for generations, shows how the local press bound small communities together and kept a public record of their lives.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
The newspaper remembered here began in 1887, in the late nineteenth century, when small-town newspapers were springing up all over America. Cheaper printing presses, better mail service, and a hunger for local news meant that almost every county seat wanted a paper of its own.
Rains County is one of the smaller counties in Texas, in the rolling farm country east of Dallas. Emory, its county seat, was the kind of place where a weekly paper did a lot of work. It carried local news, legal notices, church and school announcements, and advertisements for the stores in town.
In a rural county at that time, the local paper was often the main link between neighbors. It recorded births, marriages, deaths, harvests, elections, and courthouse business. For many families it was the only printed record of their lives.
The years covered by this marker, from the 1880s into the 1960s, span enormous change: automobiles, radio, two world wars, the Depression, and television. Through all of it, this paper remained the only newspaper in the county.
People & events
The story starts with H. W. Martin, who founded the paper in 1887 under the name "The Argus." The name came from classical mythology, where Argus was a watchful giant with many eyes. It was a popular choice for newspapers that wanted to suggest they saw everything happening in their community.
By 1900 the paper had a new name, the "Leader." In 1904 it was sold to Tom W. Hill, Sr., and that sale began a family story that ran for generations. Tom Hill edited the paper until 1937, more than three decades at the helm of the county's only newspaper.
The Hill family kept the paper going after him. Earl Hill, Sr., was editor from 1937 to 1960, and Earl Hill, Jr., from 1960 to 1962. From 1962 the publishers were Nell Hill Butcher and Kathleen Hill Becknell, so the family stewardship passed to a new generation and into the hands of women publishers.
The marker doesn't spell out exactly how everyone was related, and we shouldn't fill in the gaps. What it does show is clear: from 1904 on, the county's only newspaper stayed in the Hill family's care through war, depression, and the arrival of the modern age.
Its place in the American story
Small weekly newspapers were an essential part of American democracy and community life. They told people what their local government was doing, published official notices, and gave neighbors a shared account of their town. In many rural counties the local paper was the public record.
Family ownership like the Hills' was once common in American journalism. Small papers were often passed from parent to child, with the whole family helping in the print shop. Nearly six decades of Hill stewardship, as recorded here, is a good example of that tradition.
The move from Tom Hill to the Earl Hills to Nell Hill Butcher and Kathleen Hill Becknell also reflects a wider change. By the mid-twentieth century women were taking on more visible roles in running and publishing newspapers, especially in family-owned businesses.
Today many American communities have lost their local newspapers. Stories like this one are a reminder of what those papers did: they kept watch, kept records, and helped hold communities together.
If you visit
This marker is in Emory, the seat of Rains County, in the farm and lake country of northeast Texas east of Dallas. It's a relaxed stop for travelers exploring small towns and rural back roads in the region.
As you read the marker, imagine a small print shop nearby: the clatter of a press, the smell of ink, and the rush to get the weekly edition out. Every week the paper recorded the people and events of the county.
If you're interested in local history, remember that old issues of small-town newspapers are often a family historian's best source. Libraries and archives sometimes hold them on microfilm or in digital collections.
For a fuller visit, take a look around Emory's courthouse area and nearby streets. You'll be walking through the community that this paper served and recorded for generations.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · H. W. Martin
- · Tom W. Hill, Sr.
Themes & tags
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Rains County
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Among the earlier-settled parts of Texas, this area saw J. H. Hooker, its first known settler, build a grist mill on the Sabine River in the 1840s, with emigrants from the Old South arriving after 1840. The county itself was not organized until 1870, taking its name from pioneer legislator Emory Rains, who had represented the surrounding district in the 8th Legislature. Rains County is also celebrated as the birthplace of the Farmers Cooperative and Educational Union of America.
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