The Colorado County Citizen
Columbus, Colorado County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Established 1857 by Ben, James, and Hicks Baker, the "Citizens" was named by the Rev. J. J. Scherer, minister-educator. Also published on several sites, by series of owners, as "Colorado Times" or "Colorado Citizens," this is only survivor among the several local 1800s papers.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Established in 1857 by Ben, James, and Hicks Baker, this Columbus newspaper was christened by the Rev. J. J. Scherer, a local minister and educator. Over the decades it changed hands and titles, appearing as the Colorado Times and the Colorado Citizen from a series of sites. Of the several papers that served the county in the nineteenth century, it alone survived.
Why it matters
A frontier newspaper was a town's memory and its voice, and one that outlasted all its rivals marks the enduring role of the local press in binding a community together.
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Related people
- · Ben Baker
- · J. J. Scherer
Themes & tags
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