The Corpus Christi Caller-Times
Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first issue of the Corpus Christi "Caller" was published on January 21, 1883. It was established by Eli Merriman, owner of the Corpus Christi "Free Press", Ed Williams, co-owner of the "Semi-Weekly Ledger", and W.P. Caruthers, who is credited with naming the "Caller". One of the original stockholders was King Ranch founder Captain Richard King. W.E. Pope, who was to represent Corpus Christi in the state legislature for many years, purchased the town's "Daily Democrat" in 1917 and renamed it the "Times". Eleven years later he sold it to Houston Harte of San Angelo and Bernard Hanks of Abilene, owners of several Texas newspapers. In 1929 the "Caller" was purchased by the Harte-Hanks group and the two papers were combined as the Corpus Christi "Caller-Times" with Grady Kinsolving as publisher. The "Caller-Times" has outlasted over two dozen newspapers that have served the city since the first two, the "Gazette" and the "Star", were published in the 1840s. The "Caller" and the "Times" were in two separate locations until operations were consolidated at a third site in 1929. The newspapers have been published at the present location since 1935. (1983)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Corpus Christi Caller published its first issue in 1883, launched by local newspapermen including Eli Merriman, with King Ranch founder Captain Richard King among the original stockholders. Over the following decades rival papers were bought, renamed, and merged — the Times emerged from the Daily Democrat, and in 1929 the Harte-Hanks group combined the two into the Caller-Times. It outlasted more than two dozen competitors dating back to the 1840s.
Why it matters
Local newspapers were the connective tissue of frontier and coastal Texas towns, and this one's long survival traces the consolidation that shaped American regional journalism.
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Related people
- · Eli Merriman
- · Captain Richard King
- · W. E. Pope
Themes & tags
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