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The Junction Eagle

Junction, Kimble County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Kimble County's first newspaper began operations in February 1882. Editor J. F. Lewis' Washington Press printed four incarnations of the Junction newspaper: THE WESTERN TEXAN, the JUNCTION CITY CLIPPER, the KIMBLE COUNTY CITIZEN, and the JUNCTION CITIZEN-LIGHT. In May 1919 a group of businessmen, including Coke R. Stevenson, (Governor of Texas from 1941 to 1947) formed the Junction Publishing Company and renamed the paper the JUNCTION EAGLE. Though the EAGLE has changed hands several times, its mission remains the same. The JUNCTION EAGLE hometown newspaper continues to serve both as a sourch of information and a chronicle of our times. (1998)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Kimble County's first newspaper rolled off a hand press in February 1882 and changed its name almost as often as its ownership over the decades that followed. In 1919 a group of local businessmen, among them a future governor of Texas, reorganized the paper under the name it still carries. Through many owners it has kept its role as the town's hometown chronicle.

Why it matters

The country newspaper was the voice and memory of frontier communities, and a training ground for the local leaders who would shape Texas beyond their county lines.

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Related people

  • Β· J. F. Lewis
  • Β· Coke R. Stevenson

Themes & tags

Industry & InventionFrontier HistoryLandmark

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