The Uvalde "Leader-News"
Uvalde, Uvalde County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This newspaper succeeded earlier ones: The Uvalde "Hesperian" (founded 1879), "West Texan" (1884), The Uvalde "News" (1886), and The "Leader" of 1898. Harry P. Hornby (1876-1948), an Englishman, arrived in January 1898 and in three weeks launched The "Leader". Three years later this paper absorbed The "News" and took the present name. The "Leader-News" was sold in 1908 to Frank M. Getzendaner and in 1919 to Bessie Fletcher. By 1925, Hornby was again Editor and Publisher. He also had other business and civic activities, including holding office as mayor in 1926-1930. The paper attracted national attention in 1931 by its triumphant support of local citizen John Nance Garner for the Vice President of the United States. The son, Harry Hornby, after four years as a U.S. Marine officer, began editing The "Leader-News" in 1946, and with his wife became owner in 1948. The paper in the 1960s boosted the candidacy of another local resident, Dolph Briscoe, who became the Governor of Texas. Maintaining policies stated in the first issue, The "Leader-News" continues to support new enterprise and industry; its editorials promote education, recreation, and conservation improvements in Uvalde and throughout the state. 1976
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Uvalde Leader-News grew out of a tangle of frontier papers dating to 1879, consolidated by English immigrant Harry P. Hornby, who launched his Leader within weeks of arriving in 1898. Over the following century the paper championed local sons who rose to national office—John Nance Garner, who became Vice President, and Dolph Briscoe, who became governor of Texas. Under two generations of Hornby editors it stayed rooted in booster politics for enterprise, education, and conservation.
Why it matters
Small-town newspapers like this one shaped civic life and launched local figures onto the national stage, showing how the frontier press built community and political identity.
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Related people
- · Harry P. Hornby
- · John Nance Garner
- · Dolph Briscoe
Themes & tags
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