Wirt County Journal

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Wirt County Journal
Type Weekly newspaper
Founder(s)Fred Haverty and George Roberts
Founded1908
Headquarters430 Court St, Elizabeth, WV 26143
Circulation 2,094(as of 2016) [1]
Website wirtjournal.com

The Wirt County Journal is a newspaper serving Elizabeth, West Virginia, and surrounding Wirt County. [2] Published weekly, it has a circulation of 2,094 and is owned by Little Kanawha Publishing Inc. [3]

Contents

History

Founded in 1908 as a Democratic paper by Fred Haverty and George Roberts, [4] [5] it was sold in 1917 to Ross Wilson and C. H. Snodgrass. [6] [7] Wilson, who at various times during his tenure as publisher was also a local teacher and school superintendent, [8] edited the journal for the next 28 years. [7]

In 1914, a fire started by a gas explosion wiped out the newspaper's offices along with those of the Elizabeth Messenger, causing $50,000 worth of damage. [9]

Ross Wilson retired from the business in 1946, turning the paper over to his son, Woodrow "Woody" Wilson, [10] an Army Air Corps fighter pilot returning from World War II. [11] During Woody's tenure the paper acquired and merged with the Kanawha News. [10] By 1960, it was the only newspaper in Wirt County, [8] a fact made more salient by the county's lack of either a local radio or television station. [12]

Woody Wilson retired in 1983. [11]

The staff of the journal has served as local experts on the culture of Wirt County for the national press, particularly during the homecoming of Jessica Lynch, [13] a Wirt County native.

References

  1. ↑ 2016 West Virginia Press Association Newspaper Directory (PDF). West Virginia Press Association. 2016.
  2. ↑ "Newspapers Currently Received in the West Virginia Archives and History Library" (PDF). West Virginia Division of Culture and History. State of West Virginia. December 2016.
  3. ↑ 2016 West Virginia Press Association Newspaper Directory (PDF). West Virginia Press Association. 2016.
  4. ↑ "About Wirt County journal". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Untitled". The Daily Telegram. March 9, 1908. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Untitled Item". The Fairmont West Virginian. May 8, 1917. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  7. 1 2 Lowe, Richard T. (2010). Wirt County. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   9780738566795.
  8. 1 2 "Brine Drilling Failed; They Struck Oil". Beckley Post-Herald. March 8, 1960. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Fire Destroys Five Buildings". The Mahoning Dispatch. December 18, 1914. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Woody Wilson, editor of Weekly". The Courier-News. November 29, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Ex-newspaper publisher Woodrow Wilson". The Palm Beach Post. November 29, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Woody Wilson, editor of Weekly". About The Kanawha news. November 29, 1996. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  13. ↑ Kilborn, Peter (August 12, 2003). "Town Holds P.O.W. In Close Embrace". New York Times.


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