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]
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Fred Haverty and George Roberts |
| Founded | 1908 |
| Headquarters | 430 Court St, Elizabeth, WV 26143 |
| Circulation | 2,094 (as of 2016)[1] |
| Website | wirtjournal |
History edit
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.
Related Resources edit
References edit
- ^ 2016 West Virginia Press Association Newspaper Directory (PDF). West Virginia Press Association. 2016.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 2016 West Virginia Press Association Newspaper Directory (PDF). West Virginia Press Association. 2016.
- ^ "About Wirt County journal". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "Untitled". The Daily Telegram. 9 March 1908. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "Untitled Item". The Fairmont West Virginian. 8 May 1917. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ a b Lowe, Richard T. (2010). Wirt County. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738566795.
- ^ a b "Brine Drilling Failed; They Struck Oil". Beckley Post-Herald. 8 March 1960. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "Fire Destroys Five Buildings". The Mahoning Dispatch. 18 December 1914. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Woody Wilson, editor of Weekly". The Courier-News. 29 November 1996. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Ex-newspaper publisher Woodrow Wilson". The Palm Beach Post. 29 November 1996. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "Woody Wilson, editor of Weekly". About The Kanawha news. 29 November 1996. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ Kilborn, Peter (12 August 2003). "Town Holds P.O.W. In Close Embrace". New York Times.
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