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Newspaper The Pulaski Citizen (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-Current Citizen and press / Citizen/press / Pulaski citizen and Giles free press / Colophon title: Citizen/press / Colophon title: Pulaski citizen and Giles free press

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About The Pulaski Citizen (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-Current

The Pulaski Citizen has been in continuous publication since 1866. Its origins, however, can be traced back to December 1854, when Abe Watkins and George E. Purvis purchased the Pulaski Gazette and changed its name to the Pulaski Citizen. A year later, Purvis sold his share and moved to Winchester, Tennessee, where he established the Winchester Appeal. In January 1856, Luther W. McCord purchased a share in the Citizen. The following year he bought Watkins’ share and became sole proprietor, and changed the name of the paper to the Independent Citizen. Publication ceased in 1862 when the town was occupied by Union troops. When McCord resumed publication in 1866, the paper’s name reverted to the Pulaski Citizen (and remained so into the 21st century). In his opening editorial, McCord apologized for the delay in getting the paper to press, blaming the “immense amount of labor and expense required to repair and replenish [the type and presses].” McCord reminded readers that in politics “we were not a partizan [sic] before the war, and our friends may rest assured we are much less a partizan [sic] now.” However, the Citizen regularly expressed strong opinions on subjects such as voting rights and temperance: “We will oppose Negro suffrage […] we believe social equality a humbug and an impossibility.” Although disinclined to side with any political party, the Citizen later backed Edmund Cooper, the Conservative Unionist candidate for Congress in 1867, and in the 1868 presidential election, backed Democrat Horatio Seymour.

In the postwar years, the paper’s local editor was Frank O. McCord, L. W. McCord’s brother. Frank McCord was one of the founder members of the Ku Klux Klan and the Grand Cyclops of Giles County. As local editor, McCord maintained the veil of secrecy around the organization. His editorials read as if he had no idea who the Klan was. In an editorial on April 12, 1867, McCord was apparently perplexed by an order from the “Grand Turk” of the Klan, mysteriously delivered to the Citizen’s doorstep under cover of night by the “old Cyclops.” McCord assured readers that “it is our intention to keep a watch out […] and try to find out where these Ku Kluxers meet and what sort of proceeding they have.” McCord printed many Klan messages over the next few years, all reportedly delivered to the newspaper’s office in equally mysterious circumstances. The messages often requested the public’s patience and sympathy for the organization.

In 1875, a Ladies Column was introduced in a bid to attract a wider female readership. In its second week, the column included a piece entitled “Ladies Should Read Newspapers,” in which editor Haroleen (later Haroline) Harold argued that in order for a woman to qualify for conversation and have something to talk about with men, she should be encouraged to read newspapers. The feature was often three or four columns wide and provided information on fashion and housekeeping, as well as giving opinions on topical subjects.

In January 1880, L.W. McCord sold the paper to his brother, Laps D. McCord, and his brother-in-law, John Bateman Smith. When Smith died in 1881, his wife, Gabriella McCord Smith, became joint proprietor with Laps McCord, and she became sole proprietor in 1888. In 1892, the Citizen was purchased by Allen G. Hall of Nashville, ending 38 years of the Citizen being in the McCord family.

The paper continued into the 20th century and is still published as a weekly.

Provided By: University of Tennessee

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Pulaski Citizen (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-Current

Other Title

  • Citizen and press
  • Citizen/press
  • Pulaski citizen and Giles free press
  • Colophon title: Citizen/press
  • Colophon title: Pulaski citizen and Giles free press

Dates of Publication

  • 1866-current

Created / Published

  • Pulaski, Tenn. : L.W. McCord, 1866-

Headings

  • -  Pulaski (Tenn.)--Newspapers
  • -  Giles County (Tenn.)--Newspapers
  • -  Tennessee--Giles County
  • -  Tennessee--Pulaski
  • -  United States--Tennessee--Giles--Pulaski

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 8, no. 1 (Jan. 5, 1866)-v. 131, no. 10 (Mar. 8, 1988) ; 134th year, no. 11 (Mar. 15, 1988)-
  • -  Publishers: L.W. McCord, 1866-1869; F.O. McCord & Co., 1869-1870; L.W. McCord, 1871-1873; Citizen Print Co. (L.W. McCord), 1873-1880; Laps D. McCord & Jno. Bateman Smith, 1880-1881; Laps D. McCord & Mrs. John Bateman Smith, 1881-1888; Mrs. Jno. Bateman Smith, 1888-1892; Allen G. Hall, 1892-1894; Frank R. Birdsall & W.B. Romine, 1894; W.B. Romine, 1894-<1941>; J.H. Smith, <1941>-1983; Charles R. Sheriff, 1983-1984; D.L. Hoover, 1984; Hershel Lake [Pulaski Pub. Co.], 1984-
  • -  Published 82nd anniversary edition on Jan. 15, 1936.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.

Medium

  • volumes ; 71 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper
  • AN48.P85 P83

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn85033964

OCLC Number

  • 12351972

ISSN Number

  • 2328-1065

Preceding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Pulaski Citizen Pulaski, Tenn. -Current. (Pulaski, TN), Jan. 1 1866. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85033964/.

APA citation style:

(1866, January 1) The Pulaski Citizen Pulaski, Tenn. -Current. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85033964/.

MLA citation style:

The Pulaski Citizen Pulaski, Tenn. -Current. (Pulaski, TN) 1 Jan. 1866. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85033964/.