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Chronicling America
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Newspaper The Lexington Progress (Lexington, Tenn.) 1884-Current

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About The Lexington Progress (Lexington, Tenn.) 1884-Current

The Lexington Progress was established as a Democratic paper in Henderson County, Tennessee. Publisher William V. Barry printed the first issues in 1884 on a small hand-fed press. The weekly paper remained in the Barry family for the next 62 years. Readers could subscribe to the Progress for a one-dollar annual rate, but Barry readily acknowledged the hardship of running a country newspaper. In 1908 he commented on his subscribers’ payment methods, observing that some paid “in wood, some in corn and other produce, some with turkeys and some never pay at all.” The Progress was also in competition with a rival, the Lexington Republican, which was established in 1893. Both papers published on Fridays.

The Progress continued to be published by W.V. Barry & Sons until 1946 under the motto, “We speak of men as we find them and of lives are they are unfolded to us.” The paper reported on local, regional, and national politics as well as printing community news such as births, weddings, obituaries and the happenings of churches, clubs, and other organizations. W.V. Barry’s character and his keen interest in his town, county, and its people, was evidenced in his writing. For the benefit of Henderson County’s large farming community, the Progress prominently featured agricultural articles. In the 1910s, the paper regularly printed the “Farmers Letter,” agricultural advice written specifically for county newspapers by Captain Thomas F. Peck at the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Later, this was replaced by the “Finer Farming” column, written by County Agent, H. A. Powers, who also encouraged readers to contribute their own farming news.

The Progress provided the county’s residents with news of World War One, printing reports of the conflict overseas as well as home front efforts. After the war, Barry led a campaign to fund a monument in honor of Henderson County’s “noble dead.” The Progress urged its subscribers to give generously, and listed those who had already contributed to the fund.

W.T. Franklin, Jr., purchased the Progress from the Barry family in 1946. Franklin became president of the Tennessee Press Association in 1973-74 and was instrumental in securing the passage of Tennessee’s Sunshine Law in 1974. Descendants of Franklin continued to own and operate the Lexington Progress into the 21st century.

Provided By: University of Tennessee

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Lexington Progress (Lexington, Tenn.) 1884-Current

Dates of Publication

  • 1884-current

Created / Published

  • Lexington, Tenn. : W.V. & H.[M]. Barry

Headings

  • -  Lexington (Tenn.)--Newspapers
  • -  Henderson County (Tenn.)--Newspapers
  • -  Tennessee--Henderson County
  • -  Tennessee--Lexington
  • -  United States--Tennessee--Henderson--Lexington

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began with Apr. 10, 1884 issue.
  • -  Publishers: W.V. & H.[M]. Barry, <1888>; W.V. Barry, <1893-1894>; W.V. & R.A. Barry, <1896>; W.V. Barry & Son, <1900>-1917; W.V. Barry & Sons, 1917-1943; H.D. Barry, 1943-1946; W.T. Franklin, 1946-<1982>; Lexington Progress Inc., <1984>-
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 5, no. 10 (July 24, 1888) = whole no. 218.

Medium

  • v. : ill.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn89058168

OCLC Number

  • 19110587

ISSN Number

  • 2474-7157

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 Lexington Progress Lexington, Tenn. -Current. (Lexington, TN), Jan. 1 1884. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn89058168/.

APA citation style:

(1884, January 1) The Lexington Progress Lexington, Tenn. -Current. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn89058168/.

MLA citation style:

The Lexington Progress Lexington, Tenn. -Current. (Lexington, TN) 1 Jan. 1884. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn89058168/.