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Chronicling America
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Newspaper The Punta Gorda Herald (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958 Herald

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About The Punta Gorda Herald (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958

The Punta Gorda Herald was founded by Robert Kirby Seward in 1893 and published weekly during its early years. The Herald oversaw the development of the city of Punta Gorda, beginning with the arrival of the Florida Southern Railway in Charlotte (then DeSoto) County.

Seward’s foot-operated press produced two pages that were smaller than today’s newspapers. Under the masthead of the Herald was the slogan, “In God We Trust, All Others Cash.” One paper cost five cents, while an annual subscription cost a dollar. The “inevitable” fire–they were common in Florida’s journalism history–destroyed Seward’s print shop in November 1895. The printing press was too large and cumbersome to move, so Seward was left with only a few cases of type and a small cabinet. After much encouragement and the financial backing of his brother-in-law, James Sandlin and other businessmen, Seward rebuilt his press at the same location. He bought new equipment and boasted later that he never again missed publication.

The Punta Gorda Herald covered such lively events as rum running, other smuggling activities, and lawlessness in general. Among news items of note was a visit by Carry Nation (1846-1911), self-described “bulldog” for Prohibition. Nation came to Punta Gorda in 1908 to counter the influence of a favorite son, General Albert W. Gilchrist, who favored the availability of alcohol. Nation’s arrival had been orchestrated by Neva Chase Child, publisher of the Champion in nearby Arcadia. In its June 18, 1908, issue, the Punta Gorda Herald reported that “Only one paper in the entire state made any derogatory charge or insinuation against the private character of General Gilchrist and that paper is edited by a woman. We once heard an imminent Kentucky preacher say that a woman cannot tell the truth, and yet he had never read this paper that slandered Gilchrist and we, therefore, cannot imagine why he made the allegation.” This rhetoric was thick with dry humor as the Punta Gorda Herald generally favored Gilchrist, a hero of the Spanish-American war, who later that same year would be chosen Governor of Florida.

Seward sold the Punta Gorda Herald to Adrian Pettus Jordan in 1901. Prior to buying the newspaper, Jordan was known for his attacks on a railroad company that had acquired land grants dishonestly. Then editor of the Wild Wood Orange Leaf in Sumter County, Jordan’s muckraking activities ultimately led the state legislature to intervene in the affair. Jordan was also instrumental in getting General Gilchrist elected State Representative and later Governor. The dynamic newspaperman survived an assassination attempt and died peacefully in 1928. His son, Adrian Crenshaw Jordan, assumed ownership of the Punta Gorda Herald until 1951.

Provided By: University of Florida

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Punta Gorda Herald (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958

Other Title

  • Herald

Summary

  • The Punta Gorda (FL) Herald [LCCN: sn95047324] covered such lively events as rum running, other smuggling activities, and lawlessness in general. Among news items of note is a visit by Carry Nation (1846-1911), a self-described "bulldog" activist for Prohibition. Nation came to Punta Gorda to counter the influence of a favorite son, General Albert W. Gilchrist. General Gilchrist, for whom Gilchrist County, Florida is named, favored the availability of alcohol. Her visit in 1908 had been orchestrated by Neva Chase Child, publisher of the Champion [LCCN sn95047227] in nearby Arcadia, Florida. In its June 18, 1908 issue, the Punta Gorda Herald reported that "Only one paper in the entire state made any derogatory charge or insinuation against the private character of General Gilchrist and that paper is edited by a woman. We once heard an imminent Kentucky preacher say that a woman cannot tell the truth, and yet he had never read this paper that slandered Gilchrist and we, therefore, cannot imagine why he made the allegation." This rhetoric was thick with dry humor as the Punta Gorda Herald generally favored the General. Gilchrist, a hero of the Spanish-American war, was elected to the office of Governor of the State of Florida in November 1908, taking office in 1909. The Punta Gorda Herald was founded by Robert Kirby Seward in 1893 and published weekly during its early history. The Punta Gorda Herald literally watched the city of Punta Gorda grow up, starting with the arrival of the Florida Southern Railway. At that time Punta Gorda, now in Charlotte County (FL) was still part of DeSoto County (FL). Punta Gorda was first settled in 1882 and incorporated in 1900. Seward's press was foot-operated and produced two pages that were smaller than today's newspapers. Under the masthead was the slogan, "In God We Trust, All Others Cash." One paper cost five cents while an annual subscription was a dollar. The "inevitable" fire, they were so common in Florida journalism history, in November of 1895 destroyed the print shop. The printing press was too large and cumbersome to move, so Seward was left with only a few cases of type and a small cabinet. After much encouragement and the financial backing of his brother-in-law, James Sandlin, and other businessmen, Seward rebuilt on the same site. He bought new equipment and boasted later that he never again missed publication. Seward sold the newspaper to Adrian Pettus Jordan in 1901. Prior to buying the Punta Gorda Herald, Jordan was known for his attacks on a railroad company that was acquiring land grants dishonestly. Then editor of the Wild Wood (FL) Orange Leaf [LCCN: sn97027627] in Sumter County (FL), Jordan's crusade brought about the state legislature's intervention into the affair. Jordan was also instrumental in getting General Gilchrist elected as State Representative and later Governor of Florida. There was even a failed assassination attempt on Jordan's life. He died in 1928 but his son, Adrian Crenshaw Jordan, assumed ownership, which he maintained until 1951. In 1958, the title changed to the simpler form, the Herald [LCCN: sn95047325]. Today (ca. 2008), it appears that the Herald has been succeeded by the Charlotte (FL) Sun-Herald [LCCN sn 91002725]. The Charlotte Sun-Herald website (ca. 2008) indicates that the Punta Gorda Herald has been published inside the Charlotte Sun-Herald on Wednesdays since 1991 when both papers were acquired by the Sun Coast Media Group, an independent Florida newspaper group. --E. Kesse, University of Florida Digital Library Center.

Dates of Publication

  • 1893-1958

Created / Published

  • Punta Gorda, Fla. : A.P. Jordan, -1958.

Headings

  • -  Punta Gorda (Fla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Charlotte County (Fla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Florida--Charlotte County
  • -  Florida--Punta Gorda
  • -  United States--Florida--Charlotte--Punta Gorda

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began on Feb. 17, 1893.
  • -  -v. 66, no. 48 (Dec. 4, 1958).
  • -  Paul K. Garrett, editor.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 10, no. 1 (Jan. 10, 1902).
  • -  Herald (Punta Gorda, Fla.) (DLC)sn 95047325 (OCoLC)33600609

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn95047324

OCLC Number

  • 33600607

ISSN Number

  • 1940-9796

Succeeding 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 Punta Gorda Herald Punta Gorda, Fla. -1958. (Punta Gorda, FL), Jan. 1 1893. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn95047324/.

APA citation style:

(1893, January 1) The Punta Gorda Herald Punta Gorda, Fla. -1958. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn95047324/.

MLA citation style:

The Punta Gorda Herald Punta Gorda, Fla. -1958. (Punta Gorda, FL) 1 Jan. 1893. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn95047324/.