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Title:
The Dillon herald. [volume] : (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????
Place of publication:
Dillon, S.C.
Geographic coverage:
  • Dillon, Dillon, South Carolina  |  View more titles from this: City County, State
Publisher:
A.B. Jordan
Dates of publication:
1894-????
Description:
  • Began in 1894.
Frequency:
Semiweekly Feb. 4, 1954-
Language:
  • English
Subjects:
  • Dillon (S.C.)--Newspapers.
  • Dillon County (S.C.)--Newspapers.
  • South Carolina--Dillon County.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01218124
  • South Carolina--Dillon.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01224860
Notes:
  • Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • Description based on: Vol. 8, no. 52 (Jan. 7, 1904).
  • Latest issue consulted: Apr. 26, 2012.
LCCN:
sn 86063774
OCLC:
13622262
ISSN:
2471-0431
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The Dillon herald. [volume] January 28, 1909 , Image 1

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The Dillon Herald


The Dillon Herald has served the citizens of Dillon County, located in the upper northeastern part of South Carolina, for over 120 years. Unfortunately, no issues of the Herald published before 1904 are known to exist, so many details of its early history have been pieced together from other sources.

John Pingry Coffin, the proprietor of the Florence (South Carolina) Daily Times, founded the Dillon Herald as a weekly newspaper in 1894. Stephen Spurgeon Rozier served for a time as editor, followed by Robert Shelton Churchill. In 1897, Churchill reported a circulation rate of 1,225 copies. In 1901, Arthur Buist Jordan, who had previously worked for the Atlanta Constitution, Augusta (Georgia) Herald, Bamberg Herald, and Charleston (South Carolina) World, took over as editor for the Dillon Herald. Years later, Jordan humorously recalled, "When the present owner came to Dillon to take charge of the paper ... the only liquid assets turned over to the new owner were a bag of sweet potatoes and two frying size chickens which a conscience-stricken subscriber had brought it that morning."

Under Jordan's leadership, the Dillon Herald continued to expand. Between 1902 and 1916, it grew in size from four to thirteen columns. Arthur Jordan went on to serve as president of the South Carolina Press Association, mayor of Dillon, and chairman of the board of trustees of Dillon County schools. Arguably, however, his role in the campaign to create a new county, Dillon County, from out of Marion County was his greatest achievement. Using the Herald as his platform, Jordan fought a long-running editorial duel of wits with his counterparts at the Marion Star, who opposed the idea. On December 9, 1909, Jordan characterized the struggle as a "strenuous but happy fight, full of good feeling...the new county advocates have conducted a fair, frank and open fight, adhering in every instance strictly to the letter of the law..." On December 14th, his efforts were met with success; in a special election, the majority of voters in upper Marion County approved the creation of Dillon County.

By the time Arthur Jordan died in 1956, he had edited the Dillon Herald for over half a century and had helped it transition from a weekly to a semiweekly publication schedule. Following his death, Jordan's son, Arthur B. Jordan, III, and widow, Thelma Jordan, continued the paper. Today, the Dillon Herald holds the distinction of being Dillon County's oldest continuously operated business.

Provided by: University of South Carolina; Columbia, SC