About Hopkinsville Kentuckian. (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918
Hopkinsville, Ky. (1889-1918)

Hopkinsville Kentuckian

The Hopkinsville Kentuckian covered Hopkinsville and Christian County for nearly 30 years. Charles M. Meacham, the paper's founding editor, established the Kentuckian in 1889 out of the earlier South Kentuckian, for which he was also editor. Meacham changed the title to identify the paper more closely with Hopkinsville. For many years the paper existed as a semi-weekly, but for a few months in 1898 the Kentuckian was issued daily under the title of the Daily Kentuckian. Although the paper soon returned to a semi-weekly format, it continued to grow over the following years and in 1904 began publishing three issues a week.

Editor Meacham was a prominent figure in central and western Kentucky. In 1893 he was chosen as the eighth president of the Kentucky Press Association in Frankfort, and 13 years later he was elected mayor of Hopkinsville, a position he held for eight years. A devout Baptist, Meacham also served as president of the Board of Trustees of the Hopkinsville Bethel Women's College. The Baptist-run school opened in 1856, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in America.

Influenced by Meacham’s political career, the Kentuckian regularly reported political news including state and national committee reports, Congressional proceedings, and Christian County Circuit Court notes. The paper supported the Democratic Party and, not surprisingly, politics was the main topic of Meacham's editorial copy. Meacham never hesitated to express his opinion of public officials and their policies in his columns. "Secretary [of State Philander C.] Knox is developing into a jingo statesman with a chip always on one shoulder or the other," Meacham wrote in one editorial.

The paper's earliest slogan, "Live, Newsy, and Progressive," suggests that the Kentuckian promoted Hopkinsville as a forward-looking and educated community. Along with correspondence from neighboring towns such as Sinking Fork, Montgomery, and Beverly, the paper included national news columns. "Cream of the News" gave readers updates on current events, including important Hopkinsville happenings and other hot topics in local and national news. "Here and About" promised local news "tersely told" for the busy citizens of Christian County. The Kentuckian also printed a variety of agricultural content such as tobacco and grain market reports as well as local and national market prices.

Meacham remained the paper’s sole editor. After one final attempt at presenting the Kentuckian as a daily newspaper in 1918, Meacham decided to end the publication in order to focus on other professional pursuits. The Hopkinsville Kentuckian ceased publication in 1920, ending a successful career as one of Hopkinsville’s longest running newspapers.

Provided by: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY