About Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897
Birmingham, Ala. (1895-1897)

Birmingham Age-Herald, Birmingham State Herald, The Age-Herald, and The Birmingham Age-Herald

Birmingham's The Daily Age-Herald was first published on November 8, 1888, a result of a merger between the Birmingham Iron Age, founded by Charles Roberts and Frank A. Duval in 1874,and The Daily Herald, a rival newspaper founded by William Pinckard and Frank O'Brien in 1887. Pinckard, a lawyer and an early industrialist in the young city, retained ownership of the paper, while O'Brien, a businessman and, later, Birmingham mayor, acted as the editor and manager.

While the paper functioned as a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party, it covered the rise of the Populist movement in Alabama, which coincided with the Birmingham Age-Herald's birth. Of particular interest is the coverage of Reuben F. Kolb's bid for governor in 1894, in which the paper stated, "Scat! That's What the People Said to Captain Kolb!" (Volume 20, Number 228). The paper also covered the industrial rise of Birmingham in its early years; the establishment of the Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company occurred in the same year as the first issues of the Birmingham Age-Herald. During the "New South" era of the late nineteenth century, Birmingham emerged as an industrial center because of the close proximity of iron ore, coal, limestone, and dolomite,the major components for creating steel and iron.

As with many newspapers during this time, the owners and the newspaper's name changed frequently, and mergers were common. In 1895, the Age-Herald was sold to The Daily State, another young, rival newspaper, and the newly merged paper was renamed the Birmingham State Herald. The October 4, 1895 issue boldly claimed, "The bimetallists here are greatly rejoiced at the news of the purchase of the magnificent property of the Age-Herald by free coinage advocates" (Volume 21, Number 311), highlighting one of the important political issues of the time as it maintained the paper's political ties to the Democratic Party. John Rountree, a former magazine editor,purchased a controlling interest in the newspaper and later became the president of the publishing company. The paper functioned under the Birmingham State Herald name for two years before Rountree sold the entire outfit to Edward Barrett in 1897. Once again, the new owner changed the name, this time to The Age-Herald.

In its first issue under the Age-Herald name, the newspaper stated, "Primarily it will be a newspaper and it will be as bright and enterprising as trains, money, and hard work can make it. In politics it believes firmly in the cardinal principles of democracy, and with that party, as that party speaks, it casts its lot" (Volume 23, Number 167). The Age-Herald continued to cover the labor issues that arose from workers in the coal and steel industries, primarily strikes and protests demanding safer working conditions and better wages. In 1902, the publishers restored the city's name to the title of the newspaper, returning to the original moniker, the Birmingham Age-Herald, which remained until 1950, when the owners sold the paper to Scripps-Howard, publishers of The Birmingham Post. For the final time, the newspaper's name changed, becoming the Birmingham Post-Herald after the two papers merged.

Provided by: University of Alabama Libraries, Tuscaloosa, AL