About The weekly Corinthian. (Corinth, Miss.) 1894-19??
Corinth, Miss. (1894-19??)

The Weekly Corinthian and The Daily Corinthian

Established in 1853, Corinth is the seat of Alcorn County in the northeast corner of Mississippi. First named Cross City for its location at the junction of the Mobile & Ohio and Memphis & Charleston railroads, it was renamed Corinth after the famous Greek crossroads city. Because of the town's strategic location, it was a center of contention between Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War and was ultimately occupied by Union troops from 1862 to 1864.

The Weekly Corinthian, initially published every Saturday, was founded in 1894 by Judson C. Martin. His father, James M. Martin, was a proprietor of an earlier newspaper, the Corinth Herald (1879-1907); Judson Martin was co-editor of the Herald. Shortly after establishing the weekly edition, Martin began the Daily Corinthian (1895-current), Corinth's first daily newspaper, printed every day except Sunday. Martin owned the Corinthian until his death in August 1909.

A month later, Nelson P. Bonney bought both editions of the Corinthian. Bonney also came from a family of editors, having previously owned the Summit Sentinel (1873-19??) in south Mississippi. In 1911, Eugene O. Klyce and James C. Bishop took over as proprietors of the Corinthian. Coincidentally, Bishop and his father, William E. Bishop, had once owned the Corinth Herald, having purchased it from the Martins. Klyce and Bishop were proprietors of the Corinthian for approximately 32 years. While the Daily Corinthian is still in production today, by 1946 the Weekly Corinthian had ceased publication.

After the Civil War, Corinth developed as an industrial city, becoming the home of iron works and textile mills. The September 25, 1897 issue of the Weekly Corinthian provided a glimpse of the town's development in the editorial "A Corinth Write-up," which exemplified its history, location, education, and industrial success. On April 30, 1901, as part of his transcontinental tour, President William McKinley (1897-1901) made a brief stop in Corinth and addressed its residents. The May 1, 1901 weekly issue provided details of McKinley's visit and included a transcript of his speech.

The Corinthian offered a variety of local and national news, political commentary, domestic and social columns, legal notices, and other announcements. One local event the Weekly Corinthian covered was the organization of an African American fair association in Corinth in 1915. The Alcorn County Fair Association agreed to sponsor a segregated county fair for African Americans, claiming that while recreational, the fair would also be an opportunity for members of the black community to learn about agricultural techniques and domestic work. Issues of the Corinthian from October 1915 included details of both black and white fairs in Corinth and reported that the African American fair was so successful that it was extended for a third day.

Provided by: Mississippi Department of Archives and History