About The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924
Tupelo, Miss. (1876-1924)

The Tupelo Journal

Lee County, named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee, was established in October 1866 from several existing counties. The town of Tupelo had been established six years prior and became the eventual seat of government for the county, in part because it was situated next to the recently laid Mobile and Ohio Railroad. Nearly 30 years later, the east-west St. Louis and San Francisco intersected with the earlier line, making Tupelo a significant rail crossroad. Tupelo developed into a major industrial and cultural center for northeast Mississippi.

Established in 1870 as the Lee County Journal and known for three years (1873-76) as the Mississippi Journal, the weekly Tupelo Journal (1876-1924) was owned and/or edited during its early years by either Edward, George, or John Herndon. The Herndon brothers developed the newspaper into one of the leading weekly journals in the state during Reconstruction. In 1898, Francis "Frank" Locke Kincannon, purchased the newspaper and hired his father, James, as the editor. Sometime after James's death in September 1905, Frank assumed his father's newspaper duties. He announced in the Journal, "I am a democrat by heredity, by unbroken affiliation, and from principle …." In 1924, the paper merged with the Tupelo Review (1900-24) to form the semi-weekly Journal-Review only to revert to the Tupelo Journal in 1926. It appears that Kincannon served as the editor of the Journal until at least 1930; he died in 1932. Currently the newspaper is printed as the Daily Journal.

The first pages of the 8-page Tupelo Journal focused on world, national, state, and local news and editorials and letters to the editor. Advertisements, stories, general interest articles, and local legal notices, announcements and social news followed in later pages. Over the years, the paper covered world events such as the Russo-Japanese war, the Great War, and Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis. Local content included schedules and excursions for the Mobile and Ohio Railroad plus other news about the ever important railroad. Often portrayed as a "noble" race, mention of the Chickasaw, who historically had numerous settlements in and around Tupelo, was usually in reference to the city's history. However, notices would occasionally appear regarding the prevailing treatment of the Chickasaw and Choctaw in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). News and advertisements about local industries appeared including September 18, 1903 articles about a local cotton oil mill and a newly established hosiery factory. Significant local events included a visit by the daughter of President Woodrow Wilson to Tupelo in May 1917.

Provided by: Mississippi Department of Archives and History