About The Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1927-1930
Clintwood, Va. (1927-1930)

The Dickenson County Herald and Dickenson County herald

Nicknamed "Virginia's Baby" as the youngest county in Virginia, Dickenson County lies along the border of Kentucky deep in Virginia's southwestern region. Formed in 1880 from parts of Russell, Wise, and Buchanan Counties, coal mining, farming, and timber have long reigned as the main industries in its mountainous terrain. Dickenson County is also the site of the Breaks Interstate Park, one of the longest and deepest canyons east of the Mississippi River, and was the birthplace and home of bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley. While remote and sparsely populated, Dickenson County supported numerous short-lived newspapers throughout the twentieth century. Among Dickenson's many newspaper ventures were two separate iterations of the Dickenson County Herald, the first running from 1927-1930, and the second starting around 1937 and ending in the early 1950s.

Volume one, number one of the Dickenson County Herald, published every Thursday at Clintwood, Virginia under the management of Fred C. Raines, appeared on 10 February 1927. In its greeting to the public, the paper stated its editorial position: "The policy of this paper will be progressive, non-partisan, non-sectarian, and God-fearing. We will be independent, fearing nor favoring no man nor set of men." The Herald covered events of Clintwood and nearby towns Clinchco, Mill Creek and Haysi, with school news, personal and social announcements, political updates, farm, forest and mining news, regional development information, birth announcements, obituaries, meeting notices, health information, classifieds, and short stories.

After the 21 March 1929 issue, without explanation, the Herald suspended publication and then returned on 5 December 1929. "It is our pleasure to announce to the citizens of Dickenson and surrounding counties that we have resumed the publication of the Dickenson County Herald, founded in 1927 by Mr. Fred C. Raines," it explained, "which was suspended under circumstances and conditions over which we had no control."

During the Herald's intermission in 1929, Bruce Crawford, socialist manager of Crawford's Weekly the newspaper of nearby Norton, filled the void with the Dickenson County News, which ran sporadically from 1918-1933. With the Herald's reappearance, published by the Herald Publishing Company and owned by G. B. Terrell, veteran newspaper owner and printer, the paper maintained its independence from "any individual, corporation, political party, society, etc." When the Herald returned in December 1929, it boasted of future success, exclaiming, "WE ARE HERE TO STAY," but it probably ceased again soon thereafter as the last known issue of the 1927 iteration is 30 January 1930.

Based on extant issues, the second appearance of the Dickenson County Herald, connected to the earlier version in name only, was published by the Clintwood Publishing Company and appeared in 1937. During World War II, the paper reported heavily on war related news, with weekly updates on local service members and accounts from the Pacific and European fronts. From 1934-1942, the Dickenson County Herald had some competition when Herbert Maynor Sutherland, local author known for works on Appalachian folk life, published the Dickenson Forum and later the Dickensonian.

In 1948, Dickenson's county seat of Clintwood made national news when women swept the elected offices of mayor and town council. "The Women Win" the Herald announced on 10 June 1948, "The women scored such a smashing victory in the town election Tuesday that their men scarcely heard the horn blow." The officeholders, labeled the "Petticoat Government" and often reported on in the Herald, implemented numerous improvements from eliminating parking problems and creating a garbage collection program, to purchasing a fire truck for the town's fire department. The end date of the later edition of the Herald is unknown, but the last extant issue is 29 November 1951.

Provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA