The Lexington Dispatch (Lexington, South Carolina)
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
1,042 issues from 1873 to 1916, published in Lexington, South Carolina, digitised for Chronicling America.
The weekly Lexington Dispatch-News brought the news to the people of Lexington County, located in the central portion of South Carolina, for over 130 years. In 1870, the year of its founding, Lexington County was still primarily rural, its economy relying on lumbering and small farms. During the latter half of the 19th century, railroads lines were expanded through the area, enabling farmers to transport their crops to markets further afield and spurring the growth of new towns like Batesburg, Chapin, Irmo, and Leesville. In the 20th century, the creation of Lake Murray and foreign investments would greatly accelerate the county’s economic growth.
The Lexington Dispatch-News began as the Lexington Dispatch on September 17, 1870. Founder Godfrey Michael Harman pledged that “the Dispatch will uphold the principles handed down to us by our forefathers, and will ever battle for the rights and interests of the people.” On October 6, 1870, the Charleston (South Carolina) Daily News described the Lexington Dispatch as a “neat and attractive weekly paper,” noting that “Mr. Godfrey M. Harman deserves credit for the enterprise and taste which mark the first issue of his paper.” The Columbia (South Carolina) Phoenix gushed that the Lexington Dispatch ” will no doubt take a high place among the weekly journals of the state.” In its fledgling years, Godfrey Harman acted as assistant city editor and publisher. Charles Steele Bradford, George D. Haltiwanger, William David Mathias Harman,…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Lexington, South Carolina, United States
- Language
- English
- Collection
- Chronicling America
- Licence or status
- None stated by the archive
- Rights
- The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety.
- Credit
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities
- Who can read it
- Teens profiles and older (placed by Invisible Network from what the archive says; archives give no ratings)
- Archive
- Library of Congress