Hopkins County Echo-Daily News-Telegram

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Hopkins County Echo-Daily News-Telegram. Now settle in, because this is a story about ink and ambition and the particular stubbornness of people who believe a town needs a good newspaper. Deed records indicate that a newspaper was already being published in Hopkins County as early as 1854.

It went by the name the Texas Star, and it was set up in Tarrant, which was serving as the county seat at the time. That's where the story starts. But it doesn't stay there long.

In 1855, a man named William Wortham purchased the printing presses and moved the whole operation to Bright Star, a place that would later be known as Sulphur Springs. Wortham founded a new paper and called it the Independent Frontier. He had vision, that man.

Then in 1864, he renamed it the Sulphur Springs Gazette, and he held onto ownership of that paper all the way until 1898. That is a long run in the newspaper business, then or now. But here's where it gets interesting.

In 1878, a man named Ezra Tate decided Hopkins County needed some competition. He founded a paper called the Echo, going head to head with Wortham's Gazette. And the Tate family, well, they weren't in a hurry to let go.

Over their 39 years of ownership, the Echo reached out and absorbed two other local publications, the Evening News and the Morning Telegram. The Tates merged those into a single paper called the Daily News-Telegram, while also keeping the weekly Echo alive alongside it. Then during 1917, the Bagwell Company gained ownership of the Echo.

The story didn't stop there either. The News-Telegram, the Daily Gazette, and the Weekly Gazette were later purchased and folded together into one daily publication, still carrying the name the Daily News-Telegram. The Echo kept running as a weekly.

And finally, in 1951, a central printing company called Echo Publishing Co. purchased the publications and brought them all under one roof. From a press in Tarrant in 1854 to Echo Publishing Co. in 1951, the news in Hopkins County had a way of refusing to go quiet.

What the marker says

Deed records indidcate that a newspaper was being published in Hopkins County as early as 1854. It was known as the "Texas Star" and was located in Tarrant, which then served as county seat. In 1855, the printing presses were purchased by William Wortham, who moved the equipment to Bright Star (later Sulphur Springs) and founded a paper he called the "Independent Frontier." In 1864, Wortham renamed it the "Sulphur Springs Gazette" and retained ownership until 1898. The "Echo" was founded by Ezra Tate in 1878 as a competitor to the "Gazette." During its 39-year ownership by the Tate family, the "Echo" acquired two other local publications, the "Evening News" and the "Morning Telegram." The Tate family merged these newspapers into the "Daily News-Telegram," while also maintaining the weekly "Echo." During 1917, the Bagwell Company gained ownership of the "Echo." The "News-Telegram," "Daily Gazette," and "Weekly Gazette" were later purchased and formed into one daily publication known as the "Daily News-Telegram." The "Echo" was maintained as a weekly. A central printing company, Echo Publishing Co., purchased the publications in 1951.