James W. Latimer (Weck)

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Now, you want to talk about a man who showed up early and left a mark that never quite faded, let me tell you about James W. Latimer.

Born clear up in New London, Connecticut, in 1783 (a long, long way from the Texas sun), he made his move, brought his family with him, and landed in Texas in 1833. That's not a day trip, folks. That is a life decision.

Latimer lived to see a lot of Texas becoming Texas. And somewhere along the way, he looked at Dallas and thought: this place needs a newspaper. So in 1849, he went ahead and founded one.

Became its editor too. First newspaper in Dallas. That's not a small thing to put on a man's ledger.

Now here's where the story gets a little color. That paper didn't start out with some grand, respectable name. No sir.

It was known originally as (and I want you to hear this) The Cedar Snag. The Cedar Snag. Whether that name filled you with confidence in the journalism, I cannot say.

But it was a start. The paper eventually took on a different identity, settling into the name the Dallas Herald. Latimer himself passed in 1860, seventy-seven years after he first drew breath in Connecticut.

But the paper he built kept on living. The Dallas Herald rolled forward through the decades until 1885, when it was incorporated into the Dallas Morning News; a name that might ring a bell or two even today. One man, born in New England, planted a seed in a young Texas town.

Called it The Cedar Snag. And it grew into something that outlasted him by a quarter century. Not bad for a founder and editor who got here early and got to work.

What the marker says

(1783 - 1860) Latimer was born in New London, Conn. Moved to Texas, with family, in 1833. Founder and editor first newspaper in Dallas, 1849. Known originally as "The Cedar Snag" then as "Dallas Herald." Incorporated into "Dallas Morning News" in 1885. Recorded, 1968