DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm gonna tell this one the way the official marker tells it — so let's talk about ink, ambition, and a family that helped shape how East Texas saw itself for over a hundred years. This is the story of The Daily Sentinel of Nacogdoches. You want to talk about roots?
The first newspapers in Texas — going all the way back to 1813 — all had direct links to Nacogdoches. All of them. From the very start, this town had something to say, and it intended to say it in print.
The leading family in that newspaper business was the family of Colonel R.D. Orton and his nephews, Robert W. — folks called him R.W. — and Giles Haltom. Now, there had been weekly newspapers rattling around for years.
But in 1899, R.W. and Giles, along with a man named W.H. Harris, decided Nacogdoches deserved something bolder. They launched a daily newspaper — a daily — and they called it The Daily Phone.
Six months in, that name didn't stick, and the paper became The Daily Sentinel. That name, though — that one stuck. In those early days, R.W. edited and managed the Sentinel.
Giles ran the presses. You can almost hear it — the clanking and rolling of those machines, ink on paper, day after day. The Sentinel didn't just print news, either.
It pushed for civic improvements, celebrated community accomplishments, highlighted what the region had to offer. It was a newspaper with an agenda — and that agenda was Nacogdoches itself. They even launched a Weekly Sentinel in 1900, which kept on running clear through 1936.
Then 1904 came around, and R.W. Haltom was elected to the Texas State Legislature. That meant Giles stepped up to lead the paper.
What started as a temporary arrangement became permanent, and here's where the story turns quiet for a moment — R.W. became ill, and he died in 1907. The brother who had run the presses was now carrying the whole thing himself. Giles carried it well.
In 1918, with World War I raging and readers desperate for news, the Sentinel added an Associated Press wire service. That changed the format, changed the content — changed everything, really. The outside world had arrived on North Street in Nacogdoches, and there was no going back.
Giles Haltom led the Sentinel until 1944 — forty-some years of ink in his veins — when the paper was sold to a local consortium. After World War II, a man named Victor B. Fain returned to the Sentinel as editor.
His editorials, his leadership, his positive influence — the marker says it plainly — guided Nacogdoches through many crises. That's not a small thing to say about a man or a paper. In October of 1950, the Sentinel moved to North Fredonia Street, settling into modern, efficient equipment.
The frontier was fading in the rearview mirror. And in 2007, the paper was honored with the Governor James M. Cox public service award.
Over more than a century, the Daily Sentinel emerged from its frontier past to become something the marker calls a record of the movements, history, and progress of Nacogdoches. That's what a good newspaper does, I suppose — it shows a town to itself, day after day, until you've got something more than news. You've got a chronicle.
You've got memory. You've got proof that a place and its people were here, and that they mattered.
What the marker says
The first newspapers in Texas, beginning in 1813, all had direct links to Nacogdoches. The leading family in the newspaper business was that of Col. R.D. Orton and his nephews, Robert W. (R.W.) and Giles Haltom. In 1899, following years of weekly newspapers, R.W., Giles and W.H. Harris established a daily newspaper under the name The Daily Phone. After six months, the paper became The Daily Sentinel. Initially, R.W. edited and managed The Daily Sentinel and Giles operated the presses. In addition to editorials, the Sentinel featured special editions to push for civic improvements, to note community accomplishments or to highlight the amenities of the region. A Weekly Sentinel was founded in 1900 and operated until 1936. When R.W. was elected to the Texas State Legislature in 1904, Giles took over the paper. The change became permanent when R.W. became ill and died in 1907. In 1918, responding to the clamor for news during World War I, an Associated Press wire service was added which drastically changed the format and content of the paper. Giles Haltom led the Sentinel until 1944 when it was sold to a local consortium. After World War II, Victor B. Fain returned to the Sentinel as editor. Fains editorials, leadership and positive influence guided Nacogdoches through many crises. The paper moved locations in October 1950 to North Fredonia Street and featured modern efficient equipment. In 2007, the Sentinel was honored with the Gov. James M. Cox public service award. Over the last century, the Sentinel emerged from its frontier past to become a record of the movements, history and progress of Nacogdoches. (2012)