DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight. Way back in February 1882, Kimble County got its very first newspaper. Editor J.
F. Lewis fired up his Washington Press, and that old press turned out not one, not two, but four different incarnations of the Junction newspaper over the years. The Western Texan.
The Junction City Clipper. The Kimble County Citizen. And the Junction Citizen-Light.
One press, four names, and a whole lot of ink. Now, you might think a paper that can't make up its mind what to call itself is in trouble. But hold on.
In May 1919, a group of businessmen decided they had something to say about that. They formed the Junction Publishing Company, and among those businessmen was a fellow named Coke R. Stevenson, who would go on to become Governor of Texas, serving from 1941 to 1947.
That group gave the paper a name it could finally live with: the Junction Eagle. The Eagle has changed hands several times since then, the marker is honest about that, but here's the thing that makes this story land. Through every change of ownership, every shift in the wind, the mission has stayed the same.
The Junction Eagle keeps right on serving as a source of information and a chronicle of its times. Started on a Washington Press in 1882, still telling the story of Kimble County today. Some things, friend, just don't quit.
What the marker says
Kimble County's first newspaper began operations in February 1882. Editor J. F. Lewis' Washington Press printed four incarnations of the Junction newspaper: THE WESTERN TEXAN, the JUNCTION CITY CLIPPER, the KIMBLE COUNTY CITIZEN, and the JUNCTION CITIZEN-LIGHT. In May 1919 a group of businessmen, including Coke R. Stevenson, (Governor of Texas from 1941 to 1947) formed the Junction Publishing Company and renamed the paper the JUNCTION EAGLE. Though the EAGLE has changed hands several times, its mission remains the same. The JUNCTION EAGLE hometown newspaper continues to serve both as a sourch of information and a chronicle of our times. (1998)