DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official Navarro County marker has to say — and friend, this one's got more chapters than most. Pull up a chair, because the story of Corsicana's newspapers starts way back in 1855, when a man named Dan Donaldson put out the very first paper in Navarro County. He called it the Prairie Blade.
Now that's a name with some edge to it. By 1859, the Blade had changed hands — R. A.
Van Horn was the new owner, and he had a new name in mind too: the Navarro Express. Sounds fast. Sounds confident.
And then the Civil War came rolling in like a storm nobody could outrun. Paper — the actual physical stuff you print on — went scarce. So the Express did what it had to do: it ran when paper was available, and went quiet when it wasn't.
That right there tells you something about how fragile the whole enterprise was, even when the will to publish was strong. The war years were lean ones for the press in Corsicana. But the 1870s and 1880s?
Those decades had ambition written all over them. Publications started sprouting up — the Odd Fellowship and Literature, the Texas Observer, a four-sheet journal called the Corsicana Methodist, and a literary magazine they named The Texas Prairie. Something for every kind of mind in town, it seems.
Then on September 7, 1888, the Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light first appeared. And not long after, on March 2, 1895, the Corsicana Daily Sun began publication. By that same year — 1895 — both papers were sitting under the same roof, owned by the Sun-Light Publishing Company.
Two papers, one company, one city with a lot to say. Now fast-forward to 1962. The Harte-Hanks Newspaper chain came in, purchased both papers, and drew themselves a circle — literally.
They called their news coverage area the Golden Circle, representing a thirty-mile radius of Corsicana. Thirty miles out in every direction. That's a lot of stories to chase.
Harte-Hanks built a new facility, and then in 1987 they sold the Corsicana Daily Sun to Worrell Newspapers. But 1987 wasn't done yet — the paper changed owners again later that same year. And if that wasn't enough musical chairs, November 1991 saw the Daily Sun land in the hands of the American Publishing Company.
From the Prairie Blade to the Daily Sun, from Dan Donaldson to a chain of national publishers, the press in Corsicana never stopped turning — even when, back during the war, it could only run when the paper showed up. That's the kind of stubbornness that outlasts almost everything.
What the marker says
The first newspaper in Navarro County, called the "Prairie Blade," began publication in 1855 and was owned by Dan Donaldson. By 1859 the paper was owned by R. A. Van Horn who changed its name to the "Navarro Express." Paper was in short supply with the coming of the Civil War, and the "Express" was issued only when paper was available. Publications begun in Corsicana in the 1870s and 1880s included the "Odd Fellowship and Literature," the "Texas Observer," a four-sheet journal called the "Corsicana Methodist," and a literary magazine called "The Texas Prairie." The "Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light" first appeared on September 7, 1888. The "Corsicana Daily Sun" began publication March 2, 1895. Both papers were owned by the Sun-Light Publishing Company by 1895. In 1962 the Harte-Hanks Newspaper chain purchased both papers and established the news coverage area as the "Golden Circle," which represented a 30-mile radius of Corsicana. Harte-Hanks built a new facility and sold the "Corsicana Daily Sun" to Worrell Newspapers in 1987. The paper changed owners later in 1987, then in November, 1991, the "Daily Sun" was purchased by the American Publishing Company.