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Wednesday, August 3, 2016 Barrow It Journal Vol. 8 No. 41 28 PAGES 2 SECTIONS plus inserts A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. WINDER, BARROW COUNTY GEORGIA 30680 Local newspapers merge The Barrow County News, one of the oldest continually operating businesses in Barrow County, has been acquired by Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc., of Jefferson and has been merged with the Barrow Journal to become a single newspaper and website serving the people of Barrow County. The July 31 edition of the Barrow County News was the final publication under the ownership of Swartz-Morris Media head quartered in Cumming. This issue is the first combined edition. Mainstreet Newspapers, Jefferson, is owned by Mike and Scott Buffington, second-gener ation publishers of the family firm which publishes six weekly newspapers in North east Georgia. “By combining the resources of the Barrow County News and the Barrow Journal, the community and our readers will be better served by a stronger combined newspaper,” said Scott Buffington, co-publisher of Main- street Newspapers, Inc., Jefferson, the parent firm of the Barrow Journal. “We will do everything we can to make this transition easy for both our advertisers and our sub scribers.” The merged newspapers will be delivered to subscribers via mail on a weekly basis and will be available in stores and news racks around Barrow County. Customers can continue to use the current Barrow County News phone numbers, email and P.O. Box information in the coming weeks during the transition to a merged oper ation. The newspaper will operate from the current Journal office at 77 East May Street, NEWS OFFICE Combined newspaper operations in Barrow County will take place at 77 East May Street, Winder, beginning this week. Winder. Office hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The current office of the Barrow County News at West Athens Street will be closed. Barrow County News reporters, Scott Thompson and Charles Phelps, have taken positions with MainStreet Newspapers. The name of the newly merged newspaper has not yet been determined. The Barrow County News traces its origins to before Barrow County existed. In 1893, a newspaper called The Jackson Economist opened in Winder, which was then part of Jackson County. The newspaper underwent a number of changes in name and ownership in the 123 years since its debut. It was published as The Winder News from 1913 until 2000, when that publication merged with The Barrow Eagle and became the Barrow County News. The merger of the two newspapers will allow the community to be served by a single entity with improved news reporting resourc es and greater potential for helping advertis ers boost their businesses. “The Barrow County News has a long and distinguished history dating back to 1893,” said Mainstreet Newspapers co-publisher Mike Buffington. “It has had some legend ary publishers and editors, including Harry O. Smith, Myles Godfrey, Kenneth Hudgins, Johnny Solesbee and certainly its current long-time publisher Debbie Burgamy. Com bining that rich history and tradition with the Barrow Journal will create one of the stron gest community newspapers in the state.” In addition to the Barrow Journal, the Mainstreet Newspapers publishing family includes The Jackson Herald, The Commerce News, The Braselton News, The Banks Coun ty News and The Madison County Journal. Charles Hill Morris, regional publisher for Swartz-Morris Media, said Barrow County has been a great community in which to oper ate a business, but that the combining of the two publications would better serve the over all needs of the community and the news papers. Swartz-Morris Media had operated the Barrow County News since purchasing it from the New York Times Company in 1994. “Our long-time publisher, Debbie Burgamy, has devoted her professional career to mak ing the newspaper the best it can be and to serving the Barrow County community,” said Morris. “We are very proud of Debbie, her entire staff and everything they have done.” Transition contact information Phone: 770-867-7557 or 770-867-6397. Email: mike@ mainstreetnews .com. Mailing Label Below Historical timeline of Barrow publications April 1893 — The Jackson Economist founded, edited by M.D. Erwin. At the time, Jug Tavern (Winder) was in Jack- son County, hence the name. 1907 — Paper owned by Robert O. Ross. 1908 — Name changed to The Winder Weekly. 1913 — Name changed to The Winder News. 1914 — Barrow County is created. 1921 — Paper sold to J.W. McWhorter and J.B. Parham. They buy out a com peting weekly, The Barrow Times. 1925 — Parham leaves the paper. C.H. Cook becomes part owner. pany owned by Harry O. Smith, John E. Stoddard and Owen Walker. Smith becomes editor. 1940 — Smith and his wife buy out Stoddard and Walker and become sole owners of the newspaper. 1942 — Smith is called to active mil itary duty and turns over the editor ship to Margaret Mattox Stoddard, the daughter of John E. Stoddard who helped buy the newspaper in 1939. 1946 — Smith returns from military duty and resumes his task as editor. 1963 — Smith is appointed State Direc tor of Selective Service. The demands of that job in Atlanta force him to turn over the day-to-day operations of the paper to W.E. Atkinson, Jr. 1975 — The Winder News moves to 102 West Midland Avenue. 1977 — Johnny Solesbee becomes editor. 1980 — Myles Godfrey becomes pub lisher. 1987 — The Winder News and Gwin nett Daily News are sold to the New York Times Company. 1990 — Debbie Burgamy becomes publisher. 1994 — The New York Times sells The Winder News and a sister newspaper in Forsyth County to Swartz-Morris Media, Inc. headquartered in Cumming. 1996 — The Winder News begins pub lishing two days a week. 1934 — McWhorter sells his interest in the paper to Thomas M. Sewell. The firm buys out a 10-month old competi tor, The Winder Leader. 1935 — A competing weekly, The Enterprise, is published for a short time, then goes out of business. 1937 — Sewell buys Cook’s interest in The Winder News, becoming the sole owner. 1939 — Sewell sells the newspaper to The Winder News Publishing Corn- 1964 — Newspaper operations move from the Rogers Building to the Henry Peskin Building. 1965 — The Winder News goes from “hot” type production to “cold type” offset printing. 1972 — Smith sells The Winder News to The News Company of Lawrencville, publishers of the Gwinnett Daily News owned by Robert Fowler and Louis Fockele. Kenneth Hudgins becomes editor and publisher of The News. 2000 — Swartz-Morris buys out The Barrow Eagle, a competing weekly operated by former News publisher Godfrey. The paper is renamed the Bar- row County News. 2008 — The Barrow Journal begins publication and is owned by the Buff ington family in Jefferson under the corporate name, Mainstreet Newspa pers, Inc. 2016 — The Barrow Journal and the Barrow County News merge under own ership of Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc.