About

Heyward A. Lumsden published the first issue of the Ellijay Courier in September 1875 as a four-page Democratic newspaper. Lumsden and Blatts edited and published the weekly newspaper until late 1876 when Lumsden took a printing job at the Savannah Morning News and sold out to Samuel R. Freeman. Freeman owned the Courier for less than a year before selling the paper to J. C. Allen and C. F. Cochran in 1877. W. F. Combs of Athens owned the Courier between 1879 and 1880, and he was followed by J. K. Greer and Mr. Kirby in 1881. Greer and Kirby maintained their ownership until 1885 when Greer left, and Walter S. Coleman joined Kirby as a partner. By 1888, Walter S. Coleman was the sole editor and proprietor of the Courier. In 1889, Horace M. Ellington, a Georgia Republican, bought the Courier from Coleman. Ellington owned the paper for five years before selling out to James H. Hutchinson in late 1894. In early 1895, Ellington established the Mountain Sentinel in Ellijay, which prompted Hutchinson to sue Ellington for damages; Hutchinson claimed that Ellington agreed not to establish a competing paper in Gilmer County. Hutchinson politically supported the Democratic Party, and he changed the editorial tone of the Courier to reflect that support. In late 1897, Hutchinson bought out the Mountain Sentinel and formed the Courier-Sentinel. J. S. Everret joined Hutchinson as a co-owner of the Courier-Sentinel after the merger. In July 1898, Hutchinson retired and sold his half interest in the paper to George W. Gates. Two months later, J. K. Greer purchased Everret’s interest which left the paper under the ownership of Gates and Greer. In 1901, Gates had full control of the newspaper, and he sold out to J. H. Tabor. Ellington returned in 1903, and Tabor and Ellington managed the paper together until Tabor departed in 1909. C. F. Ownes and R. M. Edge became the Courier-Sentinel’s owners in 1916, and they merged the paper with the Ellijay Times that same year to form the Times-Courier. The Times-Courier continues to print today as Ellijay’s legal organ.