About

Dennis W. D. Boully published the first issue of the Hawkinsville Dispatch in early 1866. The paper was printed weekly at a subscription cost of two dollars per year. After a few months, Boully, a newspaperman notorious for short tenures, sold the Dispatch to W. H. Paxton and John Laidler. On January 31, 1867, Laidler sold his shares in the Dispatch to Paxton, but, by June, 1867, Laidler had complete ownership in the paper. On August 22, 1867, Laidler sold out to long-time Hawkinsville resident, George P. Woods. That issue of the Dispatch contains a valedictory editorial by Laidler announcing the change of hands. Between 1867 and 1868, the paper briefly suspended operations, but Boully returned to Hawkinsville in December 1868, to resume publication. Boully remained with the Dispatch until January 1871, when he moved to Lawrenceville in order to establish the Weekly Gwinnett Atlas. George P. Woods regained ownership of the Dispatch, and he held that role until 1889. In January of that year, Woods sold shares of the paper to J. J. Whitfield and J. T. Waterman of the J. W. Burke Company. The paper had expanded to eight-pages and reached a circulation of over 1,300 by the time Woods brought on business partners. In mid-1889, the Hawkinsville Dispatch and Hawkinsville News merged to form the Hawkinsville Dispatch and News, which continues to publish today as Pulaski County’s paper of record.