Georgia Historic Newspapers

Captain Samuel Dowse Bradwell and R. N. Andrews published the first issue of the Hinesville Gazette in April 1871, as Liberty County’s first newspaper. The paper printed weekly at a subscription cost of one dollar (three in its founding year) and served as the county’s legal organ. Bradwell, born in Hinesville in 1840, became a prominent Hinesville teacher and editor after serving the Confederate Army during the Civil War. In addition to founding the Gazette, Bradwell also became principal of the school his father taught at, the Hinesville Institute, which he renamed the Bradwell Institute in 1871. From 1888-1889, Bradwell served as a state senator for the Democratic Party and later became State Superintendent of Schools in Georgia in 1891. Upon becoming State Superintendent, Bradwell, who had maintained his association with the Gazette for twenty years, transferred day-to-day management of the Hinesville Gazette to Stephen A. Calder and moved to Atlanta. Calder was assisted by James Bradwell McCall, and the Gazette, which was historically aligned with the Democratic Party, shifted its support to the Peoples’ Party of Georgia. In late December 1892, a stock company called the Herald Publishing Company formed and purchased the Hinesville Gazette. With A. Gordon Cassels as president, James B. McCall secretary and treasurer, and Robert M. Martin as editor, the Hinesville Gazette became the Liberty County Herald. The Liberty County Herald masthead remained unchanged until the paper merged with the Bryan County News in 1980 to form the Coastal Courier. The Coastal Courier continues publication today as Liberty County’s paper of record.

Provided by: Digital Library of Georgia