About

J. I. Hall and Mr. Alexander published the first issue of the Georgia Herald on December 9, 1869 in Thomaston, Georgia. Hall held editorial responsibilities, and, with his salutatory editorial, he firmly established the paper as a Democratic, anti-Reconstruction newspaper. For its nine-year run, the paper circulated weekly at a subscription cost of two dollars. On July 25, 1870, Charles G. Bearce became sole editor and proprietor after purchasing the paper from W. T. Weaver and altered the title to the Thomaston Herald beginning with the December 10, 1870 issue. On April 29, 1871, Bearce departed for Maine, and J. C. McMichael and M. C. Cabaniss took over management of the paper. J. C. McMichael owned and edited the Thomaston Herald for three years, making him the Herald’s longest-serving editor-in-chief. McMichael proved to be a prolific newspaper man, later managing the Barnesville Gazette, Christian Index, and the Atlanta Herald. After McMichael’s departure in 1874, the Thomaston Herald underwent several editor and ownership changes until it ceased publication in February 1878.