Georgia Historic Newspapers

The inaugural issue of the Times circulated in July 1880 in Savannah, Georgia. By 1881, J. B. Haslam and William M. Sneed co-owned the daily paper, which they retitled the Savannah Times. The four-page paper was published every evening except Sunday and carried a subscription cost of five dollars. The Times’ emerged in an era other daily evening newspapers were gaining popularity in Georgia’s urban centers, and it matched the pattern of significantly undercutting the subscription fee of its morning rival. In this case, the Times’ was half the cost of the Savannah Morning News. In 1883, the paper experienced significant growth when it was incorporated under a stock company. The paper became the Savannah Daily Times and organized under the Savannah Times Publishing Company. At a subsequent meeting of shareholders at the Daily Times offices on 94 Bryan Street, B. H. Richardson was elected president of the company, general manager, and editor-in-chief. Richardson presided over the founding of a Sunday edition, and the paper’s expansion to eight pages. In January 1887, he stepped down from his editorial position, and Gazaway Hartridge was elected to replace Richardson. Hartridge’s tenure as managing editor was equally short, and the Daily Times cycled through several editors over the next four years. In September 1891, the Daily Times building suffered a fire which resulted in over $12,000 in damages. This event forced the paper’s suspension, but Pleasant A. Stovall of the Augusta Chronicle announced in November his plans to revive the paper. Although advertisements in 1891 indicate he did revive the paper, it was out of circulation by 1892.

Provided by: Digital Library of Georgia