About

Joe O’Farrell published the first issue of the Athens Weekly Chronicle in January 1878 in Athens, Georgia. The four-page newspaper circulated every Friday at a subscription cost of four dollars and politically aligned with the Democratic Party. O’Farrell’s tenure as editor and proprietor was short-lived, however, as he sold to J. H. Stone in September 1878. Stone continued editing and publishing the Chronicle until Harry H. Phinizy purchased the paper from him in April 1885. Harry Phinizy’s purchase brought some excitement to the city because Harry was the seventh son of Ferdinand Phinizy, a member of the wealthy and influential Augusta-based Phinizy family. With the capital available to him, Harry moved the Chronicle’s offices and purchased a steam-powered printing press. In January 1886, however, Phinizy sold the Chronicle to business partners J. H. Stone and W. S. Christy, and moved to Atlanta where he worked as city editor for the Atlanta Constitution while pursuing political ambitions. Stone and Christy managed the Athens Chronicle for the next three years. In 1888, they expanded operations by including a daily edition entitled the Evening Chronicle. The Athens Banner and Athens Chronicle were not political competitors and attempted to coexist until November 1889 when their similarities ultimately prompted consolidation. Under the newly formed Athens Publishing Company, the merged publications printed as the Athens Banner and Chronicle for only a few issues before ultimately returning to the Athens Daily Banner masthead by December 1889.