DigitalNC is excited to announce that four more years of The Smithfield Herald are now available online, thanks to our partner, the Johnston County Heritage Center.

The Smithfield Herald, established in 1882, was the oldest newspaper in Johnston County, offering an important insight into the county’s history. These semiweekly issues from January 1926 to April 1930 highlight local interests. Popular topics include weddings, deaths, church news, and local politics.

Also available to explore: creative writing! The Smithfield Herald published serialized fiction, poems, and short stories. Below is one example:

Learn more about the Johnston County Heritage Center and browse their extensive collections here. To look through all 3,096 issues of The Smithfield Herald available on DigitalNC, click here. And to search through other North Carolina newspapers, click here.

This week we have another 70 titles up on DigitalNC including over 1,000 issues of The Robesonian, 1,000 issues of The Western Sentinel, 3,000 issues of The Reidsville Review, 4,000 issues of The News and Observer, and almost 4,000 issues of the Salisbury Evening Post!

In the March 8th, 1914 issue of The News and Observers we have an article detailing a practice game played by the Baltimore Orioles while in Fayetteville. This happens to be the game where a 19 year old George Herman “Babe” Ruth hit his first home run as a professional baseball player. Ruth was also given his iconic nickname “Babe” while in Fayetteville on this trip.

The News and Observer, March 8th, 1914

Image via The Fayetteville Observer

Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week’s additions include:

Asheboro

• Asheboro Courier (Asheboro, N.C.) – 1902

Asheville

• Asheville Daily Citizen (Asheville, N.C.) – 1891-1900
• The Citizen (Asheville, N.C.) – 1900
• Asheville Citizen (Asheville, N.C.) – 1906-1907

Belhaven

• Belhaven Journal (Belhaven, N.C.) – 1916-1923
• Beaufort-Hyde News (Belhaven, N.C.) – 1966-1980

Brevard

• Brevard News (Brevard, N.C.) – 1917

Charlotte

• Daily Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) – 1893-1897

Cherryville

• The Eagle (Cherryville, N.C.) – 1915-1919

Clayton

• The Clayton News (Clayton, N.C.) – 1914-1966

Concord

• The Bright Mason (Concord, N.C.) – 1873-1874

Cooleemee

• The Cooleemee Journal (Cooleemee, N.C.) – 1956-1962

Creedmoor

• Creedmoor Times-News (Creedmoor, N.C.) – 1913-1914

Durham

• The Morning Herald (Durham, N.C.) – 1913-1914

East Bend

• The Yadkin Ripple (East Bend, N.C.) – 1902

Elizabeth City

• The Advance (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1916
• The Daily Advance (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1916-1917

Forest City

• The Free Press (Forest City, N.C.) – 1913

Gastonia

• The Gastonia Gazette (Gastonia, N.C.) – 1908

Goldsboro

• Goldsboro Daily Argus (Goldsboro, N.C.) – 1905-1920

Greenville

• King’s Weekly (Greenville, N.C.) – 1903-1905

Kenly

• The Kenly Observer (Kenly, N.C.) – 1927

Leaksville

• Leaksville Herald (Leaksville, N.C.) – 1861

Lenoir

• The Semi-Weekly News (Lenoir, N.C.) – 1900
• The Weekly News (Lenoir, N.C.) – 1902-1905
• The Lenoir Weekly News (Lenoir, N.C.) – 1905-1915
• The Lenoir News (Lenoir, N.C.) – 1906, 1914-16

Lincolnton

• Lincoln Progress (Lincolnton, N.C.) – 1874
• The Lincoln Journal (Lincolnton, N.C.) – 1903-1906

Lumberton

• The Robesonian (Lumberton, N.C.) – 1903-1923

Mocksville

• The Davie Times (Mocksville, N.C.) – 1902

Mooresville

• The Mooresville Enterprise (Mooresville, N.C.) – 1901-1902

Moravian Falls

• The Yellow-Jacket (Moravian Falls, N.C.) – 1928

New Bern

• The Sun (New Bern, N.C.) – 1911

Raleigh

• The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) – 1906-1923

Red Springs

• The Farmer and Scottish Chief (Red Springs, N.C.) – 1890

Reidsville

• The Weekly Review (Reidsville, N.C.) – 1889-1899
• The Reidsville Review (Reidsville, N.C.) – 1899-1923

Rocky Mount

• Rocky Mount Mail (Rocky Mount, N.C.) – 1875-1876

Rutherfordton

• The Sun (Rutherfordton, N.C.) – 1911

Salisbury

• Salisbury Evening Post (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1905-1923
• Salisbury Post (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1908-1912
• Yadkin Valley Herald (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1918-1919

Selma

• The Johnstonian (Selma, N.C.) – 1925

Shelby

• The Cleveland Star (Shelby, N.C.) – 1902-1904
• The Highlander (Shelby, N.C.) – 1912-1920

Smithfield

• Johnston County Record (Smithfield, N.C.) – 1933-1934
• The Smithfield Herald (Smithfield, N.C.) – 1977

Spruce Pines & Burnsville

• The Tri-County News (Spruce Pine & Burnsville, N.C.) – 1940

Statesville

• Statesville Landmark (Statesville, N.C.) – 1874-1875
• The Landmark (Statesville, N.C.) – 1875-1903
• The Statesville American (Statesville, N.C.) – 1878
• The Statesville Mascot (Statesville, N.C.) – 1902

Taylorsville

• The Mountain Scout (Taylorsville, N.C.) – 1902-1906

Washington

• Washington Dispatch (Washington, N.C.) – 1861
• The North State Press (Washington, N.C.) – 1880
• The Washington Gazette (Washington, N.C.) – 1884-1887
• The Evening Messenger (Washington, N.C.) – 1896-1899
• The Gazette-Messenger (Washington, N.C.) – 1900-1904
• Washington Progress (Washington, N.C.) – 1930-1931

Waynesville

• Waynesville Courier (Waynesville, N.C.) – 1914-1915
• The Carolina Mountaineer and Waynesville Courier (Waynesville, N.C.) – 1921

Wilmington

• Wilmington Weekly Chronicle (Wilmington, N.C.) – 1840-1841
• Wilmington Chronicle (Wilmington, N.C.) – 1841-1845
• The Daily Journal (Wilmington, N.C.) – 1851-1852
• The Daily Wilmington Herald (Wilmington, N.C.) – 1866

Windsor

• Windsor Ledger (Windsor, N.C.) – 1913

Winston-Salem

• The Western Sentinel (Winston-Salem, N.C.) – 1903-1922
• Twin City Sentinel (Winston-Salem, N.C.) – 1922

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.

This week we have another 60 titles up on DigitalNC! While these papers cover all of North Carolina, almost one third are from Statesville alone!

In the October 3^rd, 1902 issue of Elizabeth City’s Tar Heel, there is an interview with Reginald Aubrey Fessenden’s assistant, Professor Saint Marie. Fessenden was a pioneer in early radio, or “wireless telegraphy,” and was conducting experiments at Manteo on Roanoke Island. In the interview, Prof. Saint Marie seems somewhat pessimistic about the process and its possibilities, which might be due to Fessenden abruptly ending their contract with the Weather Bureau the previous month after conflict arose over ownership of the patent.

Tar Heel, October 3, 1902

However, less than two months later The News and Observer reported that Fessenden’s invention had greatly improved and could now send transmissions to Washington, D.C. On Christmas Eve, 1906, he conducted the first radio broadcast by reading a bible verse and then playing ‘O Holy Night’ on his violin for the ships off the coast of Massachusetts. By 1909, according the the Charlotte Evening Observer, he had perfected the process for which he laid the foundation on the Carolina coast.

News and Observer, November 23, 1902

Evening Chronicle, April 14, 1909

Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.

This week’s additions include:

Elizabeth City

• Tar Heel (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1901-1910

Moravian Falls

• The Yellow-Jacket (Moravian Falls, N.C.) – 1895-1928

North Wilkesboro

• The North Wilkesboro Hustler (North Wilkesboro, N.C.) – 1906-1926
• North Wilkesboro News (North Wilkesboro, N.C.) – 1893-1896

Oxford

• The Leisure Hour (Oxford, N.C.) – 1858-1861
• The News of Oxford (Oxford, N.C.) – 1889
• Oxford Banner (Oxford, N.C.) – 1911
• The Granville Whig (Oxford, N.C.) – 1850
• Granville County Reformer (Oxford, N.C.) – 1894
• The Oxford Mercury (Oxford, N.C.) – 1843
• The Oxford Mercury, and District Telegraph (Oxford, N.C.) – 1843-1844
• The Oxford Leader (Oxford, N.C.) – 1875

Pittsboro

• The Communicator (Pittsboro, N.C.) – 1847
• Central Reflector (Pittsboro, N.C.) – 1833
• The Home (Pittsboro, N.C.) – 1887-1889

Rutherfordton

• West-Carolina Record (Rutherfordton, N.C.) – 1873-1874
• The Rutherford Star and West-Carolina Record (Rutherfordton, N.C.) – 1874-1875

Salem

• The Farmers’ Reporter (Salem, N.C.) – 1832-1834
• The Farmers’ Reporter and Rural Repository (Salem, N.C.) – 1835-1836
• Carolina Gazette (Salem, N.C.) – 1841

Salisbury

• The Evening World (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1895-1898
• Weekly World (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1895-1896
• Salisbury News (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1878
• The Salisbury Press (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1888
• The Tribune (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1872
• The Daily Gazette (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1865
• The Rowan Whig and Western Advocate (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1852-1855
• The Salisbury Herald (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1855-1857
• The Weekly Jubilee (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1852
• The Prohibitionist (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1881
• Salisbury Weekly Sun (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1897-1904
• Salisbury Globe (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1904-1905
• The Salisbury Daily Index (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1899-1900
• Salisbury Daily Truth-Index (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1900-1901
• Daily Herald (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1891-1896
• North Carolina Herald (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1885-1898
• The Industrial Record (Salisbury, N.C.) – 1899

Selma

• The Johnstonian (Selma, N.C.) – 1926

Shelby

• The Mountain Eagle (Shelby, N.C.) – 1861
• Shelby Review (Shelby, N.C.) – 1892

Siler City

• The Siler City Grit (Siler City, N.C.) 1905-1920

Smithfield

• The Weekly Herald (Smithfield, N.C.) – 1883
• The Smithfield Herald (Smithfield, N.C.) – 1885-1900

Statesville

• The Mascot (Statesville, N.C.) – 1897-1899
• The Statesville Mascot (Statesville, N.C.) – 1899-1901
• The Evening Mascot (Statesville, N.C.) – 1908-1909

Stonewall

• The Pamlico Enterprise (Stonewall, N.C.) – 1882-1884

Tarboro

• Tarboro’ Press (Tarboro, N.C.) – 1845-1847

Taylorsville

• The Mountain Scout (Taylorsville, N.C.) – 1913-1916

Wadesboro

• The Pee Dee Star (Wadesboro, N.C.) – 1854

Warrenton

• The Centennial (Warrenton, N.C.) – 1876
• The Semi-Weekly News (Warrenton, N.C.) – 1856-1857
• Warrenton News (Warrenton, N.C.) – 1850-1861

Washington

• The Weekly Express (Washington, N.C.) – 1873
• Washington Gazette, and Weekly Advertiser (Washington, N.C.) – 1807-1808
• Freeman’s Echo (Washington, N.C.) – 1829
• The New Era (Washington, N.C.) – 1862-1863
• The North State Press (Washington, N.C.) – 1878-1881

Wilson

• The Plaindealer (Wilson, N.C.) – 1869-1873

Windsor

• The Albemarle Press (Windsor, N.C.) – 1874-1876

If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.

Thanks to funding from the State Library of North Carolina’s LSTA Grant and our partner, Johnston County Heritage Center, over five hundred issues from 1911 to 1925 of The Smithfield Herald are now available on our website. These issues expand DigitalNC’s previously digitized issues from 1901 all the way to 1925.

The paper was first published weekly in Smithfield, North Carolina in 1882 under the name The Weekly Herald. In the late 1880s, the paper was renamed a second and final time to The Smithfield Herald. Articles in the paper focus on local as well as national news. Over one hundred years later, The Smithfield Herald continues to be published in Smithfield, North Carolina.

October 11, 1925.

A special Sunday edition of the paper was printed when William B. Cole, a rich mill owner in Rockingham, North Carolina, was acquitted of the charge of murder. According to the paper, Cole was on trial for the murder of his daughter’s lover and former serviceman—William B. Ormond. The paper is unclear about what motive Cole had to murder Ormond.

After several hours of deliberation and pressuring one of their fellow jurors, the jury concluded that the mill owner was not guilty of the murder of Ormond. The writer’s mention of the defendant as a wealthy man in the article points to the suspicion that he may have been acquitted thanks to his money.

Although found not guilty, the judge would not release the defendant until he proved that he was sane. A day after the verdict was read, Cole attended a hearing in Wilkesboro to determine whether or not he should be sent to the State Hospital for the Insane in Raleigh. It is not mentioned in the two articles about this story if Cole was released or sent to the hospital. 

To read more about the William B. Cole case,  click here and here.

To learn more about the Johnston County Heritage Center, please visit their website.

To view more newspapers from across North Carolina, please click here.

More issues of the The Smithfield Herald from 1901-1911 are now available on DigitalNC courtesy of our partner, Johnston County Heritage Center. These issues join previously digitized issues from 1917-1918. The Smithfield Herald was established in 1882 and is still published in Smithfield, North Carolina, and distributed throughout Johnston County.

These early issues of The Smithfield Herald focused on local news from Smithfield and surrounding towns in Johnston County, as well as state and national news. The paper covered topics such as politics, the economy, municipal issues, and local events.

Not only did The Smithfield Herald include local and and national news stories, it also published popular novels in weekly installations. For example, the novel Beverly of Graustark by George Barr McCutcheon was carried for several months starting on June 29, 1906. Beverly of Graustark belonged McCutcheon’s series of romantic adventures set in the fictional Eastern European country of Graustark, and was made into a film in 1926 that featured an early technicolor sequence.

To see more materials from our partner, Johnston County Heritage Center, take a look at their DigitalNC partner page, or visit their website.

138 issues of the Smithfield Herald have been newly added to DigitalNC, courtesy of our partner, the Johnston County Heritage Center. These are the first issues of the Smithfield Herald digitized on DigitalNC, covering January 1917 to April 1918. Established in 1882, the Herald was at one point the oldest operating newspaper in Johnston County. It joins fellow Johnston County newspaper, the Johnstonian-Sun.

The Smithfield Herald advertised War Bonds during World War I

The Herald is published semiweekly and offers local and national headlines of interest. During this time period, the Herald contained coverage from the different fronts in World War I. The newspaper also advertised local businesses who sold war bonds to support the war effort. Many local headlines are more innocuous, though – one issue had an article on how a local woman entertained a party at a local dance hall with games and ice cream. In addition, the paper also had smaller short stories, poems or jokes.

Having the Smithfield Herald added to our collection grows our knowledge of what Johnston County was like during that time period and is an invaluable resource. To browse through other materials from the Johnston County Heritage Center, check out their partner page, or visit their website.