Front page of the June 25, 1896 issue of The Gastonia Gazette

Issues of The Gastonia Gazette from 1895 to 1904 have recently been transferred from microfilm to be available on DigitalNC for you to peruse. Thanks to this addition, our digital holdings for this title now span from 1893 to 1909.

The paper, “devoted to the protection of home and the interests of the county,” covers news from Gaston County and beyond. It features stories about individuals, administrative developments, local industry, and events of interest throughout the county (but particularly in Gastonia).

These issues are an addition to an already significant amount of materials from Gaston County, including many other newspaper titles from Gastonia.

The front page of the Laurinburg Exchange, dated April 1916. Topics include the local County Commencement, Passion Week and the local churches, and debate teams from local schools competing in Chapel Hill.

61 issues of The Laurinburg Exchange have been newly digitized and added to DigitalNC. These are the first issues from The Laurinburg Exchange to be added to our collection, covering dates and issues from August 1889 to December 1926. Published since 1882, The Laurinburg Exchange serves the readers of Laurinburg and Scotland County to this day. The Exchange joins two other newspapers in our collection that cover Scotland County: the student newspapers for Presbyterian Junior College and St. Andrews University.

A reading list for local high school students for the years 1924-1925.

Looking through these newspapers, many of the articles are about local issues concerning the citizens and residents of Scotland County. Municipal issues, like elections and political developments, were written about especially often. Some news from throughout the state was also posted in the Exchange. However, its coverage was mostly focused on local issues – at any moment, the paper might have been notifying residents of changes in their courts or new stocked items in local businesses, or for example, warning residents about a local fever outbreak. In the photo on the right, the Exchange published a list of required books and associated course prices for local high schoolers.

Adding The Laurinburg Exchange to our collection represents a new wealth of knowledge about the lives of ordinary North Carolinians at the turn of the 20th century.

Front page of the Bessemer City Messenger, dated May 25, 1895.

An issue of the Bessemer City Messenger has been newly digitized and added to DigitalNC. The issue is date May 25, 1895, making the Messenger one of the oldest newspapers we have on file. Unfortunately, not much else is known about this newspaper, including when it began or when it ended. This 1895 issue is only the second instance of the Messenger being preserved to this day. The only other copy of any issue known to exist is an 1892 edition held in the State Library of North Carolina in Raleigh, N.C.

Published out of Bessemer City, the Messenger served the residents of Gaston County during its circulation. Its articles take a distinctly Populist stance, celebrating Populist Party victories throughout the country in the early 1890s, while also arguing for greater distribution of wealth among workers and increased living conditions for children and women. A number of articles are also dedicated to trade protection, wheat production, manufacturing, and tariffs. For example, the article on the right is dedicated to the rapid expansion of cotton production mills in the South, with North Carolina being a particular spot for growth. While there were some notices of local events and local news among Gaston County and nearby towns in Cleveland County, the majority of this paper’s articles were dedicated to national or international events, creating an interesting dynamic when compared to other North Carolina papers of the time on our site. 

Having the Bessemer City Messenger added to our collection is an invaluable resource when it comes to learning about the lives of North Carolinians in the late 1800s. 

In 1894, Congress passed into federal law the national observance of Labor Day, a day of “rest and recreation” for the “laboring man” to reinforce his “honorable as well as useful place in the body politic.” Twenty-three states (North Carolina not among them) had already been celebrating a “labor day” in the years preceding 1894, and the tradition garnered enough Congressional attention to rise to the level of a federal holiday.

Because this tradition wasn’t broadly adopted in North Carolina until it became a federal holiday, most mentions in the state’s newspapers preceding 1894 report on other states’ celebrations like this clipping from the September 5, 1888 Daily Review out of Wilmington which warns of “red-handed and black-hearted Anarchists.”

From the Wilmington NC Daily Review

While we don’t see them as much today, parades were a near requirement of early Labor Days, with labor organizations creating floats and marching in celebration. The closing of businesses and a rest from all kinds of work were also a requirement. When North Carolina newspapers start mentioning the observance of Labor Day, there’s another recurring theme: Barbecue. One of the earliest examples we could locate, from 1907, talks about “a big barbecue and brunswick stew” served up at the fairgrounds in Raleigh.

From the Smithfield Herald

Barbecue (frequently FREE barbecue) continues to be mentioned as part of the main event. In 1912 Spencer had a “big barbecue” and a “big parade,” along with games, races, fireworks, and “a demonstration in motor plowing.”

From the Mebane Leader

We hope you’re celebrating Labor Day by resting from work and enjoying delicious barbecue or the North Carolina delicacy of your choice!

The front page of the July 1, 1904 Richmond Headlight

43 issues of the Richmond Headlight have been newly added to DigitalNC and are available now. These are the first issues of the Richmond Headlight to be digitized and uploaded to DigitalNC, covering from March 1901 to September 1906. It is also the first newspaper on DigitalNC from Richmond County. Published as a weekly newspaper in Rockingham, the Richmond Headlight advertised itself as the “only Democratic paper in the county” at the time. As the newspaper folded in late 1906, this batch may represent the entirety of the Richmond Headlight‘s circulation still in known existence, completing the collection.

The Headlight provided local news for Richmond County residents, as well as updates from throughout the state. Rather than specifically focusing on the county seat, the city of Rockingham, it made efforts to include news from all throughout the county, from towns both large and small. Looking through the articles now, it is remarkable to see what news the editors and reporters believed to be important to contemporary readers. The “Local Column” announced what had happened in the previous week; in one issue, it noted the election of Governor Robert B. Glenn in 1904, the creation of a lodge of the Junior Order United American Mechanics, and made mention of one resident spending Sunday with another.

Adding the Richmond Headlight to our collection represents an invaluable resource in helping us learn about the lives of North Carolina in the beginning of the 20th century.  To view more newspapers on DigitalNC, visit our newspaper page.

Front page of the March 8, 1934, issue of The Transylvania Times

Issues from 1933 to 1940 of The Transylvania Times have recently been transferred from microfilm and are now available on DigitalNC. The paper, published in Brevard, North Carolina, recounts news from throughout Transylvania County.

As the “only newspaper published in Transylvania County” at that time, the publication includes information regarding local events, education updates (from both Rosman and Brevard high schools), notices of sales, society and club news, advertisements, as well as news from beyond the county. A regular section called “Scenes and Persons in the Current News” features international news covering topics such as the Spanish Civil War and the shifting hands of the British monarchy. Additionally, many issues include “The Sunny Side of Life,” a series of comics that regularly fill a page of the newspaper.

Front page of the “Special Fair Edition” from October 5, 1933

Significant local events are given special weight in this paper, such as the first county fair, featured in the issue from October 5, 1933. For that special issue, the front page features and the next several pages of the issue provide information regarding fair entries and advertisements for the best clothing to wear to the fair. According to the next issue, from October 12, the fair was a success with between four and five thousand attendees over the course of the two days.

“Great Throngs at First County Fair,” from the October 12, 1933 issue of The Transylvania Times

To browse more of our materials from throughout Transylvania County, visit here. Digitized issues of Brevard News and Sylvan Valley News both predate our holdings of The Transylvania Times, and we also have issues of The Echo, covering the nearby Pisgah Forest, available from 1940 to 1954.  Thanks to our partner Transylvania County Library for nominating this paper for digitization!

Front page of the August 17, 1917 issue of the Albemarle Observer

Eight issues of the Albemarle Observer, from Edenton, North Carolina, are now available online. Issues from the “only newspaper published in Chowan County” date from August to November, 1917, and cover news about individuals and businesses throughout the area.