In the late 19th century, the South Plains of Texas was a sparsely settled frontier with no newspapers. That changed in 1886, when the Crosby County News began in the small Quaker settlement of Estacado.
According to Voyle Vaughn’s 1937 thesis, A History of the Journalism of the South Plains, the Crosby County News, edited by John W. Murray, was the first newspaper in the South Plains region north of the Texas and Pacific Railway. Vaughn recorded its founding in November 1886. In her Jan. 9, 1908 article in the Crosby County News, Miss Lena Martin recalled the date as 1887. She also noted that Estacado was first called “Marietta” in honor of Mrs. Paris Cox, the wife of the Quaker leader who brought settlers to the area.
The Crosby County News began as a seven-column weekly, printed on a hand press. Circulating beyond the county, it brought attention to the area and, as Martin wrote, it “induced many people to move here.” The paper’s boosterism, however, did not please everyone. Some Quaker leaders opposed attracting too many newcomers who were not part of their faith. Vaughn notes that Murray became the leader of the non-Quaker faction in Estacado, using his paper to advocate for change…