Founded 1842 by Samuel Bangs, Texas' first printer. Published after 1843 by Willard Richardson, who put up the first 4-story building in Galveston to house the offices and printing plant.
Soon after the Civil War began in 1861, cut back from a tri-weekly, to weekly. When Governor Francis R. Lubbock in 1862 asked civilians to evacuate, moved to Houston. Destroyed by fire in February, resumed publication in April on straw paper or yellow tissue, and with few columns. Galveston items came by messenger, while back home a Union sympathizer freely published "Flake's Bulletin."
The "Texas Almanac," a sideline first put out in 1857 to attract immigration and summarize state events, was published in war years in Austin by David Richardson as the "Tri-Weekly Almanac Extra."
Confederate veteran A.H. Belo joined the "News" staff in 1865 and in 1866 moved with it back to Galveston. In 1875, became chief owner of the "News" and "Texas Almanac." In 1878 he installed Texas' first telephone, from his office to his home.
With the founding of the Dallas "Morning News," Oct. 1, 1885, Belo became the first publisher with duplicate newspapers issued over 300 miles apart.
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