The National Emporium, later called Mound City Weekly Emporium, released its first issue at Mound City in June 1856.  Rev. J. Walter Waugh was publisher and the newspaper’s purpose was to promote Mound City and the Emporium Company as a better place for settlement and investment than Cairo in neighboring Alexander County. The banner over each issue read, “Devoted to the interest of Southern Illinois in general, and Mound City in particular.” Dr. Z. Casterline, who came from Cincinnati, was the first editor, but after six months, Mose B. Harrell took over the editorship.  Harrell sold his interest in the newspaper in June 1857, but continued as editor.  In September 1857, John A. Waugh, brother of J. Walter Waugh, became publisher.  Harrell soon returned to Cairo and John A. Waugh stepped up as editor as well as proprietor until 1861, when he was elected secretary of the Marine Ways Company and entered the U. S. Navy.  The publication was discontinued at this time.  “J. A. Waugh, now cashier of the First State Bank of this city, was in 1856 one of the publishers of the Mound City Emporium, a weekly four-page newspaper of nine columns to the page and now has an incomplete file of the paper for that year which he prizes very highly” (29 Jun 1906, The Pulaski Enterprise). Unfortunately Waugh’s 1856 file cannot be located and extant issues begin with the 12 Feb 1857, issue and end with the 22 Mar 1860, issue. 

The Mound City Gazette was started in late 1860 by Judge J. R. Emerie, but it lasted only a year.  Only the 22 Aug 1861, issue is extant.

The Mound City Journal was started in 1864 as a Democratic paper by J. D. Moudy, but he was soon replaced by S. P. Wheeler, who edited the paper until 1865, after which he became one of the leading lawyers in southern Illinois.  In 1865, H. R. Howard, publisher of the newspaper, also became editor.  Capt. H. F. Potter purchased the newspaper and press in May 1866 and changed the paper from a politically Independent to a Democratic paper.  He continued it until 1874, when he moved it to Cairo and began the weekly Cairo and Mound City Journal.  At the time of the move, the newspaper had about 900 subscribers, but they did not follow him, and he felt compelled to discontinue the weekly paper that was printed in Cairo, but mostly distributed in Pulaski County.  The only extant issues include 5 Oct 1865 (Volume 1, No. 47), 21 Jul 1866 (Volume 2, No. 33), and 7 May 1870 (Vol. 6, No. 25). 

The Pulaski Patriot was established in Mound City as a Republican newspaper on 17 Jun 1871, by A. J. Alden, editor, and B. O. Jones, publisher.  Dr. F. R. Wagoner became editor in December 1871 and M. O. H. Turner joined the paper in January 1872.  Turner was replaced by Fred W. Carson and in April 1873, Wagoner was replaced by Ed H. Bintliff.  From November 1874 through December 1877, the newspaper was owned and operated by Ed. S. Ackerman and his father, A. Ackerman.  In 1879, Major Daniel Hogan purchased the newspaper and in July 1880, J. P. Robarts, a Mound City lawyer and politician, became editor.  He succeeded in increasing the subscriptions to the paper to about 1,400 and one account stated “His paper was more generally read over Illinois than probably any weekly newspaper ever published in the state.”  Robarts became part owner and in September 1881, L. M. Bradley, another Mound City lawyer, became a partner with Robarts.  The two continued to own the newspaper until 1886, when the newspaper plant and office was destroyed by fire.  A. M. Palmer was said to have been editor before the Sun was established in 1902 in Mound City.  The Pulaski Patriot consolidated with the Mound City Democrat and eventually became known as the Pulaski Enterprise.  The extant issues begin with 12 Jul 1871, and end with 28 March 1891.

The Twentieth Century

The Pulaski Enterprise was published in Mound City as a weekly.  The first extant issue is 20 Jan 1905. The banner read “Devoted to the Interest of the People of Pulaski County.”  James F. Connell, former editor of the Egyptian Press at Marion, was publisher and editor for near ten years, until December 1903.  The name of the newspaper was changed to The Pulaski Enterprise under Connell about 1902, after the Pulaski Patriot, a Republican newspaper, consolidated with the Mound City Democrat and then became independent politically.  In June 1904, John F. Rector, Jr., became editor and a new power press, hob presses, type, and other equipment was installed at a cost of $5,000.  Capt. Henry C. Ashbaugh was editor and manager from July 1905 until he retired in October 1909, after having a nervous breakdown.  His son Will H. Ashbaugh succeeded him. The control and management of the Enterprise passed to Roy N. Adams with the 5 Nov 1909, issue, but he resigned in April 1911 to devote his entire time to the office of Pulaski County clerk.  Will H. Ashbaugh, the former editor, assumed full control and management of Pulaski Enterprise in April 1911.  In November 1920, R. R. Kimbro replaced W. H. Ashbaugh as editor and manager and began publishing the newspaper on Thursdays.  By October 1921, Kimbro had left and was publishing a newspaper called the Hardin County Independent at Elizabethtown.  Fred Hood and Lawrence B. Livesay became the new editor and business manager.  Hood and Waite were publishers, Gale Roberson was managing editor, Fred Hood was contributing editor and Frank Lyerly was business manager in 1924.  The masthead read, “A Weekly Newspaper Dedicated to the People, Perspiration, Prosperity and Pulaski County.”  Judge Fred Hood sold his interest in the Enterprise to H. L. Settlemoir in March 1925.  The newspaper merged with the Independent in 1957 and became the Pulaski County Enterprise-Independent.

The Ullin Times was a politically independent weekly published on Fridays in Ullin, beginning in July 1914.  W. B. Roberts was the editor and publisher in 1916. Arvle Sowers was editor and publisher by August 1919.  None of the issues are microfilmed, but a small collection of sixteen issues from 1916 to 1921 is owned by Paul Echols, formerly of Ullin.  Transcriptions included here were made from that collection.

The Mounds News was published in Mounds beginning in 1919.  W. G. Evans was editor and manager and Miss Elsie Harding was city editor.  Its parent newspaper, name unknown, was started in 1886, as the first volume in 1919 was volume 33 in the “old series.”  It became the News-Press in 1956 and merged with the Pulaski Enterprise-Independent in 1957.  It was published again as the News-Press from February 1958 to January 1960, but merged with the Pulaski Enterprise in February 1960.

The Independent was published in Mounds and the first extant issue is 11 Dec 1924, when Toler and Anderson were publishers.  Bernice Anderson was editor and advertising manager, W. L. Toler was contributing editor and business manager, and Mrs. W. L. Toler was city editor.  The last issue was 3 Jan 1957, after which it merged with the Pulaski Enterprise.