A genuine treasure -- an 1878 Center Point newspaper

The Center Point "Excelsior" March 13, 1878 -- Vol 1, No 1.
Click on any image to enlarge.

A kind reader let me scan a true Kerr County treasure this week – a copy of the Centre Point Excelsior newspaper, Vol. 1, No. 1, published on March 13, 1878.

Not only is this the first issue ever published of that newspaper, the copy is in good shape, having been preserved by keeping it away from sunlight, and sealing it between two glass plates to limit its exposure to air. Sunlight and air cause newsprint to decay more quickly, becoming brown and brittle, until finally the acid in the newsprint causes the paper to break into small fragments.

The newspaper has four pages, each about 8.5x11 inches, printed flat on 11x17 inch newsprint, and then folded in half. I believe it was printed in Kerrville at the newspaper print office of the Kerrville Frontiersman, which was published here from 1876 until 1880, when the press was moved over to Bandera to print the Bandera Bugle. (I have never seen a copy of the Frontiersman.)

The reason I suspect the Centre Point Excelsior was printed here was a long advertisement for the printing services of the Frontiersman. (Making this the earliest advertisement for printing in Kerrville!)

A few words about the history of Center Point: 

Situated eight miles southeast of Kerrville in southeastern Kerr County, Center Point graces the banks of the Guadalupe River. The area developed into a hub of commercial activity when Dr. Charles de Ganahl, an early settler, set up a post office in his residence on the river's northern side in November 1859. Ganahl named the post office Zanzenburg. However, in 1872, when the post office was relocated to the river's southern side, the new postmaster, Dr. G. W. Harwell, renamed the blossoming community “Center Point.” The name was said to be inspired by the town's unique location - equidistant between Kerrville and Comfort, as well as between Fredericksburg and Bandera.

Here are some interesting snippets from the first issue of the Excelsior:

The newspaper has a motto, in Latin: Sole Oriente Fugiunt Tenebrae, which Google suggests translates to “With the rising sun the darkness flies,” or, more bluntly, “Darkness flees at sunrise.” I suppose the sun, in this case, is the Excelsior itself.

The newspaper was published by John A. Corbell, edited by D. C. Nowlin, with a ‘local’ editor, J. M. Coleman. Corbell and Nowlin are listed as proprietors on the masthead.

Under a column title “The Value of a County Paper,” the editor writes “will you allow me in brief space to call the attention of your readers to some of the advantages that a representative paper in your midst would confer, which may not have received their due notice.”

He then lists the many advantages of Center Point – fertile lands, law-abiding population, excellent school (on which he expounds later), its prohibition against the sale of liquor, a separate nod toward the village’s churches, its healthy climate, and its various stores and commercial enterprises.

“Aside from these considerations,” the editor suggests, in summation, “your paper, if properly conducted, will repay you ten times over its cost. It will assist in keeping you informed upon the news of the day. It will call your attention to the prominent events of the time and subject under discussion throughout the country. It will keep you thoroughly informed as to the condition of your county, and tend to draw you all together in close union, and mutually profitable acquaintance. It will promote the education of your children, stimulate their desire for knowledge, assist greatly in training their judgment and teaching them to distinguish between the true and the apparently true.”

After mentioning the newspaper’s value in promoting temperance and morality, the editor concludes, “Are these things worth having? If so, they are worth working for; worth paying for. If you would have such a paper you must all unite upon its subscription list, and assist in building it up. Make its support a personal matter, each of you with your neighbors and acquaintances. It will pay you ten times over.”

I’ll print up a few copies of the old newspaper and have them available (for free) at the front desk of our print shop, 615 Water, in downtown Kerrville. First come, first served – until the copies are gone.

Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who is thankful to the kind person who shared this wonderful newspaper with our community. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times July 15, 2023.

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