The LaRue County Herald 40
Shawnee Dr.
Hodgenville, Ky. 42748
Phone (270)358-3118
Fax (270)358-4852
Office hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
HISTORY
The
LaRue County Herald News is the oldest continuously operating
business in the county.
The first newspaper published in LaRue County in 1879 was
a monthly paper called the Public Advertiser. The paper
was printed upstairs over the T.P. Howard General Store
about where Smith Drug Store is located on Lincoln Boulevard
today.
On May 6, 1885, the first issue of The LaRue County Herald,
the first weekly newspaper, was published. The paper was
published by C.C. Howard and attorney J.E. Wright in the
same building used to print the Public Advertiser.
Shortly afterward, Howard assumed control of the newspaper
and built a large establishment on the corner of the square
that is now occupied by the Hodgenville Woman’s Club
building. Howard later sold the paper to Ray Munford and
Charles R. Creal, and they published the paper for several
years until Creal went to Buffalo Deposit Bank.
In January 1919, a new newspaper came on the scene. The
LaRue County News was published by E.W. Creal, Gus Orrender
and Walter Crady.
After two years of competition, the two newspapers consolidated
and became the Herald News with E.W. Creal and Roy Munford
as editor and publisher. After a few years, Creal bought
Munford’s interest and became the sole owner of the
Herald News until his death.
In November 1970, the paper changed from its “hot
metal” to “offset printing,” doubling
the capacity of the paper and allowing it to make widespread
use of pictures. An original hot press that was used until
that time can be seen in the front window of The LaRue County
Herald News office on Shawnee Dr.
Mrs. E.W. Creal inherited the business and it continued
to be operated by her son, Dalph Creal, who later became
publisher until his death in 1978. The newspaper was passed
on to his daughter, Celia McDonald, who ran it with her
husband, Robert, until January 1991 when Landmark Community
Newspapers Inc. (LCNI) purchased the newspaper.
LCNI is a group of small weeklies to nearly 30,000 circulation
dailies with more than 50 newspapers in 12 states, including
The News-Enterprise in Elizabethtown, the Kentucky Standard
in Bardstown, and the Central Ky. News-Journal in Campbellsville.
LCNI is a division of Landmark Communications Inc. (LCI),
a privately held media company in Norfolk, Va., with interests
in newspapers and special publications, TV broadcasting
including the Weather Channel, cable programming, outdoor
advertising and education.
Today, the LaRue County Herald News is still owned by LCNI.
The office is located at 40 Shawnee Dr., Hodgenville. Office
hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The newspaper
publishes each Wednesday with a circulation of about 4,600.
