Parsons Advocate

Parsons Advocate
TypeWeekly newspaper
Owner(s)Mountain Media
Founded1896
Headquarters219 Central Avenue, Parsons, WV 26287
Circulation3,033
Websiteparsonsadvocate.com

The Parsons Advocate is a newspaper serving Parsons and surrounding Tucker County in the U.S. state of West Virginia.[1] Published weekly, it has a circulation of 3,033 and is owned by Mountain Media.[2]

The paper began life as the Parsons City Advocate, a Republican weekly founded in 1896.[3] From 1896 to 1903, future governor William Gustavus Conley was a co-owner of the paper.[4] The title was shortened to the Parsons Advocate in 1901.[5]

In 1907, Parsons resident David Wallace Thurston became editor of the Advocate, and on July 1, 1913, he leased the plant and business, buying it in full in November 1919.[6] Thurston, who cast his first presidential vote for Theodore Roosevelt in 1904, was heavily involved in the Republican party,[6] holding many local administrative positions and running for mayor as the Republican nominee in 1932.[7] The 1923 History of West Virginia referred to the Advocate as the "official paper" of Tucker County, and noted that under Thurston's leadership, its circulation was extended well beyond the county's borders.[6]

  1. ^ "Newspapers Currently Received in the West Virginia Archives and History Library" (PDF). West Virginia Division of Culture and History. State of West Virginia. December 2016.
  2. ^ 2016 West Virginia Press Association Newspaper Directory (PDF). West Virginia Press Association. 2016.
  3. ^ "About Parsons city advocate". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  4. ^ Capace, Nancy (1999-01-01). Encyclopedia of West Virginia. Somerset Publishers, Inc. ISBN 9780403098439.
  5. ^ "About Parsons advocate". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Callahan, James Morton (1923). History of West Virginia, Old and New. American historical society, Incorporated.
  7. ^ "Both Parties Name Candidates at Parsons". Cumberland Evening Times. 19 March 1932. Retrieved 16 August 2018.