Winnsboro News


The Winnsboro News is a weekly newspaper in Winnsboro, Texas, serving Wood and Franklin Counties. Current circulation is 2,293.
Stories differ on how the newspaper was formed. Histories of the city of Winnsboro indicate that the newspaper was formed in 1908 by a merger of the "wet" and "dry" newspapers in the town--one newspaper serving those holding views against the sale of liquors and one serving those holding views favoring the sale of liquors--the Winnsboro News and the Winnsboro Messenger. The Texas Press Association, however, fixes September 24, 1908 as the specific date of the founding of the News as a weekly newspaper.
The newspaper was later sold to Judge R.M. Smith. A former publisher, Grayford M. Jones, built the current 9,800 square foot newspaper plant for the News at 105 E. Locust Street in Winnsboro. The plant has a five-unit Goss Community press. The newspaper is currently owned by Tom and Karen Pendergast, who bought the news June 1, 1985.