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Newspaper The Ocala Evening Star (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943 Evening star / Star

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About The Ocala Evening Star (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943

The Ocala Bannerwas founded in 1883 as a successor to the Ocala Banner-Iacon, itself the product of a merger between the East Florida Banner and the Florida Iacon. In 1890, the Ocala Banner became a daily. Over the years it bore alternate titles: the Banner, the Daily Banner, and the Ocala Daily Banner.

Situated in rural Marion County, the Ocala Banner covered farming, business, and civic issues in Ocala, where the Freeze of 1895 had devastated the citrus industry and paved the way for diversified agriculture and the growth of tourism.

The most important of the early editors of the Ocala Banner was Frank E. Harris, a veteran of the Confederate army, who ran the paper in the 1890s. Other editors included T.W. Harris, who had published several other newspapers in Ocala, and C.L. Bittinger, who before moving to Florida had served as a commander in the Grand Army of the Republic.

In 1895, the Ocala Evening Star surfaced as a rival to the Ocala Banner. Beginning in 1897, it also appeared in a weekly edition, the Ocala Weekly Star. During an address to the Ocala Rotary Club, R.N. Dosh, editor of the Evening Star in the 1920s and 1930s, recalled that the “Star first saw the light of day in the press room of the Florida Baptist Witness”, founded in 1884 as the weekly press organ of the Florida Baptist Convention, a branch of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Former competitors, the Ocala Evening Star and the Ocala Banner joined in 1943 to form the Ocala Star-Banner, which remains the daily newspaper of Marion County.

Provided By: University of Florida

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Ocala Evening Star (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943

Other Title

  • Evening star
  • Star

Summary

  • In 1895, the Ocala (FL) Evening Star [LCCN: sn84027621] surfaced as a rival publication to the Ocala (FL) Banner [LCCN: sn88074815]. These two titles subsequently merged into one publication on September 1, 1943. The resulting Ocala (FL) Star-Banner [LCCN: sn78002071] has remained the daily newspaper in Marion County (FL) since that time. The Ocala Evening Star was also published from 1897 in a weekly edition, the Ocala (FL) Weekly Star [LCCN: sn84027622]. R.N. Dosh, editor of the Ocala Evening Star in the 1920s and 1930s, gave an address to the Ocala Rotary Club, recalling by-gone editors and rival publications, chiefest of whom was Col. Frank E. Harris of the Ocala Banner in the 1890s. He also remembered that the "Star first saw the light of day in the press room of the Florida Baptist Witness ... the first editor was A.H. Harding ..." The Florida Baptist Witness (Ocala, FL) LCCN sn95026767], which began publishing in 1884, was the weekly newspaper of the Florida Baptist Convention, an organ of the Southern Baptist Convention. A variant edition of the same title continues (ca. 2008) to publish. Ocala (FL) is the seat of Marion County (FL) government. The Freeze of 1894 dramatically changed the Ocala into which the Ocala Evening Star was born. The Freeze devastated the citrus industry in Marion County. Between 1895 and 1943, other forms of agriculture took the place of citrus while tourism in the area grew. The Silver Springs theme park, known for its crystal clear waters, would do its part like no other attraction in pre-World War II Marion County. The County remained primarily agricultural until after the war, when its character would again change dramatically.--E. Kesse, University of Florida Digital Library Center.

Dates of Publication

  • 1895-1943

Created / Published

  • Ocala, Fla. : Porter & Harding

Headings

  • -  Ocala (Fla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Marion County (Fla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Florida--Marion County
  • -  Florida--Ocala
  • -  United States--Florida--Marion--Ocala

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Daily (except Sunday)
  • -  Began in 1895; ceased in 1943.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 5 (June 24, 1895).
  • -  Latest issue consulted: Vol. no. 46 (Aug. 28, 1943).

Medium

  • volumes ; 61 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn84027621

OCLC Number

  • 11319113

ISSN Number

  • 1943-8869

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Ocala Evening Star Ocala, Fla. -1943. (Ocala, FL), Jan. 1 1895. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84027621/.

APA citation style:

(1895, January 1) The Ocala Evening Star Ocala, Fla. -1943. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84027621/.

MLA citation style:

The Ocala Evening Star Ocala, Fla. -1943. (Ocala, FL) 1 Jan. 1895. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84027621/.