From The Saline County Review to The Saline Courier
By Cody Berry
In 1882, William Webber sold the Saline County Digest to another Benton businessman named B. B. Beavers, who renamed the paper The Saline County Review. Beavers didn’t hold onto the paper for long because he sold it in November 1883. Around this time, Dr. Gann, Sr.’s father-in-law, Samuel Houston Whitthorne, had established his own paper called The Saline Courier in 1882. It was described as the “active rival of the Digest,” by longtime newspaperman Fred William Allsopp.1 The paper Whitthorne started in 1882 was sold to Jim Tom Story of Malvern in August 1883. In November 1883, Whitthorne purchased the Saline County Review and named it The Saline Courier.2
In 1897, the Saline Courier, and another paper started by William Webber called the Times, were consolidated into the Times-Courier when it was owned by the Henry brothers. The paper continued to change both its form and owners for many years until it was taken over by Charles M. Cloud, who was succeeded by L. B. White in 1905.3 White used his own printing company to print the paper, and he changed its name to The Benton Courier. White ran the paper until he sold it to WWII veteran Sam Hodges in 1953.4
At the Gann Museum, there’s an issue of the Times-Courier from September 18, 1902, on display. It and several other things were placed in a galvanized metal box that was put inside the Saline County Courthouse’s cornerstone when the building was built. The cornerstone time capsule was opened in 1994 and donated to the museum the following year. Also in the exhibit is a picture of W. A. Webber, the founder of the Saline County Digest in 1876.
Citations:
1 Fred William Allsopp, History of the Arkansas Press For a Hundred Years and More, Parke-Harper Publishing, 1922, pp. 403-404.
2 Ibid (Same as 1)
3 Fred William Allsopp, History of the Arkansas Press For a Hundred Years and More, Parke-Harper Publishing, 1922, pp. 403-404.
4 Reubel Funeral Home, “Samuel Major Hodges,” Date Accessed 12/30/2025.