Zula Brown Toole | |
---|---|
Born | Zula Orlena Brown November 13, 1868 |
Died | October 27, 1947 | (aged 78)
Other names | Zula Brown Cook |
Occupation | Newspaper publisher |
Years active | 1897 - 1939 |
Known for | First woman to found a newspaper in Georgia |
Spouses |
|
Children | 3 |
Zula Brown Toole (November 13, 1868 – October 27, 1947) was an American newspaper publisher who founded the Miller County Liberal in 1897, making her the first woman to establish and publish a newspaper in the U.S. state of Georgia. [1] [2] In 1996 she was inducted into the Georgia Newspaper Hall of Fame.
Zula Orlena Brown [3] was born November 13, 1868 [4] the daughter of Samuel Morgan [4] and Eldorendo Virginia Brown (nee Higgs) [4] of Decatur County, Georgia. [5] Her father was a veteran of the Confederate Army, who was a merchant and farmer. [4]
Brown attended the Bainbridge schools in Decatur County and Andrew Female College in Cuthbert. [5] She obtained a teaching certificate from Troy State Teachers College in Alabama. [3]
She married W.B. "Tony" Cook [4] on June 27, 1891 [3] but was widowed in 1896 with a one-year-old son. At first, she earned a living by teaching [6] and was also the local postmaster from 1893 to 1898. [7]
She thought the area needed a newspaper, so she collected 500 signatures of people who promised to subscribe if she started one, [8] which was required for a state franchise. [7] She saved $200 from her teaching job and used it to buy a hand press and metal type. On September 11, 1897, she published the first edition of her newspaper, the Miller County Liberal. [6] In the early days of the paper, Toole rode a bicycle to gather news, working on the paper before and after her daytime teaching job. [6]
Three years after starting the newspaper, she married Joseph E. Toole [5] (a local farmer) on April 21, 1901. [3] It was at that point she gave up her teaching job. Mr. Toole died in 1917. [6] Toole had a total of three children. [7]
In 1932, Toole established a second paper, the Decatur County Advance in Bainbridge. She operated it until 1939, when poor health forced her to retire. [6] Her daughter took over that newspaper. [7]
Just after the 50th anniversary of founding the Miller County Liberal [6] Toole died in October 1947 in Colquitt. She was buried in the Colquitt City Cemetery. [5]
The Miller County Liberal continues to be published by descendants of Toole. [3] [7] In 1996 Toole was inducted into the Georgia Newspaper Hall of Fame. [2] At the 1996 Summer Olympics a play called Swamp Gravy was performed that depicted elements of her life. [7]