Zula Brown Toole

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 Brown Toole
Born
Zula Brown

(1868-11-13)November 13, 1868
Decatur County, Georgia
DiedOctober 27, 1947(1947-10-27) (aged 78)
Colquitt, Georgia
Other namesZula Brown Cook
OccupationNewspaper publisher
Years active1897 - 1939
Known forFirst woman to found a newspaper in Georgia
Spouses
  • W.B. Cook
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1891; died 1896)​
  • Joseph E. Toole
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1901; died 1917)​
Children3

Early life

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]

Career

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 the requirement for a state franchise.[7] She saved up $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]

Death and legacy

Just after the 50th anniversary of the founding of 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]

See also

References
  1. Grimes, Millard B.; Cox, Calvin (1985). The Last Linotype: The Story of Georgia and Its Newspapers Since World War II. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. pp. 512–513. ISBN 9780865541900. OCLC 13100149. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via Google Books.
  2. Sibley, Celestine (October 14, 1996). "Hall of Fame a fitting place for journalists". The Atlanta Constitution. p. C1. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  3. "Zula Orlena Brown - 4th Generation". The Brown Roots. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  4. Cooper, Walter G. (1938). The Story of Georgia. Vol. 4. New York: American Historical Society. p. 195. OCLC 1610175. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via HathiTrust.
  5. "Rites at Colquitt for Mrs. Z. Toole". The Atlanta Constitution. November 2, 1947. p. 12A. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "Family Will Carry on Dead Publisher's Work". The Butler Herald. Butler, Georgia. November 13, 1947. p. 6. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  7. Jones, Nancy Bondurant (September 3, 1997). "One Southern Belle Who Was No Ding-Dong". Daily Record. Harrisonburg, Virginia. p. 11. Retrieved August 20, 2020 – via newspaperarchive.com.
  8. Johnson, Rheta Grimsley (March 18, 1990). "Mom's early life fun for exploring". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. p. C9. Retrieved June 30, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
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