Clay County Progress

The Clay County Progress was preceded by two other newspapers. The Clay County Courier launched in 1902 and operated through at least 1909. It was published by G.W. Sanderson and edited by G.H. Haigler.{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/sn97064639/ |title=Clay County Courier (Hayesville, N.C.) 1902-19?? |work=Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries |publisher=Library of Congress }} Retrieved January 25, 2024.{{cite web |url=https://www.digitalnc.org/newspapers/the-clay-county-news-hayesville-n-c/ |title=The Clay County News (Hayesville, N.C.) |work=DigitalNC Newspapers |publisher=DigitalNC |accessdate=2023-08-25 }}

The Clay County News launched Sep. 17, 1926. James Andrew Gray began publishing it with his wife as associate editor. Subsequent editors included Alvin Penland (1937-1938), Eula Gray (1938-1939), and Lucille Padgett (1939-1942). L. E. Hollifield, Jr., bought the newspaper in March 1942 and then sold publishing rights to Cross Printing Co., of Clayton, Georgia, by October 1942. At that time L. P. Cross took over duties as editor and the paper was printed in Clayton. The Clay County News stopped printing in 1943, only to be briefly revived by Rev. L. P. Smith, Guy Padgett and Hattie Jarrett in 1947 before closing for good the following year.{{Cite book |last=Padgett |first=Guy |title=A History of Clay County, North Carolina |publisher=Clay County Bicentennial Committee |date=1976 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xp63GAAACAAJ}}

File:The Clay County Progress newspaper office in downtown Hayesville, N.C. on Nov. 1, 2022.jpg

In November 1951, Rev. J. K. Hutchings, pastor of a baptist church in Hiawassee, Georgia, and publisher of the Towns County Herald, started the Clay County Progress.{{cite web |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn95072293/ |title=About Clay County progress |work=Chronicling America – Historic American Newspapers |publisher=National Endowment for the Humanities |accessdate=2023-08-25 }} Publishing rights were sold to The Cherokee Scout in nearby Murphy in 1961 and the Scout printed a combined Cherokee Scout and Clay County Progress edition between 1961 and 1980.{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/sn95072291/ |title=The Cherokee Scout and Clay County Progress (Murphy, N.C.) 1961-1980 |work=Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries |publisher=Library of Congress |accessdate=2023-08-25 }} The Progress has been printed on the Scout's press ever since.{{cite news |url=https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn95072291/1964-10-22/ed-1/seq-3/#words=Clay+County+Progress/ |title=Open House: Come see how your newspaper is made |work=Cherokee Scout |location=Murphy, N.C. |date=1964-10-22 |page=3A }}

The Progress has twice faced competition. In 1975, the Mountain News opened an office in Hayesville. It is uncertain how long the paper printed locally. Between 1987 and January 2012, weekly newspaper The Smoky Mountain Sentinel operated out of Hayesville. The Sentinel had a circulation of 4,000 when it shut down due to the publisher falling ill.{{cite web |url=https://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/33/6207/19994 |title=Smoky Mountain Sentinel |work=mondotimes |publisher=Mondo Code LLC }}{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/SentinelScoop/status/159370395584180224 |title=Twitter |date=2012-01-17 }} Since it closed, the Progress has been the only newspaper in Clay County.

In the 1980s, The Progress was headquartered on the town square at 57 Main Street before moving to Moore's Plaza on Business Highway 64.{{Cite web |last=Dockery |first=Travis |date=2021-11-15 |title=Your Story: Becky Long |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P8gcRyruqQ&t=1695s |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=YouTube |publisher=Clay Progress}} In 2003, the newspaper moved to a brick building on the square at 43 Main Street. In October 2023, the paper returned to Moore's Plaza but did not explain why it moved.{{cite news |date=2023-09-21 |title=We're moving... but not very far |work=Clay County Progress |publisher=Community Newspapers, Inc. |location=Hayesville, N.C. |page=A3}}

The Progress has sponsored Clay County's annual Christmas parade since its inception in 1987.{{cite news |last=Long |first=Becky |title=Santa's coming to town Saturday |work=Clay County Progress |location=Hayesville, NC |publisher=Community Newspapers, Inc. |date=2023-12-07 |page=A1 }} The newspaper's website, [http://www.ClayCountyProgress.com ClayCountyProgress.com], launched by February 2002.{{cite web |url=http://www.claycountyprogress.com/ |title=ClayCountyProgress.com |date=2002-02-06 |access-date=2023-09-29 |archive-date=2003-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030212093301/http://www.claycountyprogress.com/ |url-status=bot: unknown }} The Progress began publishing "Reader's Choice" awards in 2022.{{cite web |url=https://publisher.etype.services/Clay-County-Progress/archives |title=Archive issues |work=Special |publisher=Clay County Progress |date=2022-09-29 }}

1. J. K. Hutchings (1951–1952)
2. Paul G. Cutright (1952–1953)
3. Lucille Padgett (1953–1954)
4. Gene Robinson (1954–1957)
5. Denzle Whitehair (1957–1961)
6. Cherokee Scout (1961–1980)
7. Fran Fuller (–1986){{Cite news |date=1985-05-02 |title=Progress editor hospitalized |work=Clay County Progress |page=1}}
8. Faith Hall (1986–1987)
9. Lonnie Britt (1987–)
10. Becky Long (1992–present)

• List of newspapers published in North Carolina

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Category:Weekly newspapers published in North Carolina

Category:Clay County, North Carolina

Category:Newspapers established in 1951

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