“E” is for Edgefield Advertiser

“E” is for Edgefield Advertiser. The Edgefield Advertiser began publication in February 1836, making it the oldest newspaper in South Carolina to publish continuously under the same nameplate. The newspaper’s history, however, stretches back to 1811 when Thomas M. Davenport began publishing the Anti-Monarchist and South-Carolina Advertiser at Edgefield County Courthouse to support President James Madison’s plans for a stronger national defense. The newspaper then went through a series of owners, locations, and name-changes until it returned to Edgefield in 1836 as the Advertiser. During much of its history the paper was noted for its ardent advocacy of states’ rights, and sometimes unpopular stands on local issues. In 2003, Suzanne Gil Mims Derrick purchased the Edgefield Advertiser and changed it from a daily to a weekly that focuses on stories of the people of the area.