Early newspapers in DeLand, Florida.

𝟭𝟵𝟮𝟵 On October 21, local newspaper readers poured over the first edition of THE DELAND SUN NEWS, hot off the press. The North American Co., owned by Robert H. Gore, bought two competing newspapers, THE DELAND SUN, and THE DELAND DAILY NEWS and combined the rivals into one paper, located at the DAILY NEWS building on West Rich Avenue. 

Newspapers were important to DeLand’s growth, wrote Helen Parce DeLand in her 1928 book, THE STORY OF DELAND AND LAKE HELEN. THE VOLUSIA COUNTY HERALD was founded in 1877, only a year after her father, Henry A. DeLand, first arrived in town. A souvenir booklet, designed to attract northern settlers and tourists, claimed the city had five newspapers by 1892: THE DELAND NEWS, FLORIDA AGRICULTURIST AND SUPPLEMENT, VOLUSIA COUNTY RECORD, FLORIDA GOOD NEWS, AND THE SOUTHERN FIELD AND HOME.

Of the early papers, THE DELAND SUN NEWS had the longest history, thriving as a 6-day-a-week local newspaper until THE NEWS-JOURNAL of Daytona Beach bought it in 1989 and closed it in 1992. DeLand’s locally-published newspaper tradition continues, however, with The West Volusia Beacon, a weekly publication featuring West Volusia news. 

SOURCE: VOLUSIA THE WEST SIDE. The photo, from the WVHS Archives, shows the DELAND DAILY NEWS Office shortly before the merger.