HomeMy WebLinkAboutMedia_EagleCourtesy of the Bryan-College Station Eagle
Originally settled by members of the Stephen F. Austin colony in the 1820s, Bryan, Texas, became an
influential cotton-shipping hub in the early 20th century. Attorney Richard M. Smith began the Eagle as an
eight-page Thursday weekly in 1889. A four-page daily edition, the Bryan Daily Eagle,debuted in December
1895. The Eagle solidified its influence in Brazos County by purchasing the Brazos Pilot, founded in 1877,
after a fire consumed that paper's office in 1909. At a cost of one dollar a year, the evening Bryan Daily
Eagle and Pilot reached 700 subscribers. Although published under several names, the paper ran
consistently as the Bryan Morning Eagle (1898-1909) and the Bryan Daily Eagle (1895-1898 and 1918-1969).
In 1920, Col. Lee J. and Frances Rountree purchased the Eagle. Although Col. Rountree initially edited the
publication, Frances Rountree assumed full editorship after her husband's death in 1923. The Eagle
flourished under her auspices and Rountree edited the Daily Eagle until her death in 1956.
Today, the Bryan-College Station Eagle is the preeminent newspaper of the Brazos Valley with an average
weekday circulation of 19,132. The paper’s current owner is Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Photo of Frances Rountree at her desk, ca. 1950