About Us

The Uvalde Leader-News, published each Sunday, claims a history of community news service dating back 145 years. The Leader-News is descended from newspapers entered as second class matter at the Uvalde Post Office on May 20, 1879. Each issue carries the slogan: “Locally Owned, Independent Newspaper – Informing Southwest Texas Since 1879″

Uvalde newspapers actually began publication in 1878, a year before the post office registration. First came the Uvalde Umpire, followed by The Weekly Hesperian on Feb. 22, 1878. Both papers were apparently begun by the same owner. An additional newspaper, The West Texan, appeared in 1884. The Uvalde News, issued in 1886, absorbed both The Weekly Hesperian and The West Texan.

For a brief period, John Nance Garner, later vice president of the United States, was editor of a Uvalde paper, probably a predecessor of The Uvalde Leader. W.D. Barnhill (1861-1953), the postmaster Republican leader and pharmacist, began to publish The News for the stock company in 1887, continuing until it was sold to W.D. Love in 1900. Love kept the paper for a year and, in turn, sold it to H.P. Hornby Sr.

H. P. Hornby Sr. moved to Uvalde in 1898 to establish The Uvalde Leader, a successor to another older paper, The Uvalde Herald. After Hornby bought The Uvalde News in 1901, he combined titles to publish The Uvalde Leader-News. The Hornby family owned the paper from 1898 until 1989, except for the years the senior Hornby ran for the legislature and was in the insurance and job-printing business. In 1906, Hornby sold the newspaper to F. M. Getzendaner, who, in turn, sold to Bessie Fletcher in 1919. Mrs. James K. Ward became the owner, selling the paper back to Hornby in 1922.

Harry Hornby Jr. served as editor and publisher for 32 years, from 1946 until his death in 1978. Following his death, his wife, Mrs. Harry P. Hornby Jr., assumed the role of editor and publisher.

She retained those titles until 1989 when she sold The Uvalde Leader-News to present editor and publisher Craig Garnett. Mrs. Hornby served as an editorial advisor until her death in 1995.

In October of 1998, Garnett shepherded the newspaper into the on-line computer age, adding an Internet presence at  www.uvaldeleadernews.com. This web site offers readers the convenience of perusing highlights from the paper from their personal computers. The site has sports, editorial, and classified advertising sections. Along with display advertising, visitors guide and hunting, and weather information. In 2007, the E-Edition of the newspaper was added. This allows subscribers to view the entire paper on-line in a pdf format.

The policy of the present-day Leader-News is a continuation of the statement made in 1898 by H.P. Hornby Sr. (1876-1948) and continued by Harry P. Hornby Jr. (1917-1978) and Kathryn Hornby (1917-1995):

We will ever work for the building of the community and section and every new industry – every new enterprise that can be of any benefit whatsoever will receive our full support.