Zula Brown Toole


Zula Brown Toole founded the Miller County Liberal in 1897, making her the first woman to establish and publish a newspaper in the U.S. state of Georgia. In 1996 she was inducted into the Georgia Newspaper Hall of Fame.

Early life

Zula Orlena Brown was born November 13, 1868 the daughter of Samuel Morgan and Eldorendo Virginia Brown of Decatur County, Georgia. Her father was a veteran of the Confederate Army, who was a merchant and farmer.
Brown attended the Bainbridge schools in Decatur County and Andrew Female College in Cuthbert. She obtained a teaching certificate from Troy State Teachers College in Alabama.
She married W.B. "Tony" Cook on June 27, 1891 but was widowed in 1896 with a one year old son. At first she earned a living by teaching and was also the local postmaster for a time.

Career

She thought the area needed a newspaper, so she collected 500 signatures of people who promised to subscribe if she started one. She saved up $200 from her teaching job and used it to buy a hand press and metal type. On September 11, 1897 she published the first edition of her newspaper, the Miller County Liberal. In the early days of the paper Toole rode a bicycle to gather news, working on the paper before and after her daytime teaching job.
Three years after starting the newspaper she married Joseph E. Toole on April 21, 1901. It was at that point she gave up her teaching job. Mr. Toole died in 1917.
In 1932 Toole established a second paper, the Decatur County Advance in Bainbridge. She operated it until 1939 when poor health forced her to retire.

Death and legacy

Just after the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Miller County Liberal Toole died in October 1947 in Colquitt. She was buried in the Colquitt City Cemetery.
The Miller County Liberal continues to be published by descendants of Toole. In 1996 Toole was inducted into the Georgia Newspaper Hall of Fame.