Dresden Enterprise and Sharon Tribune Archive

In 1883, Robert Lewis established the Enterprise in Dresden, Tennessee, to fill the void left after the closing of the Dresden Weekly Democrat, which had served the locality since 1876. Lewis had worked for newspapers in Chattanooga, Atlanta, and Nashville before settling into Dresden, located in Weakley County, an agricultural region which became home to the University of Tennessee-Martin in 1927. Below a masthead that acknowledged that "The World Moves," the Enterprise brought local news each Friday for an annual subscription rate of $2.50 to Weakley County, an area with a rich newspaper history dating to the establishment of the Tennessee Patriot by James Leigh in 1838.

Addie Cardwell Lewis, Robert's wife, had an active role in the publication of the Enterprise and later took over operations after her husband's death in 1895. Although women had been participating in the operation of family newspapers since the colonial era, it was rare for a woman to be listed as the editor-publisher at this time. Under her leadership, the Enterprise increased advertising, editorial columns, and readership. Operating in a county of nearly 30,000 residents at the turn of the century, Lewis used the paper as a platform for the women's and temperance movements. Joe L. Holbrook worked with Addie Lewis and, in 1901, he purchased the paper, which had since changed its name to the Dresden Enterprise. Holbrook operated the Enterprise for more than 40 years. Finis J. Garrett was co-editor for a short time; he was later elected to U.S. Congress as a Democrat and served for 24 years. Holbrook printed "hard" news on the front page and local news within the first four pages of the newspaper, relegating advertising to the final pages. In 1907, the Dresden Enterprise merged with the Sharon Tribune to form the Dresden Enterprise and Sharon Tribune. After 1945, a series of editors and owners worked with the Enterprise, including J. Frank Barlow, who converted the newspaper from letterpress to offset printing, and brothers Fred, Roy, and Alfred "Red" Burroughs. Since 1997, the paper has been known as the Dresden Enterprise, and in the 21^st century is published online.