Jones Valley Times

The Jones Valley Times, a weekly newspaper published in Elyton, was the first such publication in Jefferson County. It was founded in 1845 and employed a Washington hand press outfitted with a small case of type.

The paper lasted for only two years, ceasing publication in 1847. Critic John Witherspoon Dubose described the paper as "neither fish, flesh, nor fowl" in its politics, and characterized its operations as "precarious". George Cruikshank later explained that "a paper that had no politics had no right to expect support from men who kept their politics warm."

The newspaper's assets, including its press and type, were purchased in 1849 by Joseph Smith and Baylis Grace, who launched the Central Alabamian that year.

References

• Dubose, John Witherspoon (1887) Jefferson County and Birmingham, Alabama: Historical and Biographical Birmingham: Teeple & Smith, Publishers; Caldwell Printing Works.
• Cruikshank, George H. (1920) History of Birmingham and Its Environs: A Narrative Account of Their Historical Progress, Their People, and Their Principal Interests 2 volumes. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
• Jackson, Harvey H. (2000) The WPA Guide to 1930s Alabama Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, p. 167. ISBN 0817310282