Next to Austin’s popular hike and bike trail and neighbor to 1.5 million Mexican Free-tailed bats living beneath the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge sits the Austin American-Statesman. Though a downtown fixture and the leading media in Central Texas today, the newspaper has had a rich and varied history spanning more than 140 years.

1871: Democratic Statesman is established, publishes every three weeks

1873: Democratic Statesman begins daily morning publication

1889: Austin Tribune is founded

1914: Democratic Statesman takes over the Austin Tribune and becomes the Austin Statesman and Tribune, publishes every afternoon

1914: The Austin American is founded

1916: Austin Statesman and Tribune changes its name to the Evening Statesman

1919: The Austin American is purchased by Charles E. Marsha and E.S. Fentress

1924: They purchase the Evening Statesman. The two newspapers merge into one company but are published independently.

1973: The Austin American and the Evening Statesman combine to become the Austin American-Statesman

1976: Cox Enterprises acquires the Austin American-Statesman

1981: The Austin American-Statesman building moves to its current 305 South Congress Ave. location

1987: The Statesman switches from all-day publication to morning editions only