The Daily News: We did it here first

None of those first few readers, on a quiet morning in April of 1842, could possibly have imagined the future in store for the newly printed paper in their hands.

The Galveston News, blotted with a hand press onto a single sheet of paper, was greeted more with curiosity than excitement, its future as uncertain as that of the freshly incorporated city by the sea. But for 160 years, The News has witnessed the growth of the community and has grown with it.

The News has earned a place in history with a long list of 'firsts.' They include:

• It is the first newspaper in Texas to reach 160 years of age.

• The Daily News is the first and only paper in the United States published under three flags (Republic of Texas, Confederate States, United States).

• The Daily News, in 1884, was the first paper in the nation ever to occupy a building built expressly for its purpose, and that building was the first structure in Texas rated fire-proof.

• The Daily News was the first Texas newspaper to offer home delivery outside its own city.

• It was the first newspaper in the nation to use a special train to deliver papers daily to other cities, starting in 1883 along the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad.

• The News was the first in Texas to use illustrations on a large scale.

• In 1885, The Daily News initiated 'chain journalism' in the Southwest by launching a Dallas edition, The Dallas Morning News.

• The Daily News was the first Texas paper to publish weather forecasts received from Washington, and the first Texas paper to print regular market reports.

• The News was the first paper to offer comprehensive coverage of all proceedings in the state legislature, including election returns.

• The News was the first Texas paper with leased wires and telegraph lines to its own building.

• In 1854, the first news report ever sent over a telegraph wire was sent to and published by The News. And in 1886, the first news dispatch sent over the Atlantic Cable was printed in The News.

• In 1878, the first telephone installed in Texas ran between the offices of The News and its publisher at the time, A.H. Belo.

• The Daily News was among the first newspapers in the state to begin using the Internet to interact with readers, beginning with email in 1992 and an award-winning Web Edition in 1995.