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The Orangeburg Times and Democrat (1881-present) serves as a portal into Orangeburg and surrounding counties.

There's clearly an appetite for shopping sustainably online. But it can be overwhelming to figure out.
07/09/2025

There's clearly an appetite for shopping sustainably online. But it can be overwhelming to figure out.

Some school systems don't offer bus service. In other cases, the available options don't work for families.
07/09/2025

Some school systems don't offer bus service. In other cases, the available options don't work for families.

Pope Leo XIV declared a 15-year-old computer whiz the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint. Carlo Acutis, who died i...
07/09/2025

Pope Leo XIV declared a 15-year-old computer whiz the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint. Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006, was canonized during an open-air Mass on Sunday.

07/09/2025
The new offering from director Gareth Edwards borrows from “Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and the original...
07/09/2025

The new offering from director Gareth Edwards borrows from “Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and the original “Jurassic Park.” In other words, thank you Steven Spielberg.

Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, Russell Wilson and Ben Roethlisberger won Super Bowls in their second season in the NFL.
07/09/2025

Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, Russell Wilson and Ben Roethlisberger won Super Bowls in their second season in the NFL.

Childhood vaccines prevent 4 million deaths worldwide each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and P...
07/09/2025

Childhood vaccines prevent 4 million deaths worldwide each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The paper found that banks would still be able to earn a profit on most customers even if credit card interest rates wer...
07/09/2025

The paper found that banks would still be able to earn a profit on most customers even if credit card interest rates were capped at 15%.

Here’s a look at the 68 jobs covered by “no tax on tips,” which the Treasury Department breaks down into eight distinct ...
07/09/2025

Here’s a look at the 68 jobs covered by “no tax on tips,” which the Treasury Department breaks down into eight distinct categories.

Across the United States, tens of thousands of college students without legal status are losing access to in-state tuiti...
07/09/2025

Across the United States, tens of thousands of college students without legal status are losing access to in-state tuition and face raids.

Read through the obituaries published in The Times and Democrat
07/09/2025

Read through the obituaries published in The Times and Democrat

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Vicari Swain returned two punts for touchdowns to rescue a struggling offense for No. 10 South Car...
07/09/2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Vicari Swain returned two punts for touchdowns to rescue a struggling offense for No. 10 South Carolina as the Gamecocks beat South Carolina State 38-10 early

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The Orangeburg Times and Democrat (1881-present) serves as a portal into Orangeburg and surrounding counties.

The Times and Democrat traces its history to the October 1881 merger of The Orangeburg Democrat and The Orangeburg Times. It also has ties to four other newspapers born in the aftermath of the American Civil War: The Southron, The Tax-Payer, The Edisto Clarion and The Orangeburg News and Times. Like most newspapers of the South during Reconstruction, the Orangeburg publications were embroiled in political doctrines. The Orangeburg News, for instance, was organized as a newspaper of the Democrats but later made the bold move of becoming a newspaper of the Republicans.

Into this milieu came James L. Sims. The Charleston, South Carolina, native learned the printing trade at The Charleston Courier and subsequently purchased an interest in The Spartanburg Herald. When his wife died, Sims sold his interest and moved to Orangeburg. In 1878, he purchased The Edisto Clarion, successor to The Tax-Payer, and changed its name again, to The Orangeburg Democrat. Sims' editor at the Democrat was Stiles R. Mellichamp, who after a short period left to start his own newspaper, The Orangeburg Times. In 1881, Sims and Mellichamp came together again to merge their newspapers into The Times and Democrat.

A close Orangeburg newspaper colleague of Sims in those early days was Hugo S. Sheridan. Some years later, Sims married Sheridan's daughter. From this marriage came four sons, three of whom were involved in the paper. James Izlar Sims, the oldest, dropped out of school at age 14 to work at The Times and Democrat.