The very first newspaper ever printed in Eagle Lake, Texas was called "The Boomerang" in 1885 by a resident named Isaac A. Porter. It was not a very large newspaper composed of only one sheet of paper with two columns. But it was the first distributed news to the folks in Eagle Lake.

The next attempt for distributing the news was the town’s first real newspaper and was called the "Eagle Lake CANOE". There are a few copies of this newspaper available in the Archives room of the Eula and David Wintermann Library. It’s was first established in the spring of 1887 by C. F. Lehmann and J. A. Ivy. The Editor was J. J. ‘Joe’ Mansfield.

J.J. Mansfield was a spirited youth that began his political career in Eagle Lake and with the first newspaper of our city at the age of twenty-six years.

After one year as Editor of "The Canoe", the city leaders retained his services as the City Attorney. His first real taste of city politics was something that Mansfield enjoyed and he was successful at his run for Mayor in one year later in 1889. Joe Mansfield served two terms as the Mayor, 1889-1892. He then served as the county judge of Colorado County from 1896-1916 and then as United States Congressman from March 4, 1917 until his death on July 21, 1947. After his completion of twenty years as Judge of Colorado County, he was then known as Judge Mansfield for the remainder of his career. He and his family are buried here in Eagle Lake at the Masonic Cemetery.

"The Canoe" was a somewhat larger newspaper with six column pages with patent insides. Eagle Lake did not have the printing facilities for the paper so all of the printing was subcontracted in Hallettsville and sent to Eagle Lake every Friday afternoon. After several months of supply the news to the residents of Eagle Lake in this manner, the postal authorities told the owners of "The Canoe" that they were not going to mail the papers at newspaper rates on the grounds that no part of the publication was printed in Eagle Lake.

J. J. Mansfield because of his journalistic style and passion for the news became the sole owner of the paper. After his ownership, and his desire to further his political ambitions, sold the newspaper to J. L. Goodman. The City had just become incorporated and J. L. Goodman was a candidate for the first Mayor of Eagle Lake. However, there was fierce competition at the polls on Election Day as Captain J. W. McCarty decided to run against Mr. Goodman. J. W. McCarty was successful in his campaign and won the first office of Mayor.

Joe Mansfield did not like how the paper was being run. It is unsure as to what the terms were when Mansfield sold the paper, but in the summer of 1889, Mansfield purchased "The Canoe" back from Goodman. A newspaper controversy started between Goodman’s paper and his contemporary paper edited by a man named Armstrong. The men hated each other so much that the two of them stepped into the streets of Eagle Lake in a gun duel in which both men were killed.

Mansfield continued the publication of
"The Canoe" until March of 1890. He then sold the paper to W. T. Eldrige. It was under his ownership for approximately two years.

Five years later Mason and Bruce McCarty saw a need for a second newspaper in Eagle Lake. It was in the spring of 1895 that a four-page newspaper by the two men was started that had two columns on each page. This paper was called "The Headlight". The paper was soon enlarged to a three-column sheet. Mason and Bruce McCarty were very young journalists, but needed to further their education in college. After three years of the paper running in Eagle Lake, the two boys discontinued their writings and left to further their education.

Felix S. McChauey did not think the writings of the two boys, the McCartys, was of his liking, and he wanted to sell more of his own political beliefs. In 1896 McGhauey started a newspaper called "The Colorado Democrat." This paper did not last long. It was purchased by W. R. Kinard who changed the name of the paper and established "The Eagle Lake Advertiser" in 1898. Again, after a short ownership, Kinard sold the paper to William Blasengame and W. R. King. King ran this newspaper for about two years. Mollie Conner assisted King in editorial work.

After two years of ownership, Blasengame and King sold the newspaper to M. C. Yates who kept it in production until 1908.

After returning from college, Bruce and S. O. McCarty started "The Eagle Lake Headlight" in March 1903. S. O. McCarty did not like newspaper work and it took only a few months, tiring of meeting those monthly assessments that were necessary to keep the paper running, disposed of his interest to Bruce. Yates continued ownership of "The Advertiser", as mentioned above, until 1908.

Yates was also someone that tired of meeting timelines of production of the newspaper and leased it to F. A. Kesseler in 1906 and then to Ed Rowland in 1907.

In 1908 several of the business people in town decided that having two newspapers in Eagle Lake were simply too many and together gathered enough support that the "Eagle Lake Headlight" purchased "The Advertiser" and the production was discontinued.

On July 1, 1922, F. A. Norman and D.S. Taylor purchased the "Eagle Lake Headlight" from Bruce McCarty. The newspaper did not even last a year before Bruce felt he made a mistake when selling the paper and purchased the paper back from Norman and Taylor on May 1, 1923.

Bruce McCarty, outside the ownership of the Eagle Lake Headlight, had diversified business interests. He was a very large cattle rancher, too. In 1927 his head accountant at the paper and for his other business interests was Madeline Kernel. She became ill and had to step down from her position for several years. Bruce McCarty went to Eagle Lake High School and saw where Thelma Thomas Adams was one of the brightest students who was given an exempt from taking bookkeeping and typing final exams. He drove to her Father’s house and ask if she would come down and take care of the accounting and bookkeeping for the Headlight. She remembers listening to the radio and getting the cattle prices everyday along with all accounting matters for the Headlight for several years before joining Sears for the remainder of her career where she retired and moved back to Eagle Lake.

Bruce McCarty continued to offer to the citizens of Eagle Lake a wonderful production until he died suddenly on May 14, 1940 and his wife continued to publish the paper until April 1, 1945 until which time D. S. Taylor became the sole owner and publisher of "The Eagle Lake Headlight".

Fred G. and Fred R. Frnka began publication of the newspaper on August 1, 1951 under a lease contract with Taylor. Taylor passed away in April of 1956 and the paper was sold to the Frnkas. Fred G. Frnka was not new to the newspaper business when he and his son purchased the newspaper in 1956. He actually had his beginning with the paper in 1927 when it was owned by both Norman and Taylor.

Fred R. Frnka actually had his start in the newspaper business many years earlier when he became associated with the paper on his return in 1945 from service with the United States Navy.

On May 28, 1982, John and Jeannine Fearing purchased "The Headlight" from Fred and Eunice Frnka.