By Brandon Haddock
Staff Writer
Web-posted June 21, 1996 at 4 p.m.

T he Augusta Chronicle celebrated its 210th birthday Aug. 30, an age that allows it to call itself ``The South's Oldest Newspaper.''

Begun by Greenberg Hughes as the weekly Augusta Gazette in 1785, The Chronicle has been home to many colorful Augusta figures during its lifetime, and has directly and indirectly shaped a number of local events.

Its second owner and publisher, John Erdman Smith, molded the newspaper into a public forum. Smith, a native of Germany, promised to make the newspaper a place for ``free and ample discussion of political topics.'' He placed the following quote from th e Georgia constitution on the newspaper's masthead: ``Freedom of the Press, and Trial by Jury, to remain inviolate forever.''

While the saying eventually disappeared, later publishers, including Patrick Walsh, remained true to its spirit. Walsh, a native Irishman, was The Chronicle's owner and editor from 1880 to 1899. He also served at various times as Augusta's mayor, a cit y councilman, a state representative and a U.S. senator.

As editor of the newspaper, Walsh fought for black civil rights and campaigned against lynchings, both unpopular stances for the era. His public-relations campaign for Augusta brought three national expositions to the city during the 1880s and early 18 90s, and he was the first editor to attempt - albeit unsuccessfully - to shape Augusta into a winter resort.

Walsh's statue now stands in front of the old federal courthouse.

Thomas W. Loyless, The Chronicle's editor and publisher from 1903 to 1919, used The Chronicle to promote Augusta as a commercial center.

In 1911, Loyless became the majority owner of The Chronicle as part of a group of investors that also featured baseball legend Ty Cobb. Three years later, Loyless moved the newspaper into the city's first skyscraper, The Chronicle Building.

Now called the Marion Building, it stood a whopping 10 stories, and was heralded as ``fireproof.'' But two years later, the great fire of 1916 gutted the structure. The Chronicle left the building and never returned.

Loyless' successor, Thomas J. Hamilton, wrote almost Utopian visions of Augusta's future during his tenure from 1919 to 1937.

He published a column, Ambitions for Augusta, that provided a forum for his dreams of the city's future and his public agenda. Hamilton wrote of Augusta's need for a $20 million power dam, dredging of the Savannah River, an airfield, a city planning co mmission, resort hotels, new black grammar school and a University of Augusta.

Much of his vision became reality before his death in 1937, including construction and enlargement of the levee, completion of the $2 million New Savannah Lock and Dam, and the planning stages of Clarks Hill Dam.

The Chronicle's ownership entered the Morris family's hands in 1945, when William S. Morris Jr. and Charlotte, N.C., financier Herman A. Moore purchased a controlling interest in the Chronicle Publishing Co. Ten years later, Mr. Morris and his wife, Fl orence Hill Morris, bought Mr. Moore's share of the stock.

The move capped Mr. Morris' quick rise through the ranks. He had joined the newspaper as a 26-year-old bookkeeper in 1929. Two years later he was promoted to business manager. He quickly became general manager, and was named publisher and company presi dent in 1937.

Mr. Morris acquired The Chronicle's afternoon rival, the Augusta Herald, in 1955. Later acquisitions included the Athens Daily News and Banner-Herald, The Savannah Morning News and Evening Press and local broadcast stations WRDW-Radio and TV. The broad cast interests were later sold, but the newspapers remain in the company.

In addition to his role as an Augusta executive and newspaperman, Morris also served as a legislator in the Georgia House of Representatives and a member of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents. He also worked on various local civic and bu siness councils.

In 1966, Morris' eldest son, William S. Morris III, assumed control of Southeastern Newspapers Corp. as its president. Mr. Morris also became the publisher of The Chronicle and Herald.

Under the guidance of Mr. Morris III, The Chronicle has flourished. The newspaper has won acclaim for its coverage of the Masters Golf Tournament, and it has won many state and national awards, including the Georgia Press Association's top General Exce llence Award in 1993.

The Augusta Herald ceased publication in 1993, a victim, like many afternoon newspapers, of changing reader habits.

Morris Communications, formally founded in 1970, also has grown under Mr. Morris' guidance. The company's holdings now include 32 newspapers, seven magazines (including Gray's Sporting Journal and SPUR), an outdoor advertising company, and several tele vision and radio stations. Its largest newspaper is The Florida Times-Union based in Jacksonville, Fla.

In 1995, Morris acquired Topeka, Kan.-based Stauffer Communications, adding 20 newspapers and several other holdings to its roster.