In the spring of 1909, two young men came to Durant to enter the newspaper business: R. F. (Bob) Story of Mineral Wells, Texas, and Walter Archibald, of Marietta, Oklahoma.

The new corporation continued in business at 127 North Third, long familiar as the "newspaper corner" in Durant, for 10 years.

Publisher David Crouch, who joined the Democrat in 1981, served through both the Donrey and Stephens eras.

The Donrey era ended in Durant in 1998, when the Democrat became a unit of the far-flung Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

[2] In October 2020, the newspaper was acquired by Matt Swearengin,[3] who sold it again in December 2023 to Wesner Publications Company.