Way started the publication as a four-page, 16-column daily version of his semi-weekly Henderson Gold Leaf on that date when World War I brought the need for up-to-date news of events abroad.

The newspaper took the name of the Henderson Daily Dispatch in 1915 when Henry A. Dennis joined the staff as the paper's news editor.

The Gold Leaf reverted to a weekly edition that year and stopped publication following a fire in December 1946 at the newspaper office.

Other editors have included James Dutra, Laverne Jefferies, Arthur Murray, Glenn Craven and Luke Horton.

It was a back-to-back winner in 2006 and 2007 of the North Carolina Press Association's General Excellence Awards for newspapers with 15,000 subscribers and less.