The paper traces its history to the Warrensburg Journal, which began publishing April 17, 1865, by James Douglas Eads—seven days after the end of the American Civil War and two days after the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

[1] Prior to the war, Eads, a church pastor, had published the Warrensburg Signal.

William Tucker died in 1966 and Avis owned the paper until 2007 when it was sold to NPG.

In October 2020, the paper was purchased by the Sedalia Democrat, under parent company Phillips Media Group.

[5][6] In September 2021, the Star-Journal brought back the Tuesday print edition.