The Barrow County News, the oldest continually operating business in Barrow County, has been acquired by Mainstreet Newspapers Inc. of Jefferson and will be merged with the Barrow Journal to become a single newspaper and website serving the people of Barrow County.

The July 31 edition of the Barrow County News was the final publication under the ownership of Swartz-Morris Media, headquartered in Cumming. The new combined publication will debut Wednesday.

Mainstreet Newspapers is owned by Mike and Scott Buffington, second-generation publishers of the family firm which publishes six weekly newspapers in Northeast Georgia.

The Barrow County News traces its origins to before Barrow County existed. In 1893, a newspaper called The Jackson Economist opened in Winder, which was then part of Jackson County.

In addition to the Barrow Journal, the Mainstreet Newspapers publishing family includes The Jackson Herald, The Commerce News, The Braselton News, The Banks County News and The Madison County Journal.

Swartz-Morris Media had operated the Barrow County News since purchasing it from the New York Times Company in 1994.