History of the "Jimplecute"

  One of the most intriguing facets of Jefferson life is the name of its newspaper - The Jimplecute.
  Billing itself as the fifth oldest newspaper in the state, the Jimplecute’s name has prompted an untold number of questions and more than a few “answers” as to the origin of the name.
  It’s doubtful, however, that anyone will ever know the answer since the publisher who chose the name left no clue as to its origins.
  Jefferson’s first newspaper was “The Democrat,” first published in 1847 by a Gen. W.N. Bishop. The newspaper changed hands several times in just a few years, and the name was changed to “Spirit of the Age.”
  The Jimp, as it is familiarly known, was first published in 1848, and that is reflected today on the underline of the front-page nameplate.
The price of a subscription back in 1848 was $4. Today, it’s $20.
  There are at least four explanations for the newspaper’s unusual name, ranging from the understandable to the sublime.
  The first typifies the sublime. One tale has it that the paper’s first editor, sometimes described as a tippler, dropped a handful of type to the floor before gathering them up randomly in his composing stick. The random letters, of course, spelled “Jimplecute.”

  The second explanation - and probably the most believable -- is that the word is an acronym for the motto: Joining Industry, Manufacturing, Planting, Labor, Energy, Capital (in) Unity Together Everlastingly.”
  Yet a third explanation is that the word is, indeed, a legitimate one with an overseas ancestry. Thanks to research done by Fred Tarpley for his book “Jefferson: Riverport to the Southwest,” there is evidence to suggest the word “jimplecute” is a slang term sometimes meaning “sweetheart” or “slim” or “neat” in other slightly different forms.
  The word “jimp,” according to Tarpley’s research, is of Scottish origin and dates to the 16th century. Then, the word meant “slender, slim, delicate, graceful, neat.” The word “jimp” still appears in dictionaries and is defined as described above.
  The fourth explanation is that a “Jimplecute” is, in fact, a horrible mythical creature created, some say, to frighten superstitious slaves before and during the War Between the States.
  The beast has been described as “a crouched animal with the mouth of a dragon, the head of an Indian, the body like that of a large armadillo, the front legs and feet like those of a lion ready to spring.” The creature also featured a snake atop its back and a forked tail.
  Legend has it that the creature came about when publisher Ward Taylor commissioned an itinerant sign painter to create the beast to lend significance to the word itself.
  The name, however, is fitting, in some measure. It is a singular appellation attached to an institution that has served a unique community for more than 150 years.

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