1880's The Ruralist Press was originally founded in Atlanta, Georgia by H.G. Hastings to produce the Hastings Seed Catalog.
1907 Expanding to meet the publishing needs for the agricultural trade ruralist, the Southern Ruralist Company was incorporated, later to change its name to Ruralist Press, Inc.
1926 Ruralist Press, Inc. moved to its present Atlanta location, now producing the monthly farming magazine known as "The Southern Ruralist".
1933

During the Great Depression, "The Southern Ruralist" reduced their advertising revenues and circulation, placing Ruralist Press at the point of bankruptcy.
1937 Ruralist Press was purchased by "Southern Ruralist" magazine Editor and Director, Cully Cobb, and soon afterward combined with another farming publication, "The Progressive Farmer".
1950's After World War II, work for the Coca-Cola Company was filling the presses; the telephone directory business began expanding and the focus became Southern Bell Telephone.
1960's Ruralist Press opened branch plants in Jacksonville, Miami, Birmingham and Charlotte which provided daily White Page Directory update listings for Southern Bell Telephone. Technology soon made this task more efficient, allowing Ruralist Press to close all but the Atlanta facility.
1971 J.P. Stevens Company purchased Ruralist Press. This acquisition became the subsidiary, Stevens Graphics, Inc. Throughout the 1970's, Stevens Graphics acquired numerous printing and database management companies, developing printing support facilities in Georgia, Florida, Alabama and North Carolina.
1980 Stevens Graphics, Inc acquired Oxmoor Press in Birmingham, Alabama. This doubled the size of the company. Stevens Graphics was now the exclusive printer for Southern Bell and South Central Bell yellow page markets and the second largest directory printer in the United States.
1985 Stevens Graphics, Inc sold its majority printing interest to BellSouth Corporation, parent company to Southen Bell and South Central Bell Telephone.
1992 Stevens Graphics became a wholly-owned subsidiary of BellSouth Corporation under the umbrella of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing.
Today Stevens Graphics continues to provide our customers with the best product and services available in the directory printing industry.