The Rutland Daily Globe Archive

In May 1873, the Globe Paper Co. of Rutland, Vermont, began publishing the short-lived Rutland Daily Globe and the Rutland Weekly Globe. Although Rutland already had a well-established Republican paper with weekly and daily editions in the Rutland Herald, the Globe began optimistically, convinced that the area could support another Republican paper dedicated to promoting local interests. The Globe targeted readers in Rutland County and western and northern New York. The paper’s first editor was Orion Clemens, a former editor of the Hartford, Connecticut Evening Post, and the brother of writer Samuel Clemens. Henry Clark and Chauncy K. Williams, former Rutland Herald editors, soon replaced Clemens. Solon E. Carpenter also served as an editor at the Globe in 1874-75.

While the Globe actively sought local and regional news and announcements, the four-page daily also included editorials and articles on topics of national importance, such as the economic Panic of 1873, Reconstruction in the southern states, financial problems of the railroad system, temperance, and Indian affairs in the West. The Globe regularly reported on current activities in the state and national capitols. Closer to home, the Globe printed articles on the controversial Eddy Brothers, spiritualist mediums who conducted séances in nearby Chittenden, Vermont. Editors Clark and Williams were both historians, and in 1876 and 1877 the paper included a number of articles about national and state centennial celebrations.

Despite achieving a respectable circulation for both editions, the Globe was not a financial success and struggled to compete with the Herald. In 1877, owners of the two papers formed a new corporation to consolidate them. The last issue of the Globe’s daily edition appeared at the end of August, and the first issue of the Rutland Daily Herald and Globe appeared on September 1, 1877.