Circulation
The paper is distributed in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and the western portion of Coos County, New Hampshire. It maintains a New Hampshire office located at 263 Main Street in Littleton, New Hampshire. [4] It is published daily except Sunday and some holidays. [2] [5] [6]
The Caledonian has focused on local news from 50 communities, which are located in three Vermont counties and two New Hampshire ones. [7] The average daily net paid circulation has dipped from a peak of about 12,500 about 1999 to the six months ending March 2013 at 10,204. [8]
Penetration of the primary market area of St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville was under 93%. For the area immediately surrounding St. Johnsbury the Caledonian provided coverage of 80% of the occupied households. [9]
History
Albert G. Chadwick began publishing the paper as a weekly in August, 1837. It is the oldest paper in the county. It started as a four-page, twenty-four column paper. [10]
It was a Whig paper when it started. [11] At the time, Vermont was strongly Whig. [12] The paper advocated the principles of the Free Soil element and became an early adherent and unswerving supporter of the principles of the Republican Party. It was edited and published by its founder for 18 years. George D. Rand and Charles M. Stone bought it in July 1855. Stone became the sole owner, editor and publisher in April 1857.
In 1875 it was still a weekly newspaper. Subscribers paid $1.50 a year. In 1909, Walter J. Bigelow, a former mayor of Burlington, Vermont, purchased the St. Johnsbury Caledonian, which he turned into a daily newspaper. [13]
In the 20th century, the paper was bought by a former Hearst reporter from Boston, Herb Smith. His son, Gordon Smith, Class of 1941 at Yale, joined the paper on the business side upon graduation and went on to own and publish the paper. Gordon brought with him as a writer who stayed a year; a classmate, Barry Zorthian. [14]
Operations
Besides the Caledonian, the paper also published the Orleans County Record and the Littleton Record. [20]
In 2007 the paper employed a staff of 40. Sales ranged from $1 to $5 million annually. [2]
In 2007 the paper partnered with the American Society of News Editors at Lyndon Institute to publish a school newspaper, the first at the school, entitled The Campus News. [5]
In 2008 the paper outsourced the printing of the paper to Upper Valley Press in Haverhill, New Hampshire, citing equipment, quality control and personnel problems. [21]
In 2017, the paper was family owned. [20]
Caledonia County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,233. Its shire town is the town of St. Johnsbury. The county was created in 1792 and organized in 1796. It was given the Latin name for Scotland, in honor of the many settlers who claimed ancestry there.
The Northeast Kingdom is the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Vermont, approximately comprising Essex, Orleans, and Caledonia counties and with a population of 64,764 at the 2010 census. The term "Northeast Kingdom" is attributed to George D. Aiken, former Governor of Vermont and a U.S. senator, who first used the term in a 1949 speech.
Lyndon State College was a public liberal arts college in Lyndon, Vermont. In 2018, it merged with Johnson State College to create Northern Vermont University; the former campus of Lyndon State College is now the university's Lyndon campus. In July 2023, Castleton University, Northern Vermont University-Johnson, Northern Vermont University-Lyndon, and Vermont Technical College merged to become Vermont State University. It is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
Jonathan Arnold was an American physician and statesman from New England. He was born in Gloucester, Rhode Island, served in the Continental Army as a surgeon, and directed the army hospital in Providence. He represented Rhode Island as a delegate to the Confederation Congress in 1782 and 1783. He moved to a farm in St. Johnsbury, Vermont in 1787, and later served as a judge.
St. Johnsbury Academy (SJA) is an independent, private, coeducational, non-profit boarding and day school located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in the United States. The academy enrolls students in grades 9-12. It was founded by Thaddeus Fairbanks, and accepts the majority of its students through one of the nation's oldest voucher systems. It has a sister school, St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju in Jeju Island, South Korea.
Horace Fairbanks was an American politician and the 36th governor of Vermont from 1876 to 1878.
Lyndon Institute is a coeducational, nonprofit, independent, day and boarding comprehensive high school located on a 52 acres (21 ha) campus in the village of Lyndon Center, in the town of Lyndon, Vermont. It provides education for grades 9 through 12 for both local students and students resident on campus. Tuition is $45 000 for full boarders and $16,825 for day students. The current head of school is Dr. Brian Bloomfield.
Vermont Route 18 (VT 18) is a 7.887-mile-long (12.693 km) state highway in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. It runs from the New Hampshire state line, continuing there as New Hampshire Route 18 northward to U.S. Route 2 (US 2) in the town of St. Johnsbury. The route parallels and connects to Interstate 93 (I-93) and is a former routing of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway.
Thomas Bartlett Jr. was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont.
WSTJ is a radio station broadcasting an adult album alternative format. Licensed to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, United States, the station is currently owned by Vermont Broadcast Associates, Inc. WSTJ is an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox Radio Network.
Thaddeus Fairbanks was an American businessman, mechanic, and engineer. He invented furnaces, cooking stoves, cast iron steel plows, and other metal items related to farming. He invented and manufactured the first platform scale, the Fairbanks scale, that allowed the accurate weighing of large objects. His scales revolutionized farming and manufacturing and were sold worldwide, and he received numerous honors and awards for his development of the technology. Fairbanks was also a philanthropist, and was a co-founder of the St. Johnsbury Academy.
Northeast Kingdom Community Action (NEKCA) is an anti-poverty community action agency that helps people in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom meet their basic needs and become self-sufficient. The agency is a partner of the Vermont Department for Children and Families and is primarily funded by federal and state government resources.
Wendell Phillips Stafford was an American attorney and jurist. He was most notable for his service as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.
Franklin D. Hale was a Vermont politician who served as State Auditor and want on to a career as a diplomat.
Leighton Prosper Slack was a Vermont attorney and judge. He served as the 48th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1910 to 1912 and as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1914 until his death.
Zedekiah Silloway Stanton was an attorney and judge who served as the 44th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1902 to 1904.
The 1851 Vermont gubernatorial election was held on September 2, 1851. The state continued its support for the Whig party, and Whig Governor Charles K. Williams was easily re-elected to a one-year term. The strong showing of the Free Soil Party candidate Timothy P. Redfield also showed that Vermont was on its way to becoming an anti-slavery bastion. The Democratic nominee, John S. Robinson went on to win the governorship in 1853.
Walter J. Bigelow was an American newspaper editor, author, and politician from Vermont. A Republican, he was most notable for serving as mayor of Burlington from 1907 to 1909 and owning and publishing the St. Johnsbury Caledonian from 1913 to 1918.
Reginald W. Buzzell was an American government official and military officer from Vermont. A longtime member of the Vermont Army National Guard, he was a veteran of the Pancho Villa Expedition, World War I and World War II and attained the rank of brigadier general.
United States