Where Signs of the Times (SOTT) sat in the mid-19th-century religious-press landscape
Periodical Denomination/focus Frequency Documented circulation near the Civil War era Relative stature
Christian Advocate & Journal (New York), Methodist Episcopal Weekly 28,000 (1828); still 30,000 by 1869, the Nation-leading religious weekly
The Missionary Herald (Boston), Congregational / ABCFM missions, Monthly 22,000 (1840); 30,000 (1869). Largest Protestant missions periodical
Zion’s Herald & Wesleyan Journal, Methodist (New England) Weekly 16,000 (1869) 
Upper-tier regional weekly
Tennessee Baptist (Nashville) Landmark/Southern Baptist Weekly c. 12,000 just before the Civil War (contemporary press claims; figures fluctuate)
Signs of the Times (Middletown, NY) Old-School / Primitive Baptist Semi-monthly 6 000 – 7 000 regular copies (Dec 15 1858); editor later recalled “nearly 5 million copies” issued over 34 yrs, and one wartime spike “nearly 14 000”  Upper mid-tier among denominational papers; dominant inside the small Primitive Baptist communion
The Commission (Southern Baptist missions) Monthly 7,000 (1850)  Comparable to SOTT
Many state or local religious weeklies (e.g., Religious Herald, Christian Index), Baptist, Presbyterian, etc. Weekly, often 2,000 – 5,000 below SOTT and other mid-tier titles
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What the numbers mean
- SOTT’s 6 – 7 k core run
Gilbert Beebe reported that by December 1858, the paper was “between six and seven thousand, and constantly increasing.” 
For a niche group that probably counted only a few tens of thousands of members nationwide, this was a remarkable penetration rate—roughly one paid copy for every four or five Primitive Baptists, far higher than the ratio achieved by the much larger Methodist or Presbyterian bodies.
- Momentary peaks and long tails
Beebe and later admirers recalled a wartime surge of “nearly fourteen thousand” and an aggregate of 5 million copies mailed by 1867 (averaging 5,000 per issue over 34 years). 
After the war, its influence waned; Rowell’s American Newspaper Directory still listed the title in 1873 but did not bother to record a circulation figure, implying a sharp drop-off. 
- How it stacked up
- Well below the Methodist Christian Advocate or the Congregational Missionary Herald, which were genuine mass-market religious newspapers, topping 20–30k.
- Roughly on par with the best-supported Baptist missionary magazines (The Commission, 7k) and slightly ahead of many state Baptist or Presbyterian weeklies that hovered under 5k.
- Far ahead of the dozens of small local or single-issue religious sheets that circulated only a few hundred to a couple of thousand copies.
⸻
Why SOTT still mattered
1. Niche depth over breadth – It was virtually the only voice dedicated to Old-School/Primitive Baptist theology; competing denominations had many overlapping outlets.
2. Distribution reach – Beebe sent copies to “every state and territory,” giving the scattered Primitive Baptist minority a sense of cohesion that larger bodies achieved through conferences and itinerant preachers.
3. No advertising model – Unlike Methodist or Presbyterian weeklies, SOTT refused ads and relied on $2 subscriptions, making its 6–7k base financially impressive.
Tennessee Baptist (Nashville) Landmark/Southern Baptist Weekly c. 12,000 just before the Civil War (contemporary press claims; figures fluctuate)
Signs of the Times (Middletown, NY) Old-School / Primitive Baptist Semi-monthly 6 000 – 7 000 regular copies (Dec 15 1858); editor later recalled “nearly 5 million copies” issued over 34 yrs, and one wartime spike “nearly 14 000”  Upper mid-tier among denominational papers; dominant inside the small Primitive Baptist communion
The Commission (Southern Baptist missions) Monthly 7,000 (1850)  Comparable to SOTT
Many state or local religious weeklies (e.g., Religious Herald, Christian Index), Baptist, Presbyterian, etc. Weekly, often 2,000 – 5,000 below SOTT and other mid-tier titles
⸻
What the numbers mean
- SOTT’s 6 – 7 k core run
Gilbert Beebe reported that by December 1858, the paper was “between six and seven thousand, and constantly increasing.” 
For a niche group that probably counted only a few tens of thousands of members nationwide, this was a remarkable penetration rate—roughly one paid copy for every four or five Primitive Baptists, far higher than the ratio achieved by the much larger Methodist or Presbyterian bodies.
- Momentary peaks and long tails
Beebe and later admirers recalled a wartime surge of “nearly fourteen thousand” and an aggregate of 5 million copies mailed by 1867 (averaging 5,000 per issue over 34 years). 
After the war, its influence waned; Rowell’s American Newspaper Directory still listed the title in 1873 but did not bother to record a circulation figure, implying a sharp drop-off. 
- How it stacked up
- Well below the Methodist Christian Advocate or the Congregational Missionary Herald, which were genuine mass-market religious newspapers, topping 20–30k.
- Roughly on par with the best-supported Baptist missionary magazines (The Commission, 7k) and slightly ahead of many state Baptist or Presbyterian weeklies that hovered under 5k.
- Far ahead of the dozens of small local or single-issue religious sheets that circulated only a few hundred to a couple of thousand copies.
⸻
Why SOTT still mattered
1. Niche depth over breadth – It was virtually the only voice dedicated to Old-School/Primitive Baptist theology; competing denominations had many overlapping outlets.
2. Distribution reach – Beebe sent copies to “every state and territory,” giving the scattered Primitive Baptist minority a sense of cohesion that larger bodies achieved through conferences and itinerant preachers.
3. No advertising model – Unlike Methodist or Presbyterian weeklies, SOTT refused ads and relied on $2 subscriptions, making its 6–7k base financially impressive.
⸻
Bottom line:
At its 1850s peak, Signs of the Times was a solid second-tier religious paper nationally—dwarfed by the giant Methodist organs but larger than most Baptist, Presbyterian, or missionary monthlies, and unrivaled inside the Primitive Baptist world. In circulation terms, it punched well above its demographic weight, serving as the chief print backbone of the Old-School Baptist movement while never quite entering the mass-market stratosphere of the country’s biggest denominational weeklies.
Bottom line:
At its 1850s peak, Signs of the Times was a solid second-tier religious paper nationally—dwarfed by the giant Methodist organs but larger than most Baptist, Presbyterian, or missionary monthlies, and unrivaled inside the Primitive Baptist world. In circulation terms, it punched well above its demographic weight, serving as the chief print backbone of the Old-School Baptist movement while never quite entering the mass-market stratosphere of the country’s biggest denominational weeklies.
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