[3] First published September 6, 1786—with a news item about Shays' Rebellion—the Gazette is one of oldest newspapers in the country,[5] and had been owned by the DeRose family since 1929 before being sold for an undisclosed amount of money in 2005.

Peter and his brother Charles W. DeRose were credited with moving the newspaper's offices to a modern building just outside downtown Northampton on Conz Street; paying and treating Gazette employees well; and being a pioneer in establishing an Internet presence, now known as gazettenet.com.

The Advocate's owner at the time, the Tribune Company, sold the Massachusetts weekly to focus on its Connecticut properties, which included the Hartford Courant daily.

The Gazette's owners announced they would move the Valley Advocate offices to Northampton, but would retain separate news and advertising staffs from the daily.

[4] In November 2018, 72 staffers at the Daily Hampshire Gazette and Valley Advocate informed newspaper management that they were forming a union with the NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America and seek voluntary recognition from owners.