The Sunbury Daily (founded 1872) and The Evening Item (1893) merged July 1, 1936.

Publishing five afternoons per week, The Daily Item was owned by the Dewart family and other local investors until April 15, 1970, when Ottaway Community Newspapers purchased it.

It built new presses in 1979 and introduced Saturday and Sunday morning editions in the late 1980s.

[1] Community Newspaper Holdings bought The Daily Item and The Danville News in late 2006 from Ottaway Community Newspapers, a division of Dow Jones & Company.

[2] In May 2015, the newspaper published a letter to the editor calling for the execution of US President Barack Obama.