November 18, 1883

“Here is a revolt worth noting. For all past generations of men since the timepiece and the dial, and the water clock were invented, the time of day has been taken direct from the sun.” So read the Saturday morning issue of the Clinton Courant detailing the change about to occur. In those days, time was a bit different from railroad station to railroad station. Boston had their time, Sterling theirs and Worcester, Providence and New York had theirs. Boston and New York differed by 12 minutes. In fact, every city in the country used a different time standard. There were more than 300 local sun times.

So it was at Noon on November 18, 1883 when the new standard would ring from the Worcester fire alarm bells and time changed forever.

The article continued, “it will throw out of use such things as noon marks, and lines of the sun dial and sunset and sunrise.” It was reporting the change which took affect 133 years ago when all the clocks of the United States instituted a time zone to accommodate the 78,000 miles of rail that existed at the time (140,000 miles exist today). The times were to break at Philadelphia, St. Louis, Denver and Carson City, each being one hour apart. These divisions mark the 75, 90, 105 and 120 degrees of the “great circle of the earth and the time within these divisions is to be everywhere the same. Thus the traveler on the train approaching Columbus, Ohio, carrying Eastern Time. Beyond that station the time becomes instantly one hour slower, and so remains until Denver is reached where another hour slower is recorded.”

“The whole change is in keeping with the progress of the age, and may be moralized upon to any extent, for it means the closer union of the human communities, the strengthening ties that are bringing a closer brotherhood.”