Vermont History Guide

The history of Vermont begins more than 10,500 years before the present day. Little is known of the pre-Columbian history of Vermont. The western part of the state was originally home to a small population of Algonquian-speaking tribes, including the Mohican and Abenaki peoples. The New York Iroquois arrived around 1500, forcing many of the other groups away. During the early 1600s, several groups returned to conquer the Iroquois with help from French explorers.

The first European to see the area that is now Vermont is thought to be Jacques Cartier, in 1535. On July 30, 1609, French explorer Samuel de Champlain claimed the area of what is now Lake Champlain, giving to the mountains the appellation of les Verts Monts (the Green Mountains). However, as in the French language color adjectives come after the noun, the correct structure of this name would be "les Monts Verts." A possible alternative name was "Vers Monts," meaning "towards mountains." In light of the fact that Champlain was coming from the relatively flat plains south of Quebec towards mountainous Vermont (towards mountains), this explanation of the name seems to make more sense.

France claimed Vermont as part of New France, and erected Fort Sainte Anne on Isle La Motte in 1666 as part of their fortification of Lake Champlain. This was the first European settlement in Vermont and the site of the first Roman Catholic mass.

There were regular periods of skirmishing between English colonies to the south and the French colony to the north and the area of Vermont was an unsettled frontier. During the late 1600s, the governor of New Hampshire granted land to settlers. New York claimed the same land and granted it to other settlers. In 1764, King George III of England ruled that New York owned the land. A group of New Hampshire settlers, the Green Mountain Boys, fought to keep their land and forced New Yorkers out of the region.

The first permanent British settlement was established in 1724 with the construction of Fort Dummer in Vermont's far southeast under the command of Lieutenant Timothy Dwight of Connecticut. This fort protected the nearby settlements of Dummerston and Brattleboro in the surrounding area. These settlements were made by people from Massachusetts and Connecticut. The second British settlement at Bennington in the southwest corner of Vermont would not be made until after 37 years of conflict in the region.

During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), France and Britain fought for control of North America. At the end of the war Britain received all land east of the Mississippi River, including Vermont.

Offended by unfair taxes and other demands from England's king, land owners, merchants and ordinary citizens in England's original 13 colonies rebelled, and they declared their independence from Great Britain. America's War of Independence began in 1775 and ended in 1781. In the war's early stages, those same Green Mountain Boys earned additional fame by capturing Fort Ticonderoga from the British on May 10, 1775.

In 1777, proud locals here declared their lands an independent republic, and named it New Connecticut. Later that year a delegation met at Westminster, changed the name to Vermont, and drafted a constitution, one that even outlawed slavery.

On March 4, 1791, Vermont became the 14th state of the Union.

Vermont supported the Northern (or Union) cause, and some 28,000 volunteers served in the war effort. At war's end, over 5,000 of Vermont's best were dead. Among the most famous of the Vermont units were the 1st Vermont Brigade, the 2nd Vermont Brigade, and the 1st Vermont Cavalry. The northernmost land action of the war, the St. Albans Raid, took place in Vermont. After the war, the agriculture industry became less important and many people moved to the cities. Wood-processing and cheese industries grew quickly. The quarry industry provided work cutting granite, marble, and slate. Other factories manufactured lumber, tools, and guns.

Then the Great Depression of the 1930's reared its ugly head, proving financially disastrous across Vermont, and all of America. In the end it was World War II that helped to revive the state's 20th century economy, as many of its industries provided materials for the war.

Vermont leads the nation in the production of monument granite, marble, and maple syrup. It is also a leader in the production of talc. Vermont's rugged, rocky terrain discourages extensive agricultural farming, but is well suited to raising fruit trees and to dairy farming.

Principal industrial products include electrical equipment, fabricated metal products, printing and publishing, and paper and allied products.

Vermont Famous People

• Chester A. Arthur (1829 - 1886) The 21^st President of the United States (1881-1885); born in Fairfield.
• Orson Bean (1928 - ) Actor; born in Burlington.
• Ben Cohen (1951 - ) & Jerry Greenfield (1951 - ) Founders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice-Cream; born in New York and moved to Vermont during the late 1970s.
• Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933) The 30^th President of the United States (1923-1929); born in Plymouth Notch.
• Thomas Davenport (1802 - 1851) Inventor; He patented a device for "Improvements in propelling machinery by magnetism and electromagnetism" in 1837; born in Williamstown.
• John Dewey (1859 - 1952) Philosopher; born in Burlington.
• Stephen A. Douglas (1813 - 1861) Politician famous for his debates with Abraham Lincoln; born near Brandon.
• Ralph E. Flanders (1880 - 1970) Senator; born in Barnet.
• Elisha Graves Otis (1811 - 1861) Inventor of the elevator; born near Halifax.
• Katherine Paterson (1932 - ) Children's author and Newberry Award winner for Jacob Have I Loved; moved to Barre in 1964.
• Rudy Vallee (1901 - 1986) Singer, band leader; born in Island Pond.
• Henry Wells (1805 - 1878) Founder of Wells Fargo and Co.; born in Thetford.
• Brigham Young (1801 - 1877) Colonizer, territorial governor, and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; born in Whitingham.