Travel Oracles 50 States: Vermont
As part of my summer series - Travel Oracles 50 States - I am revisiting each os the fifty American states as an overview on travel culture and history. Today: Vermont
Joined: During the American Revolution, Vermont declared independence separately from the original 13 colonies, although the Continental Congress refused to recognize it. On March 4, 1791, Vermont was accepted into the United States of America, as the fourteenth state. In response to abolitionists' calls across the colonies to end slavery, Vermont became the first colony to ban it outright and in the civil war, Vermont continued the military tradition initiated by the Green Mountain Boys of American Revolutionary War fame for the Union.
Original Indigenous Peoples: The most prominent early indigenous tribes in Vermont were the Abénaki and Mahican. The western Abénaki were composed of subdivisions including Sokoki, Missisquoi, and Cowasuck.
First Settlers: Vermont was initially settled in the early 18th century by both the British and French, and conflicts between the two nations continued until the French defeat in the French and Indian War, after which the land was ceded to England. Fort Dummer, near the present Brattleboro, was established in 1724 by Massachusetts colonists, and became the first permanent European settlement in Vermont.
History moment: On October 5, 1798, congressman Matthew Lyon was indicted under the Sedition Act for criticizing President John Adams in a letter he had written to Spooner’s Vermont Journal. Fined $1,000 and sentenced to four months in jail, Lyon was re-elected to Congress while incarcerated. In 1814, Emma Willard began teaching scientific and classical subjects to women out of her home in Middlebury after noticing the large discrepancy in the quality of education between women and men. After her ideas on improving women’s education gained the attention of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams in 1819, she was invited to open a school in New York and later taught at the Troy Female Seminary, which opened in 1821. One of the first ski lifts in the U.S. was developed on a farm in Woodstock in 1934. Designed by Wallace “Bunny” Bertram and powered by an antique Model-T Ford engine, the tow pulled people up a hill while holding onto a moving rope. On May 5, 1978, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened their first Ben & Jerry’s Homemade ice cream shop in a refurbished gas station in Burlington. In 2000, the infamous brand was acquired by Unilever for roughly $326 million in cash. Vermont became the first state to legally recognize civil unions between partners of the same sex in April 2000. Nine years later, the state legislature granted full marriage rights to same-sex couples.
Known for: popular destination for east coast skiers and snowboarders, the country’s leading producer of maple syrup, home of the popular Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
Places: Burlington, Stowe, Manchester
Movie setting: White Christmas, Dead Poets Society, Baby Boom
Musicians from: Phish, Grace Potterm Anaïs Mitchell, Neko Case
Surprising facts: Montpelier, with fewer than 9,000 people, is the smallest state capital in the United States.
Vermont's a land of hidden treasures and unspoiled scenery. Wander anywhere in the state—nearly 80% is forest—and you'll find pristine countryside dotted with farms and framed by mountains. Tiny towns with picturesque church steeples, village greens, and covered bridges are perfect for exploring. Sprawl has no place here. Highways are devoid of billboards by law, and on some roads cows still stop traffic twice a day en route to and from pasture. In spring, sap boils in sugarhouses, some built generations ago, while up the road a chef trained at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier might use the syrup to glaze a pork tenderloin. It's the landscape, for the most part, that attracts people to Vermont. Rolling hills belie rugged terrain underneath the green canopy of forest growth. In summer, clear lakes and streams provide ample opportunities for swimming, boating, and fishing; hills attract hikers and mountain bikers. The more than 14,000 miles of roads, many of them only intermittently traveled by cars, are great for biking. In fall the leaves have their last hurrah, painting the mountainsides in vibrant yellow, gold, red, and orange. Vermont has the best ski resorts in the eastern United States, centered on the spine of the Green Mountains running north to south; and the traditional heart of skiing here is the town of Stowe. Almost anywhere you go, no matter what time of year, the Vermont countryside will make you reach for your camera. Let’s travel to Vermont
My Experience: Vermont is always a joy to visit in the summer and Autumn, and have have not spent nearly enough time there even though the movie ‘Baby Boom’ sold me on it ages ago. I hope to return this Fall! Top things to do in Vermont
Nature: There is only one National Park Service Sites in Vermont: Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. Despite having only one site, it's a beauty.
Ranking in US: Per the annual US News report, Vermont is currently ranked #11 out of 50 in 2021 and #5 in 2019.