The History of Vermont
The land we now know as the State of Vermont was originally the homeland of Algonquin-speaking groups, known at the time of European contact as the Abenaki. During the early colonial period, France claimed much of the region. Nevertheless, being rocky and landlocked, many areas outside of the Champlain Valley were essentially uninhabited by non-Native people until late in the 1700s after the French defeat in the French and Indian War. The provincial governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth, issued 135 land grants between 1749 and 1764; the first was for Bennington, a township west of the Connecticut River. The Province of New York, having extended land patents over much of the same area, was granted rights to the territory west of the Connecticut River by the King of England; this subsequently invalidated Governor Wentworth’s grants. These early charters and land patents, particularly the New Hampshire Grants, had a lasting effect on the settlement patterns in the southern part of what would become Vermont.
During the Revolutionary War, the American Northern Army constructed extensive fortifications on Lake Champlain to defend New England and points south against a British attack from Canada. When British General John Burgoyne pushed south on the lake in the summer of 1777, the American forces withdrew from Mount Independence and Fort Ticonderoga, with some of them then fighting a successful American rear-guard action at Hubbardton on July 7, 1777. The following day, in the town of Windsor on the Connecticut River, delegates ratified the Vermont Constitution at Elijah West’s tavern (known now as Old Constitution House). Consequently, the territory claimed through grants by both New Hampshire and New York became the independent Republic of Vermont. This territorial government granted and sold land in the central and northern regions to cover war expenses, prompting settlement along watersheds and military roads by the war’s end.
Vermont remained a sovereign republic for fourteen years until January 1791, when it became the first state to join the Union following the ratification of the United States Constitution. Although a time of peace, the early years were also a time of struggle for the inhabitants of Vermont. Yet, following the conclusion of the War of 1812, increasing commerce from Canada along the interior waterway between the St. Lawrence and Hudson rivers spurred industry and development. Vermont’s central position along with its flanking waterways became even more important with the construction of canals to the Hudson River and then with the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. The steam-powered railroads crisscrossing the land by the middle part of the 19th century opened new regions to development and transported products to state and regional markets at a pace never before experienced. Agriculture and manufacturing spurred the economy and transformed the landscape of Vermont, creating new villages, enlarging communities, establishing socioeconomic neighborhoods of merchants and professionals, and diversifying farms. Vermont-born Chester A. Arthur became the nation’s 21st president during this period, championing civil service reform and attempting to improve relations for Native Americans and African Americans.
By the second quarter of the 20th century, as Calvin Coolidge was making his mark on the national scene, the economic boom in Vermont had begun to diminish. The largest towns, with a few exceptions, experienced a decrease in population. Natural disasters like the devastating 1927 flood necessitated a period of transportation modernization with new bridges and miles of paved roadways opening the landscape to the automobile-traveling visitor. The Great Depression scarred Vermont as the stone and machine tool industries ceased operations and the demand for agricultural products dropped by more than fifty percent. Lore recounts that farmers, accustomed to making do with what they had, were not affected by the dramatic changes in the economy. But, indeed, several farms closed in the decade after the crash in 1929 and the percentage of unimproved farmland notably rose. As it did nationally, the events of World War II revived Vermont’s economy, temporarily awaking factory villages and mines, while at the same time creating a housing shortage that continues to plague the state. After the war, unfortunately, manufacturing and farming again waned, passenger and freight train service stopped, and the population decreased.
Yet, a new industry was developing within the rugged mountains that would have an indelible influence on the Green Mountain State for decades to come as winter sports gained popularity. The population increased seasonally as urbanites sought temporary asylum to explore Vermont’s natural beauty and small-town character, and new resort towns were established to support the growing ski and tourism industries. Construction of the interstate highway system between 1968 and 1978 opened Vermont to easier travel, longer commutes, suburbanization, and strip malls, sprawling the boundaries of historic villages. This coincided with the passage of local zoning ordinances, a statewide land-use and development control law (Act 250), no billboard regulation, and the establishment of an organized Vermont preservation movement. Historic preservation and commemorative activities by the State of Vermont had started decades earlier.
Book Lists
Visit the links below to find reading lists pertaining to Revolutionary War-Era and Vermont histories.
American Revolutionary War Era and Republic of Vermont Reading List
Historic Fiction Book List of the Revolutionary War Era In the Northeast