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Vermont has been called a piece of America's past. In no other state has natural beauty been so untouched by modern development. In no other state has the small-town atmosphere of more than a century ago been so well preserved. Often chosen as a comfortable second home by city dwellers, Vermont seemingly has escaped the ugly urban sprawl that pollutes so many parts of the nation. The state has long been noted for its hardy, independent people. Their rugged New England character was probably ordained by the inhospitable terrain the granite spine of the dense Green Mountains.
Except for Lake Champlain, Vermont's many rivers and lakes lack harbors for commerce. Nonetheless, its scenic splendor provides both resort and refuge for visitors and, more importantly, sustains the people who live there year-round. The mountains, a skier's paradise, provide a foundation for the foremost marble and granite quarries in the United States. Tapping maple trees for syrup in Vermont Although the rocky terrain and thin soil made large-scale farming difficult for the Yankee pioneers who settled Vermont, they were able to build small farms and villages on the forested land. The state is one of the nation's leading producers of maple sugar and syrup. In the lush river valleys, the Vermont dairy industry developed into one of the most significant in the Northeast.
Vermont was first explored by Samuel de Champlain in 1609, when he sailed from the colony he founded in Quebec into the vast lake that was named for him. After permanent white settlers came in 1724, the Native Americans, the French and British colonial powers, and the early American colonists fought one another over the land. For years the Green Mountains region was claimed by both New Hampshire and New York. In 1777, however, Vermont declared itself an independent state and adopted a constitution the first to prohibit slavery. In 1791, after the American Revolution, it was admitted to the Union as the 14 th state. Vermont was thus the first state to be added to the original 13 colonies that formed the United States.
One of the smallest states in the Union, Vermont ranks only 43 rd in area and 48 th in population. Despite its small size, the state has made vital contributions to the growth of the nation. Among the famous people born in Vermont were two presidents of the United States Chester A. Arthur and Calvin Coolidge. An unsuccessful presidential candidate was Stephen A. Douglas of Brandon.
In the Spanish- American War, Admiral George Dewey of Montpelier won fame at Manila Bay. John Dewey of Burlington, a noted educator, changed many of the nation's school practices. Thaddeus Stevens of Danville was an influential legislator during the Reconstruction era. A notorious Vermonter who was forced to leave the state was John Humphrey Noyes of Brattleboro. In 1836 he formed a Bible group known as "Bible communists" at his home in Putney. After they proclaimed a doctrine of free love, Noyes and his followers were arrested for adultery but fled to New York to found the Oneida Community (see Communal Living).
Putney was also the home of the Experiment in International Living, founded in 1932 as a worldwide educational exchange organization. Vermont inventors include John Deere of Rutland, who made the first steel plowshare, and Thomas Davenport of Williamstown, who devised the first electric motor. Although Thaddeus Fairbanks was born in Massachusetts, he developed all his inventions such as the platform scale his foundry in St. Johnsbury. The early name of the region was New Hampshire Grants. In 1777 it was named New Connecticut.
This was later changed at the suggestion of Dr. Thomas Young of Philadelphia. He wanted to perpetuate the nickname of Ethan Allen's militia, the Green Mountain Boys, who were heroes of the American Revolution. The name Vermont originates in two French words that mean "green" and "mountain. " On the map of Champlain's discoveries, the explorer had labeled the dense evergreen slopes Verd Mont. The range is also the source of the nickname Green Mountain State. Vermont lies in the New England region of the United States.
It is bordered on the north by the Canadian province of Quebec. To the east the Connecticut River forms the boundary with New Hampshire. On the south is Massachusetts and on the west is New York, separated from Vermont for about 100 miles (160 kilometers) by Lake Champlain. The state's greatest length from north to south is 159 miles (256 kilometers).
Its greatest width is 89 miles (143 kilometers) from east to west. Its narrowest width is 37 miles (60 kilometers). Vermont's total area is 9, 614 square miles (24, 900 square kilometers), including 341 square miles (883 square kilometers) of inland water surface. The crest of the Green Mountains runs through the center of the state from the Massachusetts boundary northward into Canada. This highland is sometimes said to divide the state into eastern and western sections.
There are five distinct natural regions, however. The Champlain Valley covers all the northwestern part of the state as far south as the Putney River and Lake Bomoseen. It is a narrow lowland wedged between Lake Champlain on the west and the Green Mountains on the east. Along Lake Champlain is the state's lowest point 95 feet (29 meters). Draining into the lake are Vermont's three longest streams the Lamoille and Winooski rivers and Otter Creek. The Taconic Mountains rise south of Brandon and extend southward along the New York border into Massachusetts.
The highest peak in this narrow range is Mount Equinox at 3, 816 feet (1, 163 meters). It is located a few miles west of Manchester. At the eastern edge of the Taconics is the Valley of Vermont, which separates this region from the Green Mountains. The Green Mountains, part of the Appalachian Highlands, form the backbone of Vermont. These heavily forested highlands extend the length of the state and vary in width from about 21 miles (34 kilometers) in the north to some 36 miles (58 kilometers) in the south. Near Underhill is Mount Mansfield, the highest point in the state at 4, 393 feet (1, 339 meters).
The New England Upland borders the Green Mountains on the east for the entire length of the state. This plateau like region, sharply cut by streams, is sometimes called the Vermont Piedmont. The Upland is the lake region of the state. The White Mountains Region in northeastern Vermont is an extension of a larger highland region in New Hampshire. Located mainly in Essex County, it is a thinly populated, mountainous wilderness. Vermont's climate is characterized by wide temperature ranges, even distribution of precipitation, short summers, and long winters.
Variations throughout the state in temperature and precipitation are due mainly to elevation. Average January temperatures range from 16 F (- 8. 9 C) in the northeast to 20 F (- 6. 7 C) in the Champlain Valley. Average July temperatures range from 67 F (19 C) in the northeast and southeast to 70 F (21 C) in the Champlain Valley. Precipitation, heaviest in summer, ranges from an annual average of 52 inches (132 centimeters) in the south to 32 inches (81 centimeters) in the northwest. Snowfall varies from 55 inches (140 centimeters) yearly in the west and in the Connecticut Valley to 125 inches (318 centimeters) elsewhere.
The growing season is 130 to 150 days in the Lake Champlain and Connecticut Valley areas and 100 to 130 days in the rest of the state. Much of the soil in Vermont is too thin and rocky for general farming. The most valuable agricultural resource is extensive pasturage for the state's dairy industry. There are about 4, 400, 000 acres (1, 780, 680 hectares) of commercial forestland. The most valuable tree is the sugar maple, which is used for lumber. Groves of sugar maples supply sap for maple sugar and syrup (see Maple).
The white pine is valuable in the Connecticut River valley. Stone, particularly marble and granite, is the most valuable mineral. The chief commercial resources are the state's lakes, mountains, and climate, which attract many tourists. Some mountain rivers are dammed and used for hydroelectric power. The highest dam (275 feet; 84 meters) is Ball Mountain Dam, completed in 1961, on the West River. Conservation of the state's resources is overseen by the Agency of Natural Resources through its departments of Fish and Wildlife; Forests, Parks, and Recreation; and Environmental Conservation.
The Economic Development Department of the Agency of Development and Community Affairs works to promote the interests of the state. Before the arrival of Europeans, the Native Americans entered what is now Vermont mainly to hunt and fish. The first colonists in the area came from New Hampshire, in the east, and New York, in the west. Because it had little manufacturing, few immigrants from abroad settled in the area. The largest foreign group has been French Canadian farmers. Today the great majority of the people are of English background.
Vermont's population is 99 percent white the highest percentage of any state. About 4 percent of the state's people are foreign born. About two thirds of the people live in small villages and on farms. The rest live in towns and cities with a population of 2, 500 or more.
Only four communities have more than 15, 000 residents each. Burlington, the largest city in Vermont, is a port on Lake Champlain and the chief manufacturing center of the state. The second largest city is Rutland in the south-central part of the state. It is noted for its marble quarries. Barre in central Vermont is a great granite center. Brattleboro in the southeast is noted for printing and publishing.
The state capital is Montpelier (see Montpelier). The chief regional trading centers are St. Albans in the northwest, Bennington in the southwest, and St. Johnsbury in the northeast. In comparison with other states Vermont has little manufacturing.
After the services and retail trade industries, however, manufacturing employs more workers than does any other occupation in the state. The chief manufacturing industry is the making of electrical and electronic equipment. The second most valuable industry is fabricated metal products. The printing and publishing industry is third in value. Industrial machinery ranks fourth. Paper and allied products are also significant.
Food products, transportation equipment, and lumber and wood products are also made. Vermont has approximately 7, 000 farms, of which about 40 percent are full-time dairy farms. The state's most valuable agricultural product is milk, which is sold in markets as far away as Boston and New York City. Hay, the most valuable field crop, is cut and stored to feed dairy herds during the winter. The major farming areas are in the Champlain Basin and the Connecticut River valley.
These regions produce corn, potatoes, oats, and truck crops. Apples, the most valuable cash crop, are grown chiefly along the shores of Lake Champlain. Franklin County in northwestern Vermont is the largest producer in the state-wide maple-sugar industry, an enterprise in which Vermont is the national leader. Other agricultural products are beef and veal, eggs, chickens, turkeys, sheep, and wool.
The state's most valuable mineral product is dimension stone. Marble is quarried west of the Green Mountains, in Rutland County. A valuable product since the first quarry wa...
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