If you'd like to learn more about the founding of Vermont and the state's early history, we publish a number of books that explores this story!
You can find these books and more at the VHS bookstore: bit.ly/3wBsSrx
In the meantime, Vermonters created their own currency and system of government, and it wasn't until 1790 that New York gave up its territorial claims.
The overlapping grants caused conflict, and as the nation declared itself independent from Great Britain, Vermont wasn't permitted to join them until those issues were eventually resolved.
In January 1777, Vermont declared itself an independent state. Its territory had been settled by different sets of colonists who had been granted land by the colonies of New Hampshire and New York.
On this day in history: Vermont is formally accepted into the United States as the 14th state in 1791!
No matter how old an object is or how long we’ve held it in our collections, we can always learn something new about it.
As part of our upcoming 50 for 250 project, we wanted to take a closer look inside one of the featured objects, and we got some help from the Central Vermont Medical Center:
VHS editor Alan Berolzheimer said that “Chris brought both his high-level journalism experience and his experience as an author to our Publications Committee deliberations about potential book projects and made substantial contributions in that regard.”
A copy of Those Turbulent Sons of Freedom
In 2018, he published Those Turbulent Sons of Freedom: Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys and the American Revolution, in which he noted “I value the Vermont Historical Society as one of this nation’s finest—and friendliest.”
Wren was a foreign correspondent for the Times. After his retirement in 2001, moved to Vermont. He joined the Vermont Historical Society and served as a trustee for the organization from 2006 to 2009. He was also a member of the publications committee until 2018.
We are sad to report that former journalist, writer, and VHS Trustee Christopher Wren passed away at the age of 89 in February at his home in Thetford, per The New York Times.
Vermont would eventually ratify it on March 9th, the 19th state to do so. It would eventually reach the 27-state threshold when Georgia approved it on December 6th, 1865.
The US Senate passed the amendment on April 8th, 1864, while the US House of Representatives followed on January 31st, 1865. It was then presented to the states on February 1st for their votes.
A proclamation
On this day in 1865, Governor J. Gregory Smith issued a proclamation to convened the state's General Assembly in special session in order to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which formally abolished slavery.
An image of a silver prize medal
We have an item from this historic event in our collection: a prize medal presented to the Montreal Crystals. The medal was gifted to VHS in 2018 in memory of J. Brooks Buxton.
The game took place on Lake Champlain between two teams: the a club team called the Montreal Crystals, a team made up of Vermont members sponsored by the Van Ness House hotel. They played two ten-minute games and the Vermont team lost both games.
an illustration of men playing an early form of hockey
In February 1886, the Burlington Coasting Club hosted a week-long Carnival of Winter Sports. 40,000 people attended, and the events included coasting (bobsledding), ice skating, snowshoe races, and on February 26th, the first international ice hockey tournament!
We recently added this movie poster to our library collection: it's signed by Tuttle, director John O'Brien, and associate producer Jack Rowell.
a poster that reads Fred Tuttle is the Man with a Plan / A Film by John O'Brien.
30 years ago this week, the independent comedy film Man With A Plan premiered. It starred Tunbridge dairy farmer and actor Fred Tuttle as a fictional version of himself, in which he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives.
VHS executive director Steve Perkins was recently a guest on Across the Fence along with historian Brian Lindner to talk about Vermont's history of skiing!
You can watch the segment here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxoH...
The event took place last week at Bridgeside Books and was co-hosted by the Waterbury Historical Society. You can read about it here: www.waterburyroundabout.org/news-archive...
A man facing the camera in a group
Thanks to the Waterbury Roundabout for covering author Jeffrey Amestoy's event in Waterbury! He spoke about his recent book, Winters’ Time: A Secret Pledge, a Severed Head, and the Murder That Brought America's Most Famous Lawyer to Vermont and Vermont's legal history.
Correction: Two years from now. The next winter Olympics in the United States will be in 2034 in Utah and Lake Placid.
It's an orange and red paper pennant that reads "I saw the flame" on one side, and "Vermont" on the other. It was one of many VT-specific paper pennants produced for the games, and were handed out to people who came out to see the runners carrying the Olympic torch when it crossed through the state.
A red and orange pennant that reads Vermont / Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Torch Relay
This year's Winter Olympics are coming into the final couple of days, and after that, it'll be four years before the next event, which will be the 2028 summer games in LA. Here's an item in our collection from when the games were last held in the United States: the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah.
a black and white illustration of the vermont milk chocolate company of burlington vermont.
UVM Professor Tom Visser recently published "Vermont Milk Chocolate Company Factory: A Bittersweet History" in Vermont History Journal. He was recently a guest on Across the Fence to talk about this episode of Burlington's history!
You can watch the segment here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO92...
a pin that reads US deaf ski team
Holbrook was an alumnus of the Austine School for the Deaf of Brattleboro, and was admitted to the AAAD (American Athletic Association for the Deaf) in 1964. He competed in Berchtesgaden (West Germany) in the 60's and in the Meribel Deaflympicsin France in 1979. He died in 2017.
a patch that reads amercan athletic ass'n of the deaf with a skier on it
Here are a trio of items related to this in our collection, owned by Herbert P. Holbrook, a class A ski jumper and cross-country skier.
A patch that reads United States Eastern Amateur ski association, with a red figure mid ski jump.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are underway, and ski jumping has particularly captivated us this week - not just in Italy, but closer to home at Brattleboro's Harris Hill this coming weekend, which will be holding the Fred Harris Memorial Tournament & Junior World Qualifier this weekend.
When he was dismissed, he returned to Vermont and founded the American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy (now Norwich University) in 1819, instituting a new model of education that led to what is now known as ROTC.
A black and white illustration of a man in a uniform, holding a sword.
On this day in Vermont History: Alden Partridge is born in Norwich in 1785. He studied engineering at the US Military Academy at West Point and went on to teach at the school.
