Native Americans have inhabited the area for about 12,000 years. The competitive tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Abenaki and Iroquoian-speaking Mohawk were active in the area at the time of European encounter. During the 17th century, French colonists claimed the territory as part of New France. Conflict arose when the Kingdom of Great Britain began to settle colonies to the south along the Atlantic coast; France was defeated in 1763 in the Seven Years' War, ceding its territory east of the Mississippi River to Britain. Thereafter, the nearby British Thirteen Colonies disputed the extent of the area called the New Hampshire Grants to the west of the Connecticut River, encompassing present-day Vermont. The provincial government of New York sold land grants to settlers in the region, which conflicted with earlier grants from the government of New Hampshire. The Green Mountain Boys militia protected the interests of the established New Hampshire land grant settlers. Ultimately, a group of settlers with New Hampshire land grant titles established the Vermont Republic in 1777 as an independent state during the American Revolutionary War. The Vermont Republic abolished slavery before any other U.S. state. It was admitted to the Union in 1791 as the 14th state.
The geography of the state is marked by the Green Mountains, which run north–south up the middle of the state, separating Lake Champlain and other valley terrain on the west from the Connecticut River Valley that defines much of its eastern border. A majority of its terrain is forested with hardwoods and conifers. The state has warm, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. (Full article...)
Three railroads—the Sullivan County Railroad, Cheshire Railroad, and Rutland and Burlington Railroad—were completed to Bellows Falls in 1849, followed by the Vermont Valley Railroad in 1851. This placed Bellows Falls at the junction of two major trunk lines: Boston–Burlington via Rutland and Fitchburg, and New York–Montreal via New Haven and White River Junction. A two-story brick station was constructed in 1851 at the junction of the four railroads. After a number of mergers and leases over the next half-century, service was consolidated into three major railroads by 1900. The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) and Central Vermont (CV) ran north–south service through Bellows Falls, while the B&M and Rutland Railroad collaborated on east–west traffic on the Boston–Montreal route via Bellows Falls. (Full article...)
Molten syrup being poured on clean white snow to create the soft maple candy.
Maple taffy (sometimes maple toffee in English-speaking Canada, tire d'érable or tire sur la neige in French-speaking Canada; also sugar on snow or candy on the snow or leather aprons in the United States) is a sugar candy made by boiling maplesap past the point where it would form maple syrup, but not so long that it becomes maple butter or maple sugar. It is part of traditional culture in Quebec, Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and northern New England. In these regions, it is poured onto the snow, then lifted either with a small wooden stick, such as a popsicle stick, or a metal dinner fork. (Full article...)
Image 8Fall foliage seen from Hogback Mountain, Wilmington (from Vermont)
Image 9The gold leafdome of the Vermont State House in Montpelier is visible for many miles around the city. This is the third State House on the site, and like the second, was built in the Greek Revival architectural style. It was completed in 1857. Montpelier became the state capital in 1805. (from History of Vermont)
Image 10Vermont in 1827. The county boundaries have since changed. (from Vermont)
Image 14Vermont towns hold a March town meeting for voters to approve the town's budget and decide other matters. Marlboro voters meet in this building. (from Vermont)
Image 63Vermont towns hold a March town meeting for voters to approve the town's budget and decide other matters. Marlboro voters meet in this building. (from Vermont)
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