Vermont

Header Image from National Park Service Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park, Vermont.

Vermont was admitted on March 4, 1791 as the 14th state – the first state after the original 13.

Before that, it was its very own country. Founded in 1777, the Vermont Republic operated a post office, issued its own currency called Vermont coppers, and abolished slavery.

Bird: Hermit thrush – Hermit thrush is a songbird that belongs to the family of thrushes. These birds are rather secretive and stay out of sight most of the time. Hermit thrush is best known by beautiful, flute-like songs that it produces. Song starts with long whistle that subsequently changes into series of musical phrases of different pitches. Unlike the songs of other birds, songs of hermit thrush have harmony. At one time it was nicknamed American nightingale. State bird of Vermont

Flower: Red Clover : Red Clover is an herb that belongs to the legume family. It is widely grown as a fodder crop, valued for its nitrogen fixation, which increases soil fertility. In folk lore, red clover has many benefits including reduction of hot flashes and bone loss.
It is the national flower of Denmark and the state flower of Vermont.

Tree Sugar Maple : – Sugar maple is best known for its bright fall foliage and for being the primary source of maple syrup. It takes 40 parts of maple sap to produce only 1 part of pure syrup. The wood from the sugar maple tree is used for making bowling alleys and bowling pins; basketball courts, including the floors used by the NBA; and baseball bats. It is also widely used in the manufacture of musical instruments, such as the members of the violin family (sides and back), guitars (neck), and drum shells.

State Quarter
From theus50.com

Vermont’s State Quarter features Camel’s Hump Mountain with an image of maple trees with sap buckets in the forefront.

The design honors the “Green Mountain State,” the first state admitted to the Union after the original 13 colonies. Vermont is most famous for its skiing and the production of maple sugar and syrup. Until the 1800s when cane sugar was introduced, Americans relied on Vermont’s maple sugar for much of its sugar supply. Also featured on the quarter is Camel’s Hump Mountain in the northern half of Vermont’s Green Mountains. Camel’s Hump is easily recognized by its unique double-humped profile and is one of the highest peaks in Vermont.

Capital: Montpelier

Nickname: Green Mountain State

Motto: Freedom and unity

Vermont Facts and Trivia

Derived from the French words vert (“green”) and mont (“mountain”). Samuel Peters claimed that he christened the land with that name in 1763 while standing on top of a mountain, saying, “The new name is Vert-Mont, in token that her mountains and hills shall be ever green and shall never die.” Most historians would disagree, as would Thomas Young, the Pennsylvania statesman who suggested that his state’s constitution be used as the basis for Vermont’s and is generally credited with suggesting the name to maintain the memory of the Green Mountain Boys, the militia organization formed to resist New York’s attempted take-over of the area.

In 1609, French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in Vermont and claimed the land for France. Champlain helped the local Abinaki Indians fight off the Iroquois by giving them guns. French settlers arrived mostly to trade for beaver furs which were popular in France.

The first European settlement in Vermont was Fort St. Anne, which was built by the French in 1666 to protect the fur trading routes.

The British arrived in 1724 and established their own settlement in Vermont called Fort Dummer. The fort was mostly built to protect Massachusetts from raiding Indians and French. Eventually, the British and the French went to war in 1754. This war was called the French and Indian War. Both sides allied with different Indian tribes throughout the East Coast of North America. The war ended with the British winning in 1763. Britain now had control of Vermont.

Vermont was, at various times, claimed by both New Hampshire and New York.

With a population of fewer than nine thousand people, Montpelier, Vermont is the smallest state capital in the U.S.

Vermont’s the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S., producing over 500,000 gallons a year. It takes about 40 years for a sugar maple to grow large enough—at least 10 inches in diameter—to tap. Then it takes some 40 gallons of sap to produce a single gallon of syrup.

Vermont’s also America’s No. 1 producer of marble and No. 2 producer of talc. They’re the state’s official rock and mineral, respectively.

With a population of just 7,787 in 2012, Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the U.S. In comparison, Juneau, the capital of Alaska and the sixth smallest state capital by population, has 32,167 people.

Montpelier, Vermont is the only U.S. state capital without a McDonalds.

Until 1996, Vermont was the only state without a Wal-Mart.

In ratio of cows to people, Vermont has the greatest number of dairy cows in the country.

Vermont’s largest employer isn’t Ben and Jerry’s, it’s IBM.

Until recently, the only way a Vermonter could get a drivers license with their photo on it was to drive to Montpelier.

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream company gives their ice cream waste to the local Vermont farmers who use it to feed their hogs. The hogs seem to like all of the flavors except Mint Oreo.

Rudyard Kipling, living in Vermont in the 1890’s, invented the game of snow golf.

Vermont does not sell alcohol to out of state licenses, you must have a liquor ID in order to purchase alcohol at liquor stores and grocery stores. This doesn’t apply to bars, but can affect those traveling through the state.

U.S. President Calvin Coolidge was the only president born on the fourth of July. Born in Plymouth 7/4/1872.

Vermont’s state capitol building is one of only a few to have a gold dome. Atop the dome is a statue of Ceres, Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility.

Vermont has one telephone area code—and they’re proud of it. You’ll see 802 on t-shirts, bumper stickers, and even tattoos.

Weird Laws:

One thing that’s not legal in Vermont: billboard advertising. Vermont is one of four states to ban commercial billboards, the others being Maine, Hawaii, and Alaska.
It’s illegal to undress in public in Vermont, but if you leave your house naked, it’s totally fine.
At one point in time, it was legal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole in Vermont.
And lastly, if you’re a woman and you want to get false teeth, you’re going to have to ask your husband for a written letter of permission.

People:

• • Ethan Allen, commander of the Green Mountain Boys

 

• • Chester Alan Arthur, U.S. president

 

• • Orson Bean, actor

 

• • Calvin Coolidge, U.S. president

 

• John Deere, inventor
• George Dewey, admiral
• John Dewey, philosopher, educator
• Stephen A. Douglas, politician
• Patrick Leahy, politician
• Elisha Graves Otis, inventor
• Joseph Smith, religious leader
• Rudy Vallee, singer, band leader
• Henry Wells, pioneer entrepreneur
• Brigham Young, religious leader

Credits

See State Symbols
See Only In Your State.com
See 50 states.com
See Mental Floss.com

See Ducksters.com
***Nelson, Ken. “Vermont State History for Kids.” Ducksters, Technological Solutions, Inc. (TSI), www.ducksters.com/geography/us_states/vermont_history.php. Accessed 17 February 2019.

See Tidbits of history/states for facts and trivia about each of the states.