Vermont Historical Society

Edna Beard of Orange became Vermont's first woman legislator.  There has never been a legislative session since without a woman member.

The Bennington Convention ratifies the federal constitution and applies for Vermont's admission to the Union.  Vermont becomes a state on March 4, 1791.

 

The Great Vermont Statehood Debate (PDF)

Vermont Statehood Document Transcription (PDF)

  January 6, 1857

Vermont's second State House was destroyed by fire.  A stove, left burning all night to warm the building for a special session of the General Assembly the next morning, became so hot that it ignited the timbers near it. 

Vermont Government Finds a Home (PDF)

Important child labor laws are passed by the U.S. government.  They limit the work week of children to fifty-eight hours.  Photographs taken of children working even longer hours at woolen mills in Winooski and Bennington help convince people that these laws are needed.

 

The Bitter Cry of the Children (PDF)

 

Frank Plumley, enjoying a meal in the dining room of the Pavilion Hotel in Montpelier, was delighted to find a large pearl in his serving of oyster stew.

 
Ethan Allen was born in Litchfield, Connecticut.  He was destined to become Vermont's most famous patriot.  He is said to have been the boldest, bravest, and cleverest man then living in frontier Vermont.  He has also been called a rogue, a cheat, and a liar.

 

 

Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley takes his first successful photomicrograph of a snow crystal at his home in Jericho, Vermont.

 

The first ski tow in the United States was set up in Woodstock, Vermont.  The tow was powered by a Model T Ford engine which pulled the 900 yards of rope at a speed of thirty miles per hour.  The first ticket for the rope tow was sold on January 28th.

 

Small Beginnings: The First Rope Tow in Vermont (PDF)