Sunlight glinted off the water as we paddled our canoe along a winding channel which led through a marsh of tall grasses and wild rice. Two white, long-legged birds – great egrets – stalked the shallow water, poised to spear fish with their pointed bills. A bald eagle landed in a tree, squawking as it joined its mate. After four miles of canoeing down the Missisquoi River in northwestern Vermont we had reached the point where the river enters Lake Champlain. [Read more…] about Wildlife Mosaics: Paddling Freshwater Marshes
Vermont
The 1946 Disappearance of Paula Welden on Vermont’s Long Trail
In December 1946, 18-year-old Bennington College sophomore Paula Jean Welden disappeared while walking alone on Vermont‘s Long Trail, which passes a few miles from the college. Local sheriffs were criticized for errors made in the investigation, which led to the creation of the Vermont State Police.
The Welden case, which inspired Shirley Jackson’s second novel Hangsaman, was one of several unexplained disappearances in the same area at the time. Her college dormitory, Dewey House, remains standing on campus. [Read more…] about The 1946 Disappearance of Paula Welden on Vermont’s Long Trail
Fort Ticonderoga To Reenact 1777 Brown’s Raid
After the British capture of Fort Ticonderoga on July 5, 1777, Major General Benjamin Lincoln was ordered to Vermont to organize militia being raised in New England, with part of his mission to harass General John Burgoyne‘s long supply and communication lines to Canada. That September, following the Battle of Bennington, Lincoln sent three 500-man detachments to take on this task. [Read more…] about Fort Ticonderoga To Reenact 1777 Brown’s Raid
NY-VT Border Conflict Dramatization Planned for June 18th
The public is invited to a dramatization of the immediate aftermath of the capture and rescue of Arlington settler and Green Mountain Boy Captain Remember Baker.
On March 21, 1772 a posse of New Yorkers under John Munro (1728-1800) attempted to collect the New York bounty on Baker at his cabin at what is now East Arlington, Vermont. The area was initially claimed by New Hampshire, but New York, which also claimed the territory, began issuing grants of its own, some of which conflicted with those already made by New Hampshire. Armed conflicts between the rival claimants were common, and the Green Mountain Boys were organized to expel the settlers from New York. The dispute was resolved when Vermont (originally called New Connecticut) was established as an independent republic in 1777. [Read more…] about NY-VT Border Conflict Dramatization Planned for June 18th
47th Annual Quechee Balloon Festival Set For June
The Quechee Hot Air Balloon Craft and Music Festival, the longest running hot air balloon festival in New England, will celebrate its 42nd anniversary in from June 17th through 19th. [Read more…] about 47th Annual Quechee Balloon Festival Set For June
Winooski Celebrates A 100th Anniversary
The history of the City of Winooski in Chittenden County, Vermont goes back when Indigenous People inhabited the area, and the Abenaki tribes in the area referred to land as winoskitegw or “land of the wild onion.”
The falls along the Winooski River meant that the area was attractive to industry in the Colonial and post-Colonial periods, and in the years that followed, the city became known for manufacturing textiles. [Read more…] about Winooski Celebrates A 100th Anniversary
Albany Posse! The Capture of Remember Baker, Captain of the Green Mountain Boys
Between 1749 and 1764 colonial governor of the Province of New Hampshire Benning Wenworth made about 135 land grants (now known as the New Hampshire Grants), including 131 towns, on land claimed by New Hampshire west of the Connecticut River. This area was also claimed by the colonial Province of New York.
From the 1760s until 1779 the Green Mountain Boys, led by Ethan Allen and his brother Ira, controlled the area. Based at a tavern in Bennington, they evaded arrest warrants from New York State and harassed settlers from New York, surveyors, and other officials, often with severe beatings and destruction of their belongings. [Read more…] about Albany Posse! The Capture of Remember Baker, Captain of the Green Mountain Boys
Replica Canal Schooner Lois McClure Being Retired, Dismantled
In October 2023, after 20 years of service, the replica sailing canal schooner Lois McClure will be retired, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum announced today. The original Lois McClure was built in 1862.
The replica was initiated in 2001 and launched in 2004 with the goal of better understanding the region’s unique nineteenth century sailing canal schooners, which allowed travel on the region’s narrow canals and sailing on open waters.
Since it’s launch the replica schooner toured the region bringing this history to local communities around Lake Champlain and connecting waterways. [Read more…] about Replica Canal Schooner Lois McClure Being Retired, Dismantled
Revolutionary Albany: Setbacks As The War Presses Toward Albany
After a late-summer of preparations, too late in the fall of 1775, the Colonial Army mounted a two-pronged invasion of Canada. General Schuyler invaded Montreal from Fort Ticonderoga and General Benedict Arnold attacked Quebec.
Schuyler fell ill and was replaced by General Richard Montgomery. Montgomery took Montreal and then marched to assist Arnold at Quebec. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: Setbacks As The War Presses Toward Albany
Stephen Bates: From Slave to Vermont’s First Black Sheriff
Vermont’s earliest known Black Sheriff and Chief of Police, Stephen Bates was first elected Sheriff of Vergennes, Vermont in 1879, fourteen years after the end of the Civil War. City records show that Bates was elected Sheriff in all but six of the 29 years that followed. He was also appointed Chief of Police several times during this period.
A well-respected citizen who had escaped slavery in the south, Bates raised his family and was very involved in the community life of Vergennes. He sang in the choir of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, participated in Republican Party gatherings, and was appointed to a campaign committee. He also trained thoroughbred horses, and was appointed an agent for the Humane Society. [Read more…] about Stephen Bates: From Slave to Vermont’s First Black Sheriff