Hidden History Of Barre Vermont

On the surface, Barre appears to be like many other Vermont communities--its scenery picturesque and its people friendly and industrious. But other stories, unique to Barre, lie hidden. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, newspapers reported many local events that reveal in charming detail what life was like during their own time. Local author Russell Belding has meticulously combed antique newspapers to find them and reveals how observing their change over time affords a fascinating look into the evolution of this community. Though they have been forgotten by time or replaced with more well-known tales, these moments in history have helped shape Barre into the New England community it is today.

Vermont's history is marked by fierce independence, generosity of spirit and the saga of human life along its steep slopes and fertile valleys. Meet the widow who outwitted Tories and may have spied for the Green Mountain Boys. Encounter the family who gained a national following by summoning spirits. Discover why one governor opposed women's suffrage and how that may have involved spirits of another sort. Visit an island retreat where Harpo Marx cheated at croquet and satirist Dorothy Parker wore nothing but a garden hat. Historian Mark Bushnell offers a glimpse of the Green Mountain State rarely seen.

This sequel to Granite City Tales contains more of Paul Heller's essays on the history of Barre, Vermont. Many were published in local newspapers and magazines. Two have never before been in print.

These are Paul Heller's collected writings on the history of Barre, Vermont. Many of the articles were published in the Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus as well as Vermont Magazine and Vermont History. Some are printed here for the first time.

Local author Barbara Glakas uses rare photographs and firsthand accounts to tell little-known stories of the people, places and events that shaped the history of the Town of Herndon. A mysterious stranger who passed through the village one night suggested the name Herndon, after the captain of a sunken ship. The Civil War split loyalties among the townspeople and brought an unexpected Confederate raid on the town. Prohibition brought bootleggers with it, but its repeal caused an uproar from temperance-minded residents. Lively community fairs were ever present in the 1920s, but so was the Ku Klux Klan. Behind Herndon's past as a sleepy farming community hide forgotten tales of growth and progress.

Sitting on a hillside overlooking a spectacular lake and mountains, Burlington was destined to attract greatness, although much of its history has remained hidden. It was the territory of the Alnôbak, who lived in concert with nature for thousands of years, and later the swashbuckling Green Mountain Boy Ethan Allen and his kin. Self-made tycoon Lawrence Barnes helped make the city the third-largest lumber shipping port in the country. The resilient Fanny Penniman created the first herbarium, and her daughter inspired a nineteenth-century hospital. Bootlegger Cyrus Dean was convicted of murder and publicly executed in the hill section. Irish, French Canadian, Jewish and Italian neighborhoods all combined to give a unique character to the city. Join author and historian Glenn Fay as he reveals stories and images of Burlington's forgotten past.