The Nifty Fifty: Vermont

Vermont is a state in the northeastern region of the United States with the abbreviation of VT. Vermont became the 14th state on March 4, 1791, making the state 235 years old, as of March, 2026. The land that is now Vermont was was briefly called New Connecticut, but in 1777, Samuel de Champlain (the man after which Lake Champlain is named) named the land after the Green Mountains, combining the French words Verte (green) and Montagne (mountain), making the state Vermont.

Vermont is the 45th largest state and the 49th most populous; the capital of Vermont is Montpelier and its demonym is Vermonter. Vermont is bordered by the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York as well as the Canadian province of Quebec.

The motto of the state of Vermont is Freedom and Unity.

The nickname of Vermont is The Green Mountain State, which references not only the Green Mountains within the state, but also the meaning of the state’s name.

The landscape of Vermont is full of dense forests, rugged mountains, shimmering lakes, and scenic valleys.

Vermont is known for producing more maple syrup than any other state, for its love of cheddar cheese, for its historic wooden bridges, and for its forests that turn vibrant shades of red and orange in the autumn. Vermont’s land contains metals such as iron, lead, copper, silver, and gold.

On Christmas Day, 1835, Orville E. Babcock was born in Franklin, Vermont, not far from Lake Champlain. At the age of 16, Babcock was appointed to the West Point Military Academy. Babcock graduated West Point in 1861, just as the Civil War was beginning, and soon after, Babcock was commissioned as a Brevet Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and he was tasked with improving the defenses of Washington, DC, to prevent the Confederates from attacking and capturing the city. In late 1861, Babcock was promoted to First Lieutenant and set up fortifications at Harper’s Ferry while guarding the pontoon bridges used to cross the Potomac River — Babcock also served during the Siege of Yorktown, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Siege of Vicksburg, the Knoxville Campaign, and the Overland Campaign. After the Battle of Appomattox, Babcock was the one who chose the McLean house as the site where Confederate General Robert E. Lee would surrender, and Babcock personally escorted Lee to the meeting; Babcock then witnessed Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Union General Ulysses S. Grant discuss and sign the terms of Lee’s surrender. After the war, Babcock was promoted to brevet brigadier general in the regular army and continued to serve under general Grant throughout the Reconstruction Period. Babcock married Eliza Cambell and raised four children, though his youngest died as in infant. Babcock moved to Washington, DC, to serve as Grant’s military aid and continued to serve Grant even after he became the president of the United States. Grant sent Babcock to the western US to confront the leader of the Mormons in Utah, Brigham Young, and find out his perspective on polygamy, after which he found that Young thought the Morrill Act that banned polygamy was unconstitutional. President Grant then rounded up and prosecuted Mormons, including Young, for the illegal practice of polygamy. Grant also sent Babcock to the southern states to report on the progress of Reconstruction. Babcock went on to serve as president Grant’s secretary. In February, 1877, Grant appointed Babcock Inspector of Lighthouses of the Fifth District. Babcock continued to serve as a lighthouse inspector under presidents Ulysses Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, and Chester Arthur. On June 2, 1884, Babcock was overseeing the construction of a lighthouse in Mosquito Inlet, Florida, when he was caught in the middle of a violent storm while aboard a ship that was hauling supplies for the construction of the lighthouse. The ship was capsized several times, which threw Babcock overboard. Babcock was attached to a lifeline, but the boisterous storm severed Babcock’s lifeline, which tragically caused him to drown; he was only 48 years old.

Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford, Vermont, was awarded with a patent on July 31, 1790, for his invention that improved the manufacturing of potash and pearl ash, which were used to make soaps, fertilizers, leavening agents, and even gunpowder. What makes Hopkins’ patent particularly interesting is that this was the first US patent to be awarded, which was signed by president George Washington, attorney general Edmund Randolph, and secretary of state Thomas Jefferson.

On July 7, 1777, the Battle of Hubbardton occurred in Hubbardton, Vermont Republic, which is now in Rutland County, Vermont. In 1777, British general John Burgoyne was attempting to take control of the Hudson River, and his forces reached Fort Ticonderoga on July 1st. Seeing that the British had placed cannons facing the fort, the Americans evacuated the fort and marched to Hubbardton in the Vermont Republic — a section of land that is now the state of Vermont and which was also claimed by New York and New Hampshire. British general Simon Fraser took several companies of grenadiers, light infantry, and loyalists and pursued the Americans. American general St. Clair paused his march at Hubbardton, and once he continued marching to Castleton, he left American colonel Nathan Hale (not to be confused with Nathan Hale the spy) and Vermont colonel Seth Warner with his Green Mountain Boys in Hubbardton. Warner went against St. Clair’s orders and decided they would stay the night in Hubbardton rather than marching to Castleton; Warner then set camp in a defensive position and waited for the British. Early in the morning of July 7th, general Fraser and Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Baron Adolf Riedesel reached Hubbardton and were attacked by the American forces. The British launched several attacks to capture the hills on which the Americans were positioned, but they were repulsed. Once Riedesel’s grenadiers arrived, they managed to chase the defending Americans out of their defensive positions and force them into a retreat. During the retreat, American colonel Ebenezer Francis was killed and colonel Hale was captured. Thought the battle was a tactical victory for the British because they had defeated the defending American forces, it was a strategic victory for the Americans because the main body of Americans that evacuated Ticonderoga was able to escape due to the fact that the Battle of Hubbardton delayed the pursuing British forces. The Americans who escaped would go on to win the Battle of Bennington on August 16th and the Battles of Saratoga on September 19th and October 7th — during the Battles of Saratoga, general Fraser was killed, general Burgoyne surrendered, and general Riedesel was captured.

An interesting fact about Vermont is that the state has the only state capital without a McDonald’s. The state’s capital does not have any large fast-food or corporate franchises within city limits, which means you will not find Burger King, Wendy’s, Walmart, Target, or Costco, in Montpelier. Instead, Vermont’s capital only allows mom-and-pop shops and local restaurants in order to support local and independent businesses.

A strange fact about Vermont is that there is an unenforced law on the Vermont Legislature’s website that specifies how apple pie should be served. V.S.A. § 512 Sec. 1 is an official law that states “The state pie shall be apple pie,” however, Sec. 2 is a humorous “law” that says: “When serving apple pie in Vermont, a ‘good faith’ effort shall be made to meet one or more of the following conditions: (a) with a glass of cold milk, (b) with a slice of cheddar cheese weighing a minimum of 1/2 ounce, (c) with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.”

What fact about Vermont most interests you?