Vermont Trivia & Tidbits - Page 4

Looking for Vermont trivia? Try our list Vermont little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

—Between 1847 and 1863, five new railroad lines converged at White River Junction (pop. 2,569), making it a regional transportation hub. Today, two railroad lines, the New England Central and Vermont Rail System, operate in the town.

first appeared: 4/22/2007

—The Miss Bellows Falls Diner, built in the late 1920s, is Vermont’s only surviving barrel-roofed diner. The restaurant was moved to Bellows Falls (pop. 3,165) from Massachusetts in 1942. It features porcelain panels and railroad-style windows on its exterior and its original marble counter, tile floor, and oak and chrome highlights.

first appeared: 4/8/2007

—The Burlington Bay Horse Ferry was discovered in 1983 under 50 feet of water in Lake Champlain near the breakwater in Burlington (pop. 38,889). Researchers have spent years studying data found on the little-understood horse-powered vessels from the 19th century.

first appeared: 3/25/2007

—The coal barge A.R. Noyes is believed to have sunk on Oct. 17, 1884, when a number of canal boats broke loose from the steam tug Tisdale on Lake Champlain. The A.R. Noyes was the only boat reported lost. Today, advanced divers can view the shipwreck north of Proctor Shoal.

first appeared: 3/11/2007

—In the early 1790s, Samuel Morey, a resident of Fairlee (pop. 967), successfully fitted a small boat with a paddlewheel and steam engine and powered up and down the Connecticut River. This event occurred years before Robert Fulton’s historic steamboat trip in 1807.

first appeared: 2/27/2007

—The American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester (pop. 4,180) is home to an extensive collection of angling art and angling-related items. Located on historic Route 7A, the custom-built museum houses a spacious gallery, library and reading room, store and other resources.

first appeared: 2/11/2007

—The Palisades, a set of cliffs above Fairlee (pop. 967), is one of several nesting sites for peregrine falcons in the Connecticut River Valley. The cliffs provide the kind of breeding habitat desired by the peregrine, which is making a comeback from near extinction.

first appeared: 1/28/2007

first appeared: 1/14/2007

Herrick’s Cove is a major stopover for migrating waterfowl and has been designated an Important Bird Area by a conservation partnership that includes Audubon Vermont and state agencies. The cove was formed at the mouth of the Williams River by a dam at Bellows Falls (pop. 3,165) that backs up the waters of the Connecticut River. ALABAMA—Built in 1899 with rough-hewn lumber and weathered shingles, the Gilliland-Reese Covered Bridge was restored and relocated in the 1960s to Noccalula Falls Park in Gadsden (pop. 38,978).

first appeared: 1/14/2007

—A railroad tunnel constructed in 1851 under the town square in Bellows Falls (pop. 3,165) is a striking reminder of a time when the village on the Connecticut River was one of the most important railroad junctions in New England. Partially cut through solid rock and lined with rough-cut stone blocks, the tunnel was a major engineering feat at the time.

first appeared: 12/17/2006

—The heaviest moose ever taken by a hunter in Vermont weighed 1,040 pounds. Steve Hunn, of Craftsbury (pop. 1,136), shot the record-size bull near Brighton (pop. 1,260) in 1996. The moose had an antler spread of 64.5 inches, just short of the Vermont record of 65 inches.

first appeared: 12/3/2006

—The first canal on the Connecticut River was completed in 1802 in Bellows Falls (pop. 3,165) and used eight locks to compensate for the 52-foot change in the river’s elevation. The canal contributed greatly to the village’s growth by powering a number of mills and providing transport for boats ferrying produce and lumber.

first appeared: 11/19/2006

—Five generations of Corvettes are displayed at the Precision Valley Corvette Museum in Springfield (pop. 9,078). The museum’s collection also includes a 1950s Texaco station and vintage gas pumps. The Dorothy Thompson Memorial Common in Barnard (pop. 958) was established in memory of the journalist, who resided in the town with her husband, novelist Sinclair Lewis.

first appeared: 11/5/2006

—On June 26, 1848, the first passenger train in Vermont chugged 25 miles from White River Junction (pop. 2,569) to Bethel (pop. 1,968). The success of the railroad prompted the rapid addition of other lines to this area, and White River Junction soon became an important railroad crossroads in northern New England.

first appeared: 10/22/2006

In 2005, Gaye Symington of Jericho (pop. 5,015) became the second woman to serve as speaker of the Vermont House. In a previous edition, American Profile erroneously reported that Consuelo Northrup Bailey of Fairfield (pop. 1,800) was the only woman to serve as Vermont’s speaker.

first appeared: 10/22/2006

—In 1830, Julio Buel, of Castleton (pop. 4,367), invented the spoon-shaped fishing lure. Buel reportedly was fishing when he dropped a tablespoon into the water and watched a fish strike at it. The incident inspired him to devise a lure with a hook soldered to the concave side of a spoon’s bowl.

first appeared: 10/8/2006

Writer and spiritualist Achsa Sprague was born in 1827 in Plymouth Notch, part of Plymouth (pop. 555). Sprague battled for women’s rights, promoted abolition and advocated for improved prison conditions for female inmates.

first appeared: 9/24/2006

In 1953, Consuelo Northrup Bailey of Fairfield (pop. 1,800) was the first woman elected to serve as speaker of the Vermont House. The following year, she logged another first, becoming the country's first elected female lieutenant governor.

first appeared: 9/10/2006

In the late 1770s, Ira and Ethan Allen, members of the Green Mountain Boys of Revolutionary War fame, returned home to name the Lake Champlain peninsula, now known as Grand Isle, "The Two Heroes." The lands of North Hero (pop. 810) and South Hero (pop. 1,696) were then parceled out by Gov. Thomas Chittenden to members of the paramilitary unit.

first appeared: 8/27/2006

Built around 1783, the Hyde Log Cabin in Grand Isle (pop. 1,955) was one of the first buildings constructed in the far northwestern part of the state. The cabin housed Revolutionary War veteran Jedediah Hyde Jr. and his descendants for more than 150 years.

first appeared: 8/13/2006

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