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 Vermont Vacations 
VERMONT GETAWAYS AND VERMONT VACATIONS, HOTELS, ACTIVITIES AND HISTORY
Vermont, The Green Mountain State
The air, even when frigid, is fresh and exhilarating. One can find a rainbow with great ease after a summer storm, or the Northern Lights on a particularly cold winter's night. Trout swim most of the rivers here in virtually all varieties, and you can cast flies for them into the state's breath-taking rivers, or angle for them on Lake Champlain. Other types of wildlife runs the gamut here with everything from bears to beaver and eagles to egrets. But perhaps the most unique thing about Vermont is it's weather. In fact a phrase frequently heard here is: "If you don't like the weather, wait a while." It can be cold and snowy one minute and then warm and rainy an hour later. The Sun is often swallowed by vagrant storms that gather quickly, deliver their mother lodes in the forms of rain or snow. Samuel de Champlain was the first European to venture deeply into the territory now called Vermont, in 1609. He had sailed south from Quebec with a Huron Indian war party where he discovered a beautiful, huge inland lake, which he named Lake Champlain. Despite being the first nationality in the region, the French didn't build any permanent settlements in the area until 1666. During that year, they built a fort and a shrine to Saint Anne on Isle La Motte, an island in Lake Champlain. Historical Perspective
Wentworth believed that the borders between New York and Connecticut and Massachusetts would continue northward to the west of the Hudson River. His first New Hampshire Grant was bestowed upon Wentworth's cronies and family, establishing the township of Bennignton. Governor George Clinton of New York saw the grant as an incursion into New York. He argued that New York's borders extended eastward to the Connecticut River. That meant that the area that is Vermont today would have belonged to New York in its entirety. To resolve the dispute, Wentworth recommended that he and Clinton put the matter before the king. While the matter was being debated, the French and Indian Wars of 1754 erupted, diverting the crown's attention elsewhere. In 1759, the British captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point. After the wars, Wentworth again assigned land grants in the Vermont area. However, in 1762, the British found for New York and its claims to the area. New York moved aggressively in attempts to nullify Wentworth's grants and issue their own. That didn't sit well with the New Hampshire population and what had a simmering issue exploded into something far greater. The dispute gave birth to the rebelliousness of Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys. Allen and his men disrupted New York court hearings and engaged in considerable armed resistance against New Yorkers. That continued until the American Revolution, during which Allen and the Green Mountain Boys captured Fort Ticonderoga. In 1777, natives of the region, and weary of the dispute between New Hampshire and New York, carved the territory that is Vermont into an independent nation. They chose the combination of two French words to name the land they possessed. The shortened combination of "verre" and "mont" gave the state its name. It remained an independent nation until 1791, at which time it gained statehood. The dispute with New York was resolved with the payment of $30,000. Often mistakenly considered one of the 13 colonies, Vermont became the first state of the union after the U.S. Constitution was ratified by the true 13 colonies. After its admission into the union, it's population surged, as did its politics. Vermonters were not at all happy with the Embargo Act of 1807 because it hobbled the state's ability to continue its lucrative trade with Canada. During the War of 1812, smuggling goods between Canada and Vermont became so prevalent that the British threatened to invade. The Battle of Lake Champlain, won by American Thomas Macdonough in 1814, ended that threat. Politically, Vermont has been very definite in its points of view. For instance, it was the only state in the union won by William Wirt, candidate of the Anti-Masonic party, during the presidential election of 1832. The state also disliked slavery to the point that it voted for Lincoln rather than native Stephen O. Douglas and was very pro Civil War. It was in Vermont that one of the most unusual Civil War incursions took place. On October 19, 1864, approximately 25 rebel soldiers rode from Canada into St. Albans, Vermont. There they killed one man and robbed all three of the town's banks, escaping with approximately $200,000. A posse was quickly formed and gave chase. They captured several of the Confederates, but because they were in Canada, they had to turn them over to Canadian officials. While the money was returned, Canada also freed the captured men. So fierce was the anger of Americans at Canada and Britain that there was talk of war. To avoid the potential for war, the Canadians quickly recaptured five of the Confederates and charged them with breaking Canadian neutrality. It was a long time before talk of war subsided. During the first part of 1865, 2000 Canadian militiamen were deployed along the border with Vermont. Regions
of the State of Vermont
GREAT PLACES TO STAY, FUN THINGS TO DO AND SEE AND VERMONT HOTELS
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There's
something about the mountains here, the rivers, the valleys and
the spectacular sunsets that makes the state unique. Vermont is
the embodiment of peace. 
It wasn't until circa 1724 that settlements began
to appear, first near what is now Brattleboro, where the British
built Fort Dummer. In 1741, Benning Wentworth, royal governor of
New Hampshire was commissioned by the crown to govern an area westward
across the Merrimack River until it reached the crown's other governments.
Difficulties arose because the eastern border of New York had not
been clearly defined.
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