The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC) issued a joint press release yesterday to announce a new milestone in Chronicling America: the posting of its 5 millionth page.

“… Launched by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in 2007, Chronicling America – chroniclingamerica.loc.gov – a free, searchable database of historic U.S. newspapers provides enhanced and permanent access to historically significant newspapers published in the United States between 1836 and 1922. It is a part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a joint effort between the two agencies and 32 state partners ….”

The press releases can be found at NEH: https://www.neh.gov/news/press-release/2012-10-22 and LC: https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2012/12-198.html.  The Vermont newspaper content on the site can be found here: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers/vermont/.

Enjoy!

The Vermont Digital Newspaper Project produced a short video (about 7 minutes) that details the processes and function of our work. The video includes interviews with users and lots of interesting historical newspaper content. Check it out:

We would like to gratefully acknowledge our three interview subjects for “The Vermont Digital Newspaper Project: Making Historical Newspapers Available on the Web”: Justin Baldassare, recent graduate of the UVM History Program, Sylvia Bugbee, researcher, historian, and Reference Specialist at UVM Special Collections, and Abby McGowan, UVM History Professor.

Most of the credit for the video goes to Sally Blanchard, (now former) Digital Support Specialist for the VTDNP. Sally conceived, directed, and assembled the video. Sally spent her last few hours with the VTDNP showing her dedication to the project by putting the finishing touches on the video before she moved on to a position with the Vermont State Archives. UVM Reference Librarian Daisy Benson was a big part of the project, not the least of which was the idea for making a video in the first place! I also had a little part in making the video as well.
I hope you will check it out and share it with friends that may be curious about historical newspapers.

– Tom McMurdo

The Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival will be held the end of this month at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds. This is an annual event that brings together sheep farmers, wool vendors, crafters, and educators to showcase and discuss spinning, knitting, farming, and all things wool.

Sheep farming has been very important to Vermont’s agriculture for a long time. Sheep were introduced to Vermont in the beginning of the 19^th century, and though the sheep farming boom was eventually replaced by Vermont’s famous dairy industry, sheep farming and the wool and fiber industry remain an important part of today’s Vermont’s agricultural trade. The value of sheep farming can be seen by items in Vermont’s newspapers, particularly through the middle part of the 19th century.

The following is an announcement from a wool manufacturer, simultaneously advertising services and thanking local customers for their loyal business.

Here is another advertisement, eye-catching and reappearing in many issues of the Burlington Free Press:

Though at the midpoint of the 19^th century dairy farming was quickly becoming prominent, sheep were apparently still a source of pride, as can be seen in the announcement below.

It was not uncommon for there to be discussion in the Vermont newspapers of this century about the tips and techniques of the farming trade. Sheep farming was part of this discussion, as can be seen from the two clippings below:

Finally, here’s an example of an advertisement for a sheep farm sale. One can only wonder if the farm is still being used today in Vermont’s wool industry.

– Sally Blanchard

The circus is an event that has long held the imagination of people. Vermont joined the list of circus greats in more modern times when our own Circus Smirkus was created in 1987, showcasing youths ages 10-18 in a summer tour of performances. This year marked the 25^th anniversary of the circus troupe, and they celebrated by putting a time travel theme on their northeastern tour this summer that ended in mid-August.

In the interest of time travel, this post takes a reflective look at how the circus influenced Vermonters in the 19^th century.  The following images are advertisements for just a few of the various circuses that made their parade through Vermont, including, in its first year, the circus that transformed into the famous Barnum & Bailey Circus. These ads often stretched the height of a page and included details about the strange and amazing acts of the circus. The first example pleads its case by telling the readers that “a brief enumeration of the STARS will satisfy the public of the paramount excellence of the great Pentland Circus.” With a statement like that, how could we resist seeing it?

The drama and danger of the circus particularly drew interest and made its way into the papers. The following is part of an account of a lion gone wrong at a circus performance:

The allure of the circus made its way into literature as well, as can be seen in this excerpt of a short prose piece by none other than Mr. Charles Dickens:

But the circus was not solely entertainment. Real people worked them, just as we can see in Vermont’s own thriving circus of today. The following is part of an obituary printed in the March 10, 1893 issue of the Vermont Phoenix for a Brattleboro man who had several years of circus employment:

The history of the circus is fascinating, and has captivated people for generations. It is alive and thriving today. For more information about Circus Smirkus and next summer’s tour, visit their website. Vermont’s own Shelburne Museum has a very interesting exhibit about circus history, including historical posters and miniature wooden circus parades, located in the Circus Building.

– Sally Blanchard