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

This Thursday, August 16^th, marks the 235^th anniversary of the Battle of Bennington, a significant conflict in the American Revolutionary War. The battle actually took place nearby in New York, but was named for the site where weapons and supplies were stored, the very supplies that were being fought over in the battle. The British, led by General John Burgoyne, were reduced in number and deprived of supplies that later forced them to surrender at Saratoga.

Nearly a hundred years after the battle, a group of historians and history enthusiasts wished to commemorate the battle with a monument at the military supply storage site in Bennington. The group began their plans in 1875 and by 1876 an official Bennington Battle Monument Association had been established to develop plans for the monument. The Bennington Battle Monument is the tallest structure in Vermont, and the engineering that it took to build it was nothing short of impressive.

The clipping below shows the importance of the monument not only to Vermont’s history, but to the Northeast and America as a whole. This article from February of 1878 informs us that the governors of Massachusetts and New Hampshire were invited to the discussions of the association as well as Vermont’s own governor.

The importance and significance of the monument can be seen in the next clipping’s declaration, that, “in the end, a monument will be erected of which every Vermonter and every citizen of the United States will have reason to be proud”.

The previous clipping and the next both discuss the issues with financing such a large project.

The following clippings outline the design of the monument, as well as illustrate the opinions and disagreements of those in the position to hold design approval.

Finally, we begin to see the monument in its final stages, and the preparations for its dedication that coincided with Vermont’s centennial celebration.

But not all citizens of Bennington were pleased with the outcome. Below is an editorial from one of them who seeks to remind fellow townspeople of the true motivations behind such projects.

To read more about the monument or for visitor information, look here, here, or here. Also, be sure to check back later at Chronicling America for upcoming digitized issues of the Bennington Banner, which will be sure to have its own perspective on the history of the monument.

– Sally Blanchard

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Good news: the VTDNP received a two year grant from the NEH to continue digitization work. This Phase II grant will fund the digitization of an additional 100,000 historic Vermont newspaper pages. With nearly 130,000 pages produced under the Phase I grant, we will add a number of historically important Vermont titles in this second round. You can read the NEH press release to learn about participant states’ NDNP grants, as well as the variety of excellent NEH grants here.
– Tom McMurdo

We are pleased to currently have a promotional VTDNP display on the main floor of the Bailey/Howe Library at the University of Vermont. If you are able, come in to the library to see the display yourself, and pick up our new bookmark and brochure. If you can’t make it, check out the photos below: