Vermont firsts
Vt's pioneering spirit has left a proud legacy
By DON WICKMAN Herald Correspondent - Published: September 1, 2005
e're No. 1! We're No. 1!"
How often have we heard that chant at an assortment of national sporting events?
Well, for all you Vermonters out there — whether native or not — you can cheer those three words. Vermont has left its mark in this country's history with an extraordinary number of firsts in history.
Here are notable firsts of which you can be proud — firsts on the first of the month.
First and foremost — the first and longest independent republic in United States history. From 1777-91, Vermont remained a separate entity. Texas may like to brag about its time as a republic, often incorrectly stating it was the longest, but the numbers reveal another story. Vermont's republic lasted nearly 14 years; Texas' extended from 1836-45, nine years. Figures don't lie — Vermont wins hands down.
Vermont was also the first state to enter the Union in 1791 after the original 13. This pleased the United States so much they even added another stripe to the flag. Later — in 1818 — it was removed.
While a republic, Vermont made a devout first impression when the white congregation of a Rutland Congregational church hired African-American Lemuel Haynes as its pastor in1783. Haynes ultimately served his congregation for 30 years.
Another early one: Isaac Underhill opened the young country's first marble quarry in East Dorset in 1785.
George Washington signed the first United States patent issued to Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford in 1790, even before Vermont became a state. Hopkins developed a process of turning potash (wood ashes) into soap.
Eliakim Spooner of Woodstock received another valuable patent in 1799. He invented the first seeding machine, therefore, making one farm task much easier.
In 1802, the Bellows Falls Canal opened, making it the first in the United States. Though only a half-mile in length, it still counts as a canal.
He had the whole world in his hands: James Wilson of Bradford opened, in 1813, the first factory to manufacture geographic globes.
Let's hear the good word, carpenters! Silas Hawes manufactured the first steel carpenter's square in 1814. He created this prototype in his Shaftsbury blacksmith shop.
Emma Willard opened the first higher education school for women in 1814, as the Middlebury Female Seminary. Willard moved to New York, but her legacy survives in Troy, N.Y., Emma Willard School.
Capt. Alden Partridge, in 1819, opened the first private military college. Though the school moved from its original location, we still know the institution as Norwich University.
In 1825, Middlebury College conferred the first American college degree to an African-American, Alexander Twilight. This man carries the distinction of becoming the first African-American to serve in a state Legislature. Twilight represented Brownington in 1836.
Up in St. Johnsbury, Thaddeus Fairbanks, in 1830, constructed the first platform scale.
For everyone who has ever fished, thank Castleton's Julio T. Buel. He invented also, in 1830, the first fishing spoon lure and received a patent in 1852.
And to satisfy the woodworkers, congratulate the 1834 inventor of sandpaper, Isaac Fischer of Springfield.
Laborsaving: Thomas Davenport of Brandon patented an electric motor in 1837. It ran a printing press.
Stick-to-itiveness: Brattleboro was the site where the first postage stamp used in the United States was printed 1846. When issued in 1847, stamps were either 5 or 10 cents. A nickel Ben Franklin stamp carried a half-ounce letter up to 300 miles. For more than 300 miles, a 10-cent George Washington stamp was required. If you unearth one of these rarities, guard it carefully. One discovered in 1990 had an appraised value of more than $100,000!
With all the marble in the state, this one sounds reasonable. In 1837, Hiram Kimball of Stockbridge invented the first marble-cutting saw.
Bellows Falls gets another bit of notoriety; in 1869 William A. Russell opened the first pulp paper mill in the nation along the Connecticut River.
Also in 1869, dairying took precedence as farmers organized the Vermont Dairy Association. This society was the first of its kind in the United States.
The first and so far the only president born on the Fourth of July: Calvin Coolidge in 1872 at Plymouth Notch.
Another asset for any advocate of fly-fishing. How about the ventilated fly-fishing reel invented in 1874 by none other than Charles Orvis of Manchester. This innovation is considered by many as a milestone in the field.
Voting rights: Vermont passed the first legislation to permit absentee voting in the country in 1896.
Even in the infant years of automobile travel, Vermont has a No. 1. In 1903, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson of Burlington completed the first transcontinental crossing via automobile. The doctor did it all on a $50 bet — which he never received. The trip took 65 days.
In 1906, Col. Joseph Battell donated his farm and Morgan horses to the U.S. government. With this gift, the farm became the first federally managed horse farm. The government presented the farm to the University of Vermont in 1951, which still runs it today.
William F. Milne, a Scottish immigrant living in Barre, organized the first Boy Scout Club in the United States in 1909.
Vermont started construction on the first long-distance hiking trail in 1910. Twenty years later, the 265-mile Long Trail opened, stretching from Canada to Vermont's southern border with Massachusetts to Canada.
In the summer of 1927, the "Three Musketeers" — Kathleen Norris, Catherine Robbins and Hilda Kurth — were the first women to travel the entire Long Trail.
The state created a Bureau of Publicity in 1911 to promote the state to tourists.
Vermont legislators passed the nation's very first gasoline tax in 1923, with the money directed toward highway construction.
The Vermont State Symphony earned two firsts. When it was organized in 1935, it became the country's first state orchestra. Six years later, in 1941, the orchestra gained a state appropriation, a first in the country.
Ida M. Fuller made Social Security history in 1940. That year, she became the very first recipient of a Social Security check for the amount of $22.54. Her Social Security card bore the number of 000-00-001. The retired Ludlow law clerk had paid $24.74 into the system between 1937 and 1939. By the time of her death at age 100 in 1974, Fuller received more than $20,000 in benefits.
Skiing gets two firsts, not for going downhill, but getting uphill. On Jan. 28, 1934, the country's first rope tow opened on the slopes of Gilbert's Hill in Woodstock. In another six years, technology had made significant advances. In 1940, the first chairlift opened on Mount Mansfield in Stowe, carrying skiers toward the crest.
The nation's first wind turbine operated atop the summit of Grandpa's Knob in Rutland County in 1941. People could view the monolith from 25 miles away.
Consuelo Northrup Bailey had the proud distinction of being the first woman elected on her own record as a lieutenant governor in 1954. The year before, on Jan. 7, 1953, she became the state's first female speaker of the House. The Fairfield native had pursued a career in law before entering politics.
On March 23, 1968, Vermont adopted legislation making the state the first to prohibit billboards.
The year 1997 saw Martha Rainville become the National Guard's first female adjutant general in the United States.
Look at these achievements. And this is an incomplete list. Vermonters can be proud of our state's legacy. So let's hear it out there now: "We're No. 1! We're No. 1!"
13