Let's hear it for these VT historians
It is easy, when studying history topics, to "head for the facts" and overlook an important part of the story: The historians, archivists, and preservationists who chronicled, organized, and preserved the information in the first place!
The five individuals outlined in this article have all made enormous (and very different) contributions to the field of Vermont history. The invaluable research they have done, and the sheer accumulation of interesting and sometimes esoteric facts prove that history is not simply an accumulation of cold data — the "big picture" includes methods, subjects, and results that are as varied as the personalities that did the work and the cultures which influenced them.
Zadock Thompson: A pioneer in conservation
Burlington naturalist and historian Zadock Thompson (1796-1856) was a University of Vermont graduate who taught at UVM during the mid-19th century. Thompson also served as the Vermont state naturalist in the 1850s. Thompson was the first person to write about Vermont history and natural sciences. His books include "Gazetteer of the State of Vermont" (1824), "History of the State of Vermont" (1833), and "Natural History of Vermont" (1850).
Thompson was also a pioneer in the field of conservation, citing the damage caused by clear-cutting forests and warning against the effects that humans can have on Vermont's environment. Thompson is memorialized as representing the 19th century ideal of "Science" along with Vermont author Rowland Robinson and Vermont poet John Godfrey Saxe as champions of "Science, Art, and Literature" in the stained glass window that architect Walter R. B. Wilcox designed for the Fletcher Free Library in 1904.
Abby Maria Hemenway: An amazing and determined woman
Fabled Vermont author and historian Abby Maria Hemenway (1828-1890) was born in Ludlow, and spent almost half her life (her last 30 years) dedicated to a gargantuan project: The creation of a "historical gazetteer" of Vermont history that included all sorts of historical information for every town in every county of Vermont.
The five completed volumes of Hemenway's magnum opus contain a wealth of historical minutiae, folklore, and lots of facts which can be found nowhere else. Thanks to her, the state of Vermont is one of few in the nation with such a treasure trove of historical facts compiled and organized in one place, and with a unique snapshot of how the history of the state was perceived in the second half of the 19th century, when there were still people alive who remembered Vermont when it became the 14th state in 1791.
Hemenway's first publication was a collection of poetry by Vermonters (including four poems that she composed herself) called "Poets and Poetry of Vermont" in 1858. The popularity of this book inspired Hemenway to conceive of her extensive history project, in spite of the attitude of Vermont historians (all men) that a treatise on Vermont history was not "ladylike," and beyond the scope of any woman.
She faced many logistical and financial challenges during the process of compiling the information, organizing it and attempting to get it published.
Hemenway managed to triumph over all obstacles except for her own mortality. Among many other travails, Hemenway eventually had to flee to Chicago in 1882 to escape creditors, broke into a bindery in Montpelier and took copies of Volume IV of her "Gazetteer" so she could raise money to pay her bills, and had to recreate some of Volume V after a disastrous fire. Volume V of the set was completed within a year of her death — she didn't live long enough to complete the sixth volume, which would have included her beloved home county of Windsor. An archival historic copy of all the volumes of Hemenway's amazing "Gazetteer" can be found in Burlington in the collections of the Fletcher Free Library and also at UVM's Bailey-Howe Library.
Lilian Baker Carlisle: The cataloguer who became an historian
Revered Chittenden County history buff and author Lilian Baker Carlisle (1912-2006) was born in Meridian, Mississippi, and always claimed that she "absolutely hated" history when she was growing up. Her fondness for all things historic was changed in the 1950s thanks to her relationship with Electra Havemeyer Webb, the founder of the Shelburne Museum, one of Vermont's great museums and one of New England's great showcases of American folkcraft.
Carlisle was hired part time as Webb's social secretary in 1950, but soon was given the task of developing a cataloguing system for the thousands of items in the museum's collection. Over the next eleven years, Carlisle became an expert on quilts, historic hatboxes, and horse-drawn carriages.
By the time she left Webb's employment in 1961, Carlisle had discovered a love for all things historical, and especially for local history. She founded the Chittenden County Historical Society after organizing a series of historic walks around downtown Burlington neighborhoods as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the city in 1965, and went on to edit and publish a series of books (along with David J. Blow, a very knowledgeable man who remains one of the greatest experts on local history topics) about the history of cities and towns in Chittenden County.
"Look Around Burlington, Vermont" by Carlisle and Blow, published in 1972, was the Historical Society's first book. Carlisle was also one of a select few who proved instrumental in saving the Fletcher Free Library's Carnegie Building from the bulldozers when structural problems in the 1970s put the building's survival in question. Carlisle delighted in sharing her knowledge and expertise, whether the subject at hand was a long-gone Burlington building or coin silver jewelry.
Britta Fenniman Tonn: Modern architectural historian and preservationist
High on the list of the great treats for anyone interested in Burlington history and its architecture are historic walking tours hosted by local historian, educator, and preservationist Britta Fenniman Tonn. She holds a masters degree in historic preservation from UVM, and has coordinated the "walking program" for Preservation Burlington, an organization dedicated to "preserving and protecting the historic architecture and livability of Burlington through education and advocacy."
She has worked with the Church Street Marketplace beginning in 2010 to create their Historic Plaque Program, which has installed about 20 plaques describing notable buildings and places in the vicinity of Church Street, and was the curator of an exhibit of historic Burlington photographs for Burlington's 150th anniversary celebration in February. Tonn is a vocal advocate for "enlightened development with a respect for the past."
Tonn has always loved buildings — she liked playing with dollhouses much more than dolls, and has an uncle who was a preservation architect. She is currently the architectural historian for an environmental consulting firm and deals a lot with federal and state licensing for telecommunication companies (those microwave towers that are disguised to look like trees!).
One of her specialties is historic Burlington architecture. The city boasts many wonderful examples of Victorian-era architecture thanks to the wealth that resulted from the city's "lumber boom" in the late 19th century. One of the notable characteristics of Chittenden County historical architecture is the use of local redstone in construction.
Tonn and her family live in Winooski, where she is intrigued by buildings constructed during the "millworker" era of the mid-19th century, particularly buildings that housed millworkers. She says that she loves to look around and fantasize about how things used to be when a building was first constructed. It's not surprising to discover that she is also a member of the Winooski Planning Commission.
Tonn gives regular lectures for local Elder Education Enrichment organizations and will be leading historic walking tours of Pine Street during the South End Art Hop in September. Historic walking tours with Tonn can be scheduled by contacting Preservation Burlington: email@example.com
Vince Feeney: At long last, a published history of Burlington
Vermont historian, professor, and author Vince Feeney is about to finally give Burlington something that local history buffs have been waiting for: His new book, entitled "Burlington: A History of Vermont's Queen City," is due to be published this September. For this upcoming book, which Feeney calls a "chronological narrative," he has done extensive research in the Burlington Free Press, in Vermont Historical Society publications, in Abby Hemenway's "Gazetteer" in Vermont Census records, and in all the Chittenden Country Historical Society books written by Lilian Baker Carlisle and David Blow.
eeney graduated with degrees in history from San Jose State University and UVM, and did his doctoral dissertation on the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland at the University of Washington while working with Giovanni Costigan, a world-famous expert on Irish and British history. Feeney served as an adjunct professor of history at UVM from 1978-2002, and has written and lectured extensively about Vermont history. His books include "The Great Falls on Onion River: A History of Winooski, Vermont," published in 2002, and "Finnigans, Slaters and Stonepeggers: A History of the Irish in Vermont," published in 2009.
While researching his upcoming book, Feeney was surprised to discover how conservative Burlington was until around the time of the Second World War. He attributes this conservatism to the fact that Burlington was an "immigrant city", mainly Catholic, with well-established French, Irish, and also Jewish communities. The fact that Burlington morphs in the 1970s into one of the country's most progressive small cities is a major part of Burlington's modern story.
Feeney predicts that his new book will provide a structure and an outline to Burlington's history — he intends to give the reader a "sense of place" and, unlike anything published on the subject before, an organized overview of Burlington's interesting and complex history. If you don't know where you've been, he says, it's impossible to have a sense of where you are going. Feeney intends to give a clear picture of historic Burlington. What was Burlington like in the 1920s? Or during the Civil War? Everyone interested in local history should keep an eye out for Feeney's accompanying author talks this fall.
Robert J. Resnik is outreach and reference librarian at Burlington's Fletcher Free Library.