July

July

July 1, 1978

The honeybee became the Vermont state insect. Honeybees are important pollinators. A pollinator is an animal that transports pollen. Honeybees also produce honey, a food many Vermonters enjoy.

July 1, 1987

The monarch butterfly became the Vermont state butterfly. Monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles, migrating back and forth between New England and Mexico.

July 1, 2000

Civil Unions became legal in the state. Civil Unions allowed same-sex couples to be legally recognized. Vermont was the first state to sign Civil Unions into law.

July 4, 1872

Calvin Coolidge, the thirtieth president of the United States, was born in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. Coolidge assumed the presidency from his position as vice-president, when President Harding died. At 2:47 a.m., on August 3, 1923, at the Coolidge's family farm, Calvin's father, John, swore in his son as president of the United States. Calvin Coolidge is the only U.S. president to be born on Independence Day.

From Vermont Farm to the White House (PDF)

July 5, 1961

Robert Frost became Vermont's first Poet Laureate. A Poet Laureate is a special honor that a state or the nation gives to a poet. Though Frost was born in California, he made Vermont his home. He owned several farms across the state and spent much of his time in Ripton.

Robert Frost in Ripton (video)

July 7, 1777

The Battle of Hubbardton, the only battle of the American Revolution fought on Vermont soil, ended in victory for the British under General Burgoyne. As Colonel Seth Warner and his regiment of Green Mountain Boys retreated, Warner cried out, "Meet me in Manchester," where he and his men rallied and went on to victory at the Battle of Bennington.

July 8, 1777

The first constitution of the state of Vermont was written at a tavern in the town of Windsor. The Constitution included free education for all students. It also outlawed adult slavery. Child slavery remained legal.

https://historicsites.vermont.gov/constitution-house

July 9, 1888 

Vermont's first Jewish congregation was incorporated in Poultney. 

July 26, 1830

The rising waters of the New Haven River surround nineteen people at New Haven West Mills. They are swept downstream and only five escape.

July 27, 1927

Charles Lindbergh, the first person to make a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris, visited Vermont's first airfield and flying school in Springfield.

July 28, 1909

The 10th Cavalry(a group of soldiers who fight on horseback) Regiment arrived at Fort Ethan Allen. The Black soldiers, also called the Buffalo Soldiers, served in Vermont until 1913.

Buffalo Soldiers