Three decades later, I have to admit that my UVM advisors were right about me, miserable fraction of a man that I am—but it’s interesting to consider how far Vermont history has come as a field. On the public history side, the non-academic organizations and museums that deal with our state’s heritage, we’ve seen a steady increase in activity. Established institutions like the Bennington Museum have continued their impressive efforts, while such new entities as the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, the Vermont Folklife Center, the American Precision Museum, and Billings Farm and Museum have grown into significant partners in preserving Vermont’s past. In the 1970s there might have been 140 active local historical societies in Vermont; now there are nearly 200. Vermont History Expo draws thousands of visitors to the Tunbridge World’s Fair grounds every June for a weekend immersion in our state and local traditions, and the Vermont Historical Society’s “Freedom and Unity: One Ideal, Many Stories” provides a 5,000-square-foot “Vermont History 101” overview of the main currents of Green Mountain heritage. Challenges on the financial end are a constant concern, but programmatically the good work is expanding at a noteworthy rate.
And the scholarly, academic community is much more engaged as well. Since the late 1970s the list of important new titles on Vermont history has grown steadily. Where it once was hard to put together a solid reading list of in-print books on the subject, today the writings of such Vermont-based authorities as Michael Sherman, Deborah Clifford, Howard Coffin, Dona Brown, Paul Searls, Jeffrey Marshall, Nancy Gallagher, Sam Hand, John Duffy, Nancy Graff, and Nick Muller fill a wide shelf and provide thorough coverage of all eras of Vermont’s development. Add in the attention that respected national historians like Bernard Bailyn, Peter Onuf and Robin Winks have devoted to Vermont in some of their recent work, and there’s an abundance of excellent reading material for anyone interested in the subject. Vermont history courses are quite popular at all the schools that offer them, and professors encourage their students to research Vermont topics for insights into regional and national history.· The strength of the Center for Research on Vermont and the consistent outreach of the Historic Preservation graduate program at UVM, as well as the establishment of a Vermont Studies minor there, are proof that the University now regards an emphasis on Vermont history as a priority in its service to the people of our state.
I couldn’t have predicted any of this 30 years ago, but it’s certainly encouraging to have seen it happen. History is so important to Vermont—as a basis for individual identity, for community pride, for building a better future for our children and grandchildren—that attention to it deserves all the resources we can provide. The time, energy and money we put into Vermont history pay dividends for all of us. That we recognize and appreciate that fact, and that so many Vermonters and Vermonters at heart are pulling together to keep our heritage alive is gratifying indeed.
