Montpelier, Vermont

The capital of Vermont (the first state to join the original thirteen colonies), Montpelier has been ranked among the top ten historic towns in the nation. It is noted for the gold dome of its capitol building, which incorporates real gold among the gold leaf. The main lobby of the capitol includes portraits of Chester A. Arthur and Calvin Coolidge, two United States presidents who hail from that state. The area is also noted for its brilliant gold, red, and orange leaves in autumn. Named for Montpellier, France, and chosen for its central location in the state, Montpelier had the smallest population of any state capital as of the early 2020s.

Landscape

Located in a valley northwest of Barre, at the confluence of the upper Winooski and North Branch Rivers, Montpelier is both the state capital and the seat of Washington County. The city lies on the main road through the Green Mountains.

Four rivers are located at least partially within the city. In addition to the North Branch, both Dog River and Steven's Branch empty into the Winooski River. That river goes through the entire city in an east-west direction before running into Lake Champlain. The rivers have been known to flood, most notably in 1927, when floodwaters reached second-story levels. The Wrightsville flood control project, built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, aimed to prevent such disasters. Still, in 1992, downtown Montpelier experienced flooding from the ice blocking the Winooski River. The city's worst flooding event occurred in July 2023, when Montpelier was inundated with a single-day record 5.28 inches of rainfall. The city also set a monthly record with 12.06 inches. Much of downtown Montpelier was flooded as the Winooski River crested at 21.35 feet, its second-highest peak, trailing only the water level of the 1927 flood. More than 4,000 homes and 800 businesses were damaged in the 2023 flooding.

The city is surrounded by wooded hills of 400 to 500 feet, making a scenic backdrop for the capital. Camel's Hump--the state's third largest mountain--is visible in the distance from the city.

Temperatures can vary more than twenty degrees between day and night, which makes for comfortable evenings during the summer. July's average high temperature is 81.5 degrees Fahrenheit, while January's average low is 7.3 Fahrenheit.

The region receives about 9 feet of snow during a year, with only June through September being free of measurable amounts of snow. Because the winter humidity is low, the dry cold can be tolerated.

Montpelier receives about 40 inches of precipitation annually, 30 inches of it in the form of rain. The remaining 10 inches arrive in the form of 108 inches of snow. Spring rains and melting snow bring "mud season" in early spring.

People

In Vermont as a whole, and in Montpelier, the population has remained constant or declined over the past decade. The 2022 US Census Bureau recorded an estimate of 8,023 persons in the city; a 0.7 percent decrease from the April 2020 census. The outlying rural regions have steadily gained population.

Montpelier has more women and fewer men than the national average. Women constituted 56.2 percent of the 2022 population, while men comprised 43.8 percent. The median age is 44, with the largest number of persons in the 30- to 35-year-old range. The citizens of Montpelier are overwhelmingly White, with 89.8 percent of the total number. Those claiming Hispanic or Latino ancestry form 2.9 percent. This figure is far below the national average of 19.1 percent. Black or African Americans comprise only 0.6 percent, again below the national average, which is 13.6 percent. Asians form 2.1 percent of the population.

A total of 95.5 percent of the people of Montpelier are native born Americans and 4.5 percent are foreign-born. The largest number of foreign-born citizens, approxiamtely 25.5 percent, are of English heritage, with 18.2 percent Irish, 12.6 percent German, 8 percent Italian, and 7.4 percent French. Only 5 percent of the population older than five years of age speaks a language other than English at home. The majority of those languages is a European language other than Spanish.

Montpelier's citizens are a well-educated group. According to a 2022 US Census Bureau estimate, 98.6 percent have a high school degree or higher, and 64.8 percent have at least a bachelor's degree.

Economy

Educational, health, and social services forms Montpelier's largest employment sector, with about 25 percent of the total. Government-employment comes in a close second at about 23 percent, with most working in the downtown area. About 10 percent of workers are employed in entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services.

Finance, real estate, and insurance provide work for about 8 percent of those employed. Most of the 900 employees of National Life of Vermont are concentrated in the Montpelier office. Vermont Mutual Life Insurance Company and Union Mutual Insurance Company are other major insurance companies in Montpelier. In addition, several non-profit and federal agencies are headquartered in the city.

Landmarks

The current statehouse is the third one built in Montpelier. The first, constructed in 1805, was replaced in 1836 with a structure that burned in 1857. The current statehouse was built of local Vermont granite in 1859. The chamber used by the house of representatives on the second flood has been restored to look as it did that year. The second floor houses the senate as well. It also includes the Hall of Flags, featuring some of the flags that Vermont regiments carried in the Civil War.

The Vermont Historical Society and Museum is in the nearby Pavilion Building. The site commemorates the former Pavilion Hotel, where legislators used to stay, but which now houses displays that narrate the story of the state.

A former Civil War hospital has become the site of Vermont College. The college includes the TW Woods Art Gallery, which is in walking distance from the capitol. The gallery honors Montpelier artist Thomas Waterman Wood, who headed both the American Watercolor Society and the National Academy in the nineteenth century. The gallery, opened in 1895, also houses Vermont's share of the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) collection from the 1930s. In addition to being an art gallery featuring works by contemporary regional artists and craftspersons as well as by Waterman, it offers a summer art camp and a venue for musical performances.

Although it does not boast a seaport, Vermont has a proud naval tradition. Admiral George Dewey, a hero of the Spanish American War, was born in Montpelier. Three ships have been named for the city. In 1917, US forces seized a German ship that supported troops during World War I. The second, known as "Monty" and the "Legend of the Solomons," saw action in World War II's Pacific campaign. It received thirteen battle stars. The current USS Montpelier is a nuclear attack submarine. All of this information and more can be gleaned at the USS Montpelier Museum, located in City Hall.

The Montpelier Area Bike Association is one of the many biking groups in the central Vermont region. Local residents have mapped routes that return to the original starting point; these vary from 12 to 23 miles in length. Summer brings several bike races as well.

In 1899, John E. Hubbard donated 125 acres of land to the city for a park. The park, which is near the capitol, offers visitors and residents a greenspace to enjoy. Currently expanded to 185 acres, Hubbard Park and Tower includes an observation tower, soccer and baseball fields, picnic grounds, a sledding hill, and skiing and hiking trails.

History

Native Americans settled the town of Montpelier perhaps 6,000 years ago. Trade networks linked settlements by around 1200 CE. However, when Europeans arrived in the 1600s, Native Americans were pushed out or died in battle or from disease.

The city of Montpelier was chartered in 1781 as a gift to Massachusetts settlers, who began arriving some seven years later. Saw and grist mill sites and access to rivers for shipping attracted these pioneers. When Vermont became a state in 1791, only 113 people lived in Montpelier. In 1805, Montpelier became the state capital.

When the railroad arrived in the mid-nineteenth century, businesses prospered. Tanneries, stone working factories, and other small businesses were established. Nine granite works graced the city by 1925, kept busy with stones from nearby Barre's famous granite quarries. Many Italians came to ply their skill in stonecarving.

Westward migration and movement to New England's industrial centers kept Montpelier's growth at a slow pace in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Annette Parmalee, the "Suffragette Hornet," lobbied the legislature from 1907 on to grant women full suffrage. In 1917 the state permitted women to vote in municipal elections. The legislature did not endorse the Nineteenth Amendment, however, until February 1921, after women had voted by national passage of the bill in the 1920 election.

During the Great Depression, Montpelier's Knapp Andrew Camp hosted Company 2204 of the Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.), one of the New Deal programs that Franklin Roosevelt instituted. In 1933 they worked on clearing timber to facilitate construction of dams north of the capital that would control the Mad River.

Vermonters have a long tradition of military service, and those from Montpelier served in both World Wars. Several Montpelier citizens were part of the Vermont 172nd Infantry Regiment of the 43rd Division, which saw action in the both European and Pacific theaters of the Second World War. Among the recruits was Ernest Gibson, later governor of Vermont. The capital was the site of a victory parade following the end of World War II.

During the 1960s and 1970s, many people of the hippie counterculture moved to Vermont in a "back to nature" quest, with some of them choosing to live in and around Montpelier.

In more recent times, the capital has been the site of peace protests. About a thousand persons demonstrated against the war in Iraq in September 2002.

In 2000, the state adopted the country's first civil union law. In April 2009, legislators in Montpelier overrode the governor's veto of a same-sex marriage bill, making Vermont then the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Trivia

• Atop the capitol building's dome is a carved wooden statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. After the original was destroyed by exposure to weather, eighty-seven-year-old Dwight Dwinell, who had served as sergeant-at-arms for the legislature, carved the replacement.
• Inside the capitol is a large bust of Abraham Lincoln, carved by Daniel Chester French, and identical to the one at Lincoln's tomb. In 1806, Lincoln received 75 percent of Vermonters' votes, the highest percentage of the election. Impressive on its own, the fact is more amazing considering that Lincoln's opponent, Stephen Douglas, was a native of Vermont.
• Montpelier became an insurance center because Dr. Julius Dewey, father of Admiral George Dewey, determined that selling insurance was more lucrative than practicing medicine. He founded the National Life Insurance Company.

Banacos, Peter. “The Great Vermont Flood of 10– 1 July 2023: Preliminary Meteorological Summary.” National Weather Service, 5 Aug. 2023, www.weather.gov/btv/The-Great-Vermont-Flood-of-10-11-July-2023-Preliminary-Meteorological-Summary#. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.

“Montpelier City, Vermont.” US Census Bureau, data.census.gov/profile/Montpelier‗city,‗Vermont?g=160XX00US5046000. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.

“NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data.” National Weather Service, www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=btv. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.

“QuickFacts: Montpelier City, Vermont.” US Census Bureau, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/montpeliercityvermont/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.