Vermont may be small in population, but it looms large with innovation. The state constitution was the first in America to ban slavery, provide for universal male suffrage and establish a system for publicly funded education. Ethan Allen captured Fort Ticonderoga for America's First Victory. An eleven-year-old Willie Johnston was America's youngest Medal of Honor winner, and Grace Coolidge became the one and only First Lady to have a raccoon as a pet while in the White House. In the 1930s, rebellious Vermonters were the first to vote down a major New Deal construction project, the Green Mountain Parkway. Join local historian Dick Smith as he reveals this state's pioneering nature.

The search for an African American community in rural Vermont

The author of Vermont Firsts and Other Claims to Fame examines the pivotal American Revolutionary War skirmish and the men behind it. In April 1775, a small band of men set out from Hartford and traveled swiftly north toward the shore of Lake Champlain, recruiting men to their expedition along the way. Within only a few days, this loyal group of volunteers arrived in Vermont and, joining forces with Ethan Allen and his legendary Green Mountain Boys, launched a daring attack to capture more than one hundred cannons stored at Fort Ticonderoga. In this comprehensive look at “America's First Victory,” Richard Smith traces the Patriots’ route from Connecticut, through the towns of western Massachusetts and the Berkshire hills and north to Bennington, Vermont, and Lake Champlain. He chronicles the rival expedition led by Benedict Arnold, his confrontation with Allen, and the surprise attack that changed the course of the American Revolution.

In From the East, Bearing Gifts, Don Peabody presents a rich collection of Vermont history and lore. It's an excellent travel companion for a drive though Vermont.