NEW TRAIL SIGNS AT MOUNT INDEPENDENCE

ORWELL, Vt. – On Saturday, June 14, at 2:00 p.m., come to the Mount Independence State Historic Site in Orwell for the unveiling of the colorful new interpretive signs on the 1.6-mile long Baldwin Trail. The afternoon features special walks led by experts along the new trail, the Seth Warner Mount Independence Fife and Drum Corps, and a musical performance starting at 2:30 by the popular duo of Pete and Karen Sutherland, playing folk and traditional favorites. The musical performance, the first in the Music on the Mount series in 2008, is sponsored by the Vermont Arts Council.

“We are proud to offer to the public these attractive new signs on the Baldwin Trail to help tell the exciting stories of Mount Independence,” says John Dumville, historic sites operations chief for the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. “Rain or shine, with its crushed stone surfaces and gentle grades, the Baldwin Trail is a beautiful path through the woods, for visitors to walk or use wheelchairs or strollers, to see Revolutionary War archeological sites, vistas of Lake Champlain, and many natural wonders.”

The series of twenty-one illustrated signs, large and small, tell the stories of the building of Mount Independence, the importance of Lake Champlain and lake travel, the American, British, and German occupations, and the Revolutionary War defenses and individual buildings, such as the general hospital, American and British blockhouses, and cannon batteries that are now archeological features.

The signage was funded through a Museums for American grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the Alma Gibbs Donchian Foundation, the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, and the Mount Independence Coalition.

This event is free and open to the public, and is part of Vermont Days weekend when all of Vermont’s state historic sites and state parks are offering free admission. Regular admission at Mount Independence is $5.00 for adults and free for children under 15. The site is located near the end of Mount Independence Road, which is six miles west of the intersections of Vermont Routes 73 and 22A in Orwell, Vermont. Carefully follow the signs. Call 802-948-2000 for more information.

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The Vermont State Historic Sites—History Where it Happened