Check this page often to keep up to date with the latest happenings at the Mount, and the Coalition.
Military Road Meeting for Saturday, January 21
The “Friends of the Hubbardton Military Road” will be meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 21 at the Castleton Free Library, at 638 Main Street in Castleton, Vermont.
The first agenda item will be to formalize the Friends of the Hubbardton Military Road into a committee of the Crown Point Road Association, a long-established membership organization with non-profit legal status. …
Mount Independence-Hubbardton Military Road Symposium
About 30 people turned out to learn more about and discuss the Mount Independence-Hubbardton Military Road on the morning of Saturday, October 29. The meeting was held at the visitor center at the Hubbardton Battlefield. Presentations were made by me (the Orwell section), Jim Rowe (Benson), Carl Fuller (Hubbardton), Tom Hughes (Castleton) and Jim Moore (West Rutland and Rutland). …
Neil Goodwin delivered this year's Maguire lecture
Neil Goodwin
Thirty people came out on a gray afternoon on Saturday, October 22, to hear this year's J. Robert Maguire lecture. Neil Goodwin spoke about the "shadow war" on the Vermont frontier, borrowing the theme from his recent book, We Go As Captives, an engaging account of the Royalton Raid in 1780, its causes and consequences.
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Cornwallis "Burgoyned" at Mount Independence
ORWELL, Vt. – British actor-playwright Howard Burnham presents another of his engaging one-man costumed programs,“Cornwallis ‘Burgoyned’”, at the Mount Independence State Historic Site on Saturday, September 24, at 1:00 p.m.
Burnham as Cornwallis
Burnham portrays Lieutenant-General the Marquis Cornwallis, the British “man who lost America.” …
Mount Independence Selected as THE Scenic Hike In Vermont by USA Today
USA Today recently asked local experts to name a favorite hike in each state. In Vermont the choice was Mount Independence. "The Mount Independence State Historic Site, overlooking Lake Champlain in Orwell, contains several miles of secluded hiking trails that meander through old-growth woodland and open fields." …
The life and times of Ethan Allen
Willard Sterne Randall
Saturday, June 18, 2011 -- Author Willard Sterne Randall gave an engaging talk about Ethan Allen, the man he called the "frontier founding father" of America, before an enthusiastic audience today. According to Randall, Allen was not the impetuous, posturing buffoon history has come to paint him. …
Herb hike, wet but fun and informative
Julie Mitchell
Sunday, June 12 -- Medical herbalist Julie Mitchell introduced a lucky group of 13 to the beneficial plants of Mount Independence during this two-hour hike. We were hoping for sunshine, but had to make due with rain. The wet weather didn't dampen anyone's spirits, though, and we had a good time learning some surprising uses from some of the common plants we encounter every day.
…Wildflower Walk
Inspecting saxifrage
Sunday, May 8, 2011 -- Amy Olmsted, a horticulturist with Rocky Dale Gardens in Bristol, led an informative and festive walk along the Baldwin Trail and into the Blue Trail Ravine. We enjoyed seeing a varied assortment of spring wildflowers, including columbine, wild ginger, jack in the pulpit, red trillium, dutchman's breeches, saxifrage, wood anemone, and others. …
Sad News: The Coalition Remembers Mike Coates
Mike Coates
May 5, 2011 -- We learned some very sad news today. Long-time Coalition member and historic sites activist Mike Coates died at his home on May 3. Mike was such a loyal and passionate friend of Mount Independence, serving on the board of the Mount Independence Coalition for many years. …
A walk along the repaired Blue Trail
The "new" Blue Trail
After the storms from a couple of summers ago, the Blue Trail section leading down to through the ravine had become quite a miniature obstacle course. Elsa managed to get some federal funds allocated to repairing this section of the trail. We had a chance to talk a walk along the fresh path of crushed stones, and shiny new water bars last weekend. …
Annual Meeting and Seth Warner
J. Robert Maguire Lecture
Clifford Mullen delivered an engaging talk about Seth Warner and his skills as a military leader during the Battle of Hubbardton.
The annual meeting of the Mount Independence Coalition took place on Saturday, October 16. We had a nice turnout of members for the meeting, and didn't even have a power outage, as we did last year when we were forced to huddle in the foyer of the visitor center to find some light. …
Large group turns out for the Foray for Fungi!
Foray for Fungi!
Sue Van Hook
The dry weather this summer may have made the mushrooms a little shy at Mount Independence for this year's "Foray for Fungi," but that didn't prevent us from having a terrific program on Saturday, August 21. Over 30 people joined mycologist Sue Van Hook for a stroll along parts of the Baldwin Trail and the Blue Trail. …
Fern Power!
Twelve people joined us this past Saturday (August 7, 2010) for the Fern Hike led by Marc Lapin, who teaches environmental studies at Middlebury College. Marc has led other hikes on the Mount in summers past, looking at the overall botany and ecology of the site. …
Yankee Magazine Honors the Mount
The Editor's of Yankee Magazine have named Mount Independence New England's "Best Hike Through History."
Click the logo at the right to see the listing!
Coalition-supported film wins Emmy!
The film Champlain: The Lake Between, by filmmaker Caro Thompson and broadcast on Vermont Public Television, received an Emmy award on Saturday night in the New England Regional Emmy awards in the category historic/cultural special program! The Coalition provided some of the funding for the project!
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Interpretive Trail Wins National History Award
July 15, 2008
ORWELL, Vt. –The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) has announced that the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and Mount Independence Coalition are recipients of a 2008 Award of Merit from the AASLH Leadership in History Awards for the Mount Independence Baldwin Trail Interpretive Trail at the Mount Independence State Historic Site in Orwell, Vermont. …
Looking for Board Members
The Mount Independence Coalition board is made up of a small group of dedicated, hard-working individuals. But we are continually looking for additional board members. There are no specific qualifications, just a love of Vermont history and a willingness to pitch in where you can to help the Coalition achieve its goals. …