Settlement and Statehood 1609-1791 & Agricultural Expansion 1791-1840

Books & Resources available through our Lending Library. Learn how to borrow here.

Sheila Charles et al., From Wilderness to Fortress: Exploring the History of the Revolutionary War Site. A Resource Guide for Mount Independence State Historic Site, Orwell, Vermont
(Vermont Division for Historic Preservation). This educator's guide uses archaeology, geography, history, and social studies to study and explore Mount Independence and the Revolutionary War. This resource includes hands-on activities as well as additional suggested readings.
Reading level: third - eighth grade
Number of copies available: 1

Patricia Lee Gauch, Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys
(Pennsylvania: Boyds Mill Press, Inc., 1972). An early reader chapter book about a nine year old boy named Aaron during the Revolutionary War. As a boy in Bennington in 1777, Aaron would rather be off fighting against the British with the Green Mountain Boys than staying home and doing chores in the family tavern. As the fighting gets closer to home, Aaron is called into service to help feed the soldiers before the battle. Based on Aaron Robinson, the tavern keeper's grandson in Bennington in the 1770s, this book illustrates what it takes to feed an army and the important role of the Green Mountain Boys during that time period.
Reading level: second - fourth grade
Number of copies available: 16

Michael T. Hahn, Ann Story: Vermont's Heroine of Independence
(Shelburne, VT: The New England Press, 1996). This is a biography of Ann Story that begins with her settlement in Vermont and her support of the Green Mountain Boys following the death of her husband. Ann Story strongly supported Vermont's independence. This biography illustrate Story's importance to Vermont history as an independent woman settler during the late 1700s and early 1800s. It is a well-written, understandable biography that will appeal particularly to middle school students.
Reading level: fourth - eighth grade
Number of copies available: 16

Michael T. Hahn, Ethan Allen: A Life of Adventure
(Shelburne, VT: The New England Press, 1994). This is a biography of Ethan Allen that begins with his boyhood in Connecticut and tracks his adventures into Vermont, the rise of the Green Mountain Boys, and the legendary figure's later years. It is a well-written, understandable biography that will appeal particularly to middle school students.
Reading level: fourth - eighth grade
Number of copies available: 1

Edgar N. Jackson, Green Mountain Hero
(Shelburne, VT: The New England Press, 1961). Told through the eyes of Solomon Story, son of the famous Ann Story, this book details his life and adventures after settling in Vermont in the 1700s. Solomon's story helps illustrate the narrative of his mother, Ann Story, who supported the Green Mountain Boys and Vermont independence. This is a well written, if dated, narrative.
Reading level: fourth - eighth grade
Number of copies available: 18

Caro Thompson, Champlain: The Lake Between
(Vermont Public Television, 2008) This documentary explores the context for Samuel de Champlain’s 1609 visit to the lake that now bears his name. With epic stories of conflict and diplomacy, and dramatic re-enactments, this engaging program supplies the historic backdrop for an important period in Vermont history. This special edition contains a teacher’s guide CD.
Level: middle school - adult
Number of copies: 2 DVDs

Nancy Price Graff, ed., Celebrating Vermont: Myths and Realities
(Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1991). The essays compiled in this book examine the historical basis for the many and often conflicting myths about our state and provide fascinating background on daily life and social and political movements during different periods of Vermont history. They are abundantly illustrated with pieces from the bicentennial exhibit at Middlebury College's museum, from pre-European petroglyphs to a Ben & Jerry's ice cream carton.
Reading level: high school – adult
Number of copies available: 1