Detail of a 1780 map showing the state of Vermont
4 April 2022
What is now the state of Vermont is the traditional home to the Abenaki, Mahican, and Pennacook peoples. The state of Vermont officially recognizes several Abenaki groups: Elnu Abenaki Tribe, the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, the Koasek Abenaki Tribe, and the Mississquoi Abenaki Tribe.
The name Vermont comes from the French vert (green) + mont (mountain). The Appalachian Mountains in the state are known as the Green Mountains after the coniferous trees covering them. Some sources credit Samuel de Champlain with the French coinage in 1647, but I have not found evidence substantiating that.
In 1776, the settler-colonists of Vermont declared their independence from Britain separately from the other colonies, at first calling their territory the Republic of New Connecticut before officially adopting the name Vermont shortly after. The republic retained its independence until 1791, when it became the fourteenth state. The official name change is documented in the Connecticut Courant and Hartford Weekly Intelligencer of 30 June 1777:
And whereas this convention have been informed that a district of land lying on the Susquehannah river, has been heretofore and is now known by the name of New Connecticut, which was unknown to them until sometime since the declaration of Westminster aforesaid, and as it would be inconvenient in many respects for two separate districts on this continent to bear the same name:
RESOLVED therefore unanimously, That the said district described in the preamble to the declaration of Westminster aforesaid, shall ever hereafter be called and known by the name of VERMONT.
Sources:
Everett-Heath, John. Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names, sixth ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2020. Oxfordreference.com.
“Federal and State Recognized Tribes.” National Conference of State Legislatures, March 2020.
“State of Vermont. In General Convention, Windsor, June 4th, 1777. Connecticut Courant and Hartford Weekly Intelligencer, 30 June 1777, 1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
Image credit: John Bew and John Lodge, 1780. Library of Congress. Public domain image.