Montpelier, VT

I awakened in Montpelier to find hardly a cloud in the sky. The weather could not have been more opposite from the previous day. The motel sat on a hill a little ways out of town, and its position displayed the glory of the Green Mountains, illuminated by the brilliance of the morning sunlight. As I descended the hills into Montpelier, the golden dome of the Capitol Building glistened in the morning sunlight. The town was in the throes of Wednesday morning, and everything seemed to be in full swing. I settled on The Coffee Corner for breakfast, and from there I went to the Capitol building for the tour, which was given by a volunteer docent.

As one approaches the Capitol, indeed any capitol in the United States, it is difficult not to be impressed. The enormous columns and golden dome are impossible to ignore. Such a looming edifice is inescapable, and I’m sure that to all architects of government buildings, that is exactly the idea. In the atrium of the Capitol, one enters into a grand hall with many different portraits and depictions. A bust of President Abraham Lincoln rests resolutely in front of the entrance. On the walls facing the entrance, but on either side of the hall in which the statue of Lincoln sits, are two almost life-sized portraits of our nation’s leaders from Vermont, President Chester Arthur and President Calvin Coolidge.

Chester Arthur succeeded James Garfield, who was assassinated. Coolidge succeeded Warren G. Harding after the latter’s sudden death. Coolidge was then elected in his own right in 1924. The stories of each of their entrances to the presidency are some of the most famous.

President Garfield was in Washington Train station on July 2, 1881 when Charles Guiteau shot him twice. Unfortunately, due to the absence of medical knowledge at the time, the 16 doctors who attempted to help the president did nothing but make the ordeal more painful. They failed to remove the bullet, and by inserting dirty hands and instruments into the wound, they aggravated the infection that surely followed. Several days later, the President complained of pains in his chest, and most likely died of a heart attack. Because he had only served four months in office, the public had not yet formed a detailed opinion of him. Recounts from the doctors of his bravery throughout his ordeal prompted kind words and sympathy from the public. Chester Arthur then ascended to the presidency, and led an admirably bipartisan administration.

In the case of Coolidge, Warren G. Harding had fallen dreadfully ill in San Francisco in August of 1923 while Coolidge was at his family’s farmhouse in Vermont. Although Harding died in the early evening, it took several hours for the news to be communicated back to the East Coast. At 2:30 in the morning, Coolidge’s father received the news that his son was to assume the presidency. The senior Coolidge, a notary public, administered the oath of office to his son in their parlor, illuminated by a kerosene lamp. The privacy of his swearing-in was similar to President Coolidge’s personality. He became very famous during the roaring twenties for being a man of few words.

Currently, Vermont is represented in the federal government by the notable Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist. He is the first person to be elected to both the US House of Representatives and the Senate.

The State House itself has a somewhat tumultuous history. In 1805, Montpelier was selected as the seat of the state legislature due to its central location. At that time the town’s population was only 1200. The original state house as built that same year. In response to a need for more space, Ammi B. Young designed a new building in 1836, mostly at the expense of the community. Montpelier’s citizens pledged $15,000 to support the construction of a new State House, which prevented the legislature from moving to any other city. In 1857, the second State House burned down. The third building is standing today in the same location on State Street.

In recent years, Friends of the Vermont State House, a non-profit, has been raising money to restore the State House to its original décor. As one moves through the building, one can see that some of the panes in the windows are original, while it is also clear that some have been replaced. All of the furniture, however, is original. The governor’s desk is particularly grand and impressive. Although it is not the largest of Capitol buildings, the Vermont State House maintains a dignified air of history and importance.

After exploring the Capitol building, I revived myself with some coffee as a batch of afternoon showers swept into town. Volunteers also run the Vermont History Museum, a small building next to the Capitol. It is a humble, but interesting museum. In the room directly next to the front desk at which a modest admission is paid, an enormous freestanding clock barely fits beneath the high ceiling. I don’t doubt that the otherwise rather empty room became its home because it would be very difficult to get it much farther from the front door. I have an affinity for old clocks, particularly long-case clocks. I have never in my life seen one more intricate or unique than the one in the Vermont History Museum.

The rest of the museum detailed the every day lives of Vermonters, as well as the historical people that led to the state’s formation. Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain boys aided in the formation of the state by fighting against the New York encroachment into the region, and worked tirelessly for their independence as a state.  Allen, along with his cronies, captured Fort Ticonderoga from the British troops in 1775. It wasn’t until 1791, 14 years after Vermont’s constitution had been written, that Congress admitted Vermont into the federal union.

Although Montpelier is the smallest state capital by population, it can be considered one of the most progressive. Vermont was one of the first states to abolish slavery, which it did in its Constitution in 1777, decades before most other states. It was also the first to allow civil unions among same-sex couples, which it did on July 1, 2000. Indeed, an air of acceptance and kindness is noticeable throughout the town. There was not a single moment during my time in Montpelier that I felt even remotely unwelcome. Every person I encountered said good morning, smiled, and wished me a pleasant trip. Every restaurant I ate in was more than satisfactory. The few shops I entered, I left with a greater sense of contentment. The next day, I left Vermont feeling revived in my excitement for my own journey, restored in my faith in human compassion, and renewed in my confidence in American Democracy. It was a wonderful start to a very long adventure.