Northeast Kingdom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Northeast Kingdom is a term used to describe the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Vermont, comprising Essex, Orleans and Caledonia Counties. In Vermont, the written term "NEK" is often used. The term is attributed to the late George D. Aiken, former Governor of Vermont (1937-1941) and a U.S. Senator at the time of a 1949 speech, the first recorded use of the term. The area is often referred to by Vermonters simply as "The Kingdom."
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[edit] Geography
The Northeast Kingdom is bisected by Interstate 91/U.S. 5. On the east it is bordered by the Connecticut River. The highest point is Jay Peak at 3,681 feet (1,122 m).[1]
The NEK encompasses 56 towns and gores, with a land area of 2,027 square miles (5,250 km2), about 21% of the state of Vermont.[2] There is one city in the tri-county area, Newport. However, a town, St. Johnsbury, is larger.
The area is a year-round recreation destination known for skiing, fall foliage viewing, and maple syrup.
As of 1997, 80% of the Northeast Kingdom was covered by forest.[3] 59% was northern hardwood, 29% spruce or fir.
The Northeast Kingdom has been listed in the North American and international editions of "1,000 Places to See Before You Die", the New York Times best-selling book by Patricia Schultz. In 2006, the National Geographic Society named the Northeast Kingdom as the most desirable place to visit in the country and the ninth most desirable place to visit in the world.[4]
[edit] Fauna
In 1996, the moose population totalled 2 000, about 0.676 moose per km² (1.75 moose per square mile). In 2005, the population was 5 000; 1.313 moose per km² (3.4 moose per square mile). State officials determined that the 1996 figure was more desirable; that the herd had become stressed due to overpopulation. 1 260 hunting permits were issued in 2008 to cull the herd to a desirable level.[5]
[edit] Climate
The average growing season is about 123-130 frost-free days.[6]
The lowest recorded temperature was -46 °C (-50.8 ºF), at Bloomfield, Essex County on December 30, 1933. This is the lowest temperature recorded in New England.[7][8]
[edit] Government
While there is no government between the state government in Vermont and town government, there are government programs tailored for local use.
An NGO, the Northeastern Vermont Development Association helps communities with planning, obtaining grants, and other issues relating to government.[9]
The Northeast Kingdom Community Action Incorporated is a community action agency with administrative offices in St. Johnsbury and Newport, and satellite facilities in Island Pond and Canaan.[10]
[edit] Economy
[edit] NGOs
There are a number of non-profit, non-governmental agencies, supported by the government, that either offer services or promote business. These include The Northern Community Investment Corporation, based in Saint Johnsbury.[11]
[edit] Transportation
In 2008, 74% of the roads were rated in poor or very poor condition. There were 480 bridges with spans of 20 feet or more. There were a number of bridges deemed structurally deficient. Sixty-three percent of those were municipally owned.[12]
[edit] Railroads
Two railroads traverse the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont:
Washington County Railroad (The Vermont Railway System) - WACR has just recently been awarded a 30 year contract to operate the track running from White River Junction North through St. Johnsbury and Newport.
The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway - Six trips a day between Island Pond and Maine. Four trips a day between Island Pond and Canada. Lumber is the principal freight.[13]
[edit] Bus
The RCT (Rural Community Transportation) runs out of Saint Johnsbury and services Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille and Orleans Counties.
[edit] History
[edit] Geologic
Two land masses collided at the end of the Ordovician Period about 466 million years ago. This collision first formed what are now the Green Mountains which extend into the westernmost part of the Northeast Kingdom.[14]It also created great pressure within the earth resulting in active volcanos. The resultant eruptions produced igneous rock which became the granite often seen near the mountains and in the Connecticut River Valley.[15]
The remaining geology was created during the Silurian-Devonian Period, about 400 million years ago, and left behind slate, with some granite, schist, and limestone.[16][17]
An expansion of the polar glaciers resulted in an ice age which greatly affected the geology. A one mile thick sheet of ice covered the Kingdom for several million years until 13,500 years ago.[18] It brought the many boulders seen in the area and created many prominent features, including Lakes Memphremagog, Willoughby, and Crystal Lake.[19]
The retreat of the Laurentide glacier allowed the Green Mountains again to arise, but much eroded.[20] A saltwater incursion from the Atlantic covered much of Vermont including what is now Lake Memphremagog. This incursion stopped 11,000 years ago and became fresh water. Forests appeared.
[edit] Early human history
The retreating glacier allowed the northern migration of early humans in 9300 BCE, descendants of Asian immigrants during the Ice Age. By 7300 BCE, people and a changing environment had eliminated large game from the area such as caribou and mastodons.[21]
From 1000 BCE to 1600 CE, Abenakis inhabited the Kingdom..[21]
Perhaps as many as a thousand Cowasuck Indians lived in Essex County near the Connecticut River in 1500. This tribe included all people from the Cahass, Cohassiac, Coos, Coosuc, and Koes tribes.[22] The Cowasucks were Abenakis, themselves members of the Wabanakis, the Algonquin pact of five tribes which banded together to combat Iroquois aggression perhaps about 1500, though the exact date of the Iroquois pact is unknown.[23][24]
European diseases, such as typhus, contracted from exposure to traders, killed many of the Cowasucks until only a few hundred were left in the Northeast Kingdom by 1600.[25]
[edit] Media
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Author Howard Frank Mosher has written works of fiction set in the Northeast Kingdom.
Archer Mayor's second "Joe Gunther" novel, Borderlines, was set in the fictitious village of Gannet, in Essex County.
Peacham, Vermont was used as the filming location for the 1993 movie Ethan Frome based on Edith Wharton's novel of the same name.[26]
Robert Frost wrote a poem with the kingdom as its topic entitled A Servant to Servants.[27]
[edit] Newspapers
- The Caledonian-Record, the area's largest newspaper, is published in St. Johnsbury
- The Chronicle - published weekly in Barton
- The Newport Daily Express - published daily except Sundays in Newport
- The North Star Monthly - published monthly in Danville
- The Hardwick Gazette - published weekly in Hardwick
[edit] Radio
- WSTJ - 1340 AM; Saint Johnsbury, VT - Standards
- WIKE - 1490 AM; Newport, VT - Country
- WVPA - 88.5 FM; Saint Johnsbury, VT - Vermont Public Radio
- WCKJ - 90.5 FM; Saint Johnsbury, VT - Religious - "The Light"
- WWLR - 91.5 FM; Lyndonville, VT - Lyndon State College - "Impulse 91.5"
- WMOO - 92.1 FM; Derby Center, VT - Hot Adult Contemporary - "Moo 92"[29]
- WJSY-LP - 96.1 FM; Newport, VT - Religious
- W243AE - 96.5 FM; Orleans, VT - Religious - "The Light"
- WGMT - 97.7 FM; Lyndon, VT - Hot Adult Contemporary - "Magic 97.7"
- WDER-LP - 98.3 FM; Derby, VT - TIS
- W257AU - 99.3 FM; Saint Johnsbury, VT - Rebroadcast of WMOO
- WKXH - 105.5 FM; Saint Johnsbury, VT - Country - "Kix 105.5"
- WVTI 106.9 FM broadcasts classical music from Island Pond, Vermont.[30]
[edit] Television
- UHF Channel 20, WVTB (PBS), St. Johnsbury, Vermont Public Television
- Channel 14 W14CK Newport, ion, Rebroadcast of WWBI-LP
- Cable Channel 7, KATV, Kingdom Access Television, Lyndonville, Public Access
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Various Vermont Mountains
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ "The National Geographic Society Press Room". Northeast Kingdom Geotourism Mapguide Debuts at Vermont Travel Industry Conference. http://press.nationalgeographic.com/pressroom/index.jsp?pageID=pressReleases_detail&siteID=1&cid=1164733316076. Retrieved on 2006-12-22.
- ^ Rathke, Lisa (October 17, 2008). State hopes moose season culls herd. Burlington Free Press.
- ^ Draft Environmental Assessment retrieved May 28, 2008
- ^ Though this was tied by Black River, Maine in 2009
- ^ Adams, Glenn (February 11, 2009). Maine ties Vt. for record low temperature. Burlington Free Press.
- ^ NVDA
- ^ [3]
- ^ The Chronicle, June 3, 2009, page 27, "Economic development debated in Barton". Joseph Cresser
- ^ Creaser, Richard (October 22, 2008). State transportation money is based on traffic. the Chronicle.
- ^ [4]
- ^ "Shelburne Geology". Geologic history of the Champlain Valley. http://www.uvm.edu/shelburnelandscape/nature/geology.html. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- ^ "Digital Commons - Middlebury". Depth Constraints on the Origins of Northeast Kingdom Granites, Vermont. http://digitalcommons.middlebury.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=theses. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
- ^ "About Geology". Generalized Geologic Map of Vermont. http://geology.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=geology&cdn=education&tm=14&gps=79_7_796_432&f=20&su=p284.21.140.ip_&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/images/geo5.JPG. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- ^ "Geological Society of American Conference". Ordovician Sedimentary Breccia and Magnetite-Coticule Metasiltstone, Northeast Kingdom, Vermont. http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2001NE/finalprogram/abstract_2396.htm. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- ^ "The University of Vermont". A Brief History and Overview of Vermont's Physical Landscape. http://www.uvm.edu/place/analyze/history_vt.php. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- ^ "America's Volcanic Past". Crystal Lake. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/VolcanicPast/Places/volcanic_past_vermont.html. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- ^ "The Mountains of Vermont". The Green Mountains. http://academics.smcvt.edu/vtgeographic/textbook/mountains/mountains_of_vermont.htm. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- ^ a b "The Flow of History". Native Americans in Vermont. http://www.flowofhistory.org/themes/movement_settlement/abenaki.php. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- ^ "First Nations Histories". Abenaki History. http://www.tolatsga.org/aben.html. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
- ^ "Native Languages". Wabanki Confederacy. http://www.native-languages.org/wabanaki.htm. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- ^ "Native Languages". Iroquois Confederacy. http://www.native-languages.org/iroquois.htm. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- ^ "Manataka American Indian Council". Abenaki History Part I. http://www.manataka.org/page380.html. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- ^ New York Times accessed February 1, 2008
- ^ New York Times retrieved June 29, 2008
- ^ List of Vermont Radio Stations
- ^ MOO 92 retrieved on May 13, 2007
- ^ VPR (October 28, 2008). VPR Classical broadcasts from I.P.. the Chronicle.
[edit] External links
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