Northeast Kingdom

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The Northeast Kingdom is a term used to describe the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Vermont, comprising Essex County, Orleans County, and Caledonia County. The name was given to the area by U.S. Senator George D. Aiken. The area is often referred to by Vermonters simply as "The Kingdom," and by local youth as the "N.E.K.".

Mount Pisgah descends into Lake Willoughby. Together with Mount Hor on the opposite side of the lake, they form a deep inland fjord.
Mount Pisgah descends into Lake Willoughby. Together with Mount Hor on the opposite side of the lake, they form a deep inland fjord.

Residents of the Northeast Kingdom are sometimes referred to as "Nekkers", particularly by younger generations of Vermonters.

Author Howard Frank Mosher has written numerous works of fiction set in the Northeast Kingdom.

Contents

[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 3,861 feet.

The area is a year-round recreation destination known for skiing, fall foliage, and maple syrup.

As of 1997, the last year for which there are statistics, 80% of the Northeast Kingdom was covered by forest.[1] This figure has not diminished since. 59% was northern hardwood, 29% spruce or fir.

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.[2]

[edit] Economy

[edit] Transportation

[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 & 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.[3]

[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. [4]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.[5]

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.[6][7]

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.[8] It brought the many boulders seen in the area and created many prominent features, including Lakes Memphremagog, Willoughby, and Crystal Lake.[9]

The retreat of the glacier allowed the Green Mountains again to arise, but much eroded.[10] 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 mankind in 9300 BCE, descendants of Asian immigrants during the Ice Age. By 7300 BCE, man and a changing environment had eliminated large game from the area such as caribou and mastodons.[11]

From 1000 BCE to 1600 CE, Abenakis inhabited the Kingdom..[12]

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.[13] 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.[14][15]

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.[16]

[edit] Media

[edit] Newspapers

[edit] Radio

  • W243AE - 96.5 FM; Orleans
  • WIKE - 1490 AM; 1 kW; Newport
  • WMOO - 92.1 FM; Derby Center

[edit] Television

  • UHF Channel 20, WVTB (PBS), St. Johnsbury, Vermont Public Television
  • W14CK - Channel 14, Newport

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.nvda.net/pdf/regionalplan/Volume%20II.pdf
  2. ^ The National Geographic Society Press Room. Northeast Kingdom Geotourism Mapguide Debuts at Vermont Travel Industry Conference. Retrieved on December 22, 2006.
  3. ^ http://www.nvda.net/transportation/railroads.html#slr
  4. ^ Shelburne Geology. Geologic history of the Champlain Valley. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  5. ^ Digital Commons - Middlebury. Depth Constraints on the Origins of Northeast Kingdom Granites, Vermont. Retrieved on December 28, 2006.
  6. ^ About Geology. Generalized Geologic Map of Vermont. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  7. ^ Geological Society of American Conference. Ordovician Sedimentary Breccia and Magnetite-Coticule Metasiltstone, Northeast Kingdom, Vermont. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  8. ^ The University of Vermont. A Brief History and Overview of Vermont's Physical Landscape. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  9. ^ America's Volcanic Past. Crystal Lake. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  10. ^ The Mountains of Vermont. The Green Mountains. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  11. ^ The Flow of History. Native Americans in Vermont. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  12. ^ The Flow of History. Native Americans in Vermont. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  13. ^ First Nations Histories. Abenaki History. Retrieved on December 2, 2006.
  14. ^ Native Languages. Wabanki Confederacy. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  15. ^ Native Languages. Iroquois Confederacy. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
  16. ^ Manataka American Indian Council. Abenaki History Part I. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.

[edit] See Also


Flag of Vermont
 State of Vermont
Montpelier (capital)
Topics

Constitution | Culture | Geography | Government | History | Images | Towns | Villages in Vermont
Regions

Champlain Valley | Green Mountains | Mount Mansfield | Northeast Kingdom
Counties

Addison | Bennington | Caledonia | Chittenden | Essex | Franklin | Grand Isle | Lamoille | Orange | Orleans | Rutland | Washington | Windham | Windsor
Cities

Barre | Burlington | Montpelier | Newport | Rutland | South Burlington | St. Albans | Vergennes | Winooski


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