THE HERO ISLANDS
...How
they got their names
Just as the Revolutionary War
began, Ethan Allen, leader of
his beloved Green Mountain Boys,
was caught by the British and
sent to England in chains. It's
a shame that he missed out on
almost the entire fight, for
to hear
him tell the tale,
he was a prominent hero in the
battle!
From his prison cell across
the Atlantic, Allen came up with
the idea of petitioning the
still Independent Republic of
Vermont to grant "the boys",
the two largest islands in
Lake Champlain. With modesty, he
asked that they be named The
Two Heroes, in honor of his
brother Ira, and himself. The
petition was granted in October,
1779.
Various petitions followed,
in the colorful spelling of the
time. Here is an example!
Wharas
there is a Large tract of Land
the Just Property of this
State-in Pertickler there is in
this State two large Islands
lying in the Lake Champlain
betwine Crounpint & Cannaday
South line whare it Crosis the
Lake Champlain the fust Grate
South island.....
And
we're worried about the current
state of our schools!
Only a handful
of settlers moved in as there
were no bridges to the mainland.
After the war
ended, the first survey was
completed in 1784. By 1790, in
the first ever U.S. Census, 65
men and boys, plus 57 women were
counted on the North Hero
Island. Progress has been made,
for in the next 207 years, about
433 additional year-round
residents have moved in. |