Burlington, Vermont
Referred to by local residents as “The Queen City,” Burlington serves as a hub of cultural and social activity spanning from the inception of the American Revolution to the establishment of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. Burlington was named after the Burling family who were landowners from New York who owned land not too far from this city. Burlington was settled as a result of the 1763 New Hampshire Grants, and was a part of the Vermont Republic established as a result of land disputes between New Hampshire and New York as a result of the New Hampshire Grants (Burlington History). Ethan Allen, an American Revolution patriot and early American politician would call Burlington his home and in modern times is the home of a prominent individual to American politics, Bernie Sanders, a current U.S. senator and socialist politician, who also served as the mayor of Burlington from 1981 to 1989 (Bernie Sanders).
Located on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, in the 1820s and 1830s the construction of a series of canals including the Champlain Canal, Erie Canal, and the Chambly Canal made Burlington a hub of marine traffic for lumber and manufactured goods (Burlington History). However, 1978 proved to be a groundbreaking year for the city when Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened an ice cream shop in a renovated gas station from which the world famous Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream company was born. Burlington attracts American tourists from every walk of life who are in search of a town that has history dating back to the American Revolution, is a town that has prospered under the successful application of liberal politics and is located on a lake that has made Burlington a sailing friendly community, a facet of this town that has made the Burlington Community Boathouse a must see for those who plan to pay this town a visit. (Lorenzo Deagle, Flagler College)
References:
Ben And Jerry’s. “Our History.” Company. Accessed March 1, 2013. http://www.benjerry.com.
Burlington Vermont, “History.” CEDO. Accessed March 1, 2013. http://www.burlingtonvt.gov.
Sanders, Bernie. “About Bernie.” Accessed March 1, 2013. http://www.sanders.senate.gov.
