Timeline of Burlington, Vermont facts for kids

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Burlington, Vermont, USA

Prior to 19th century

• 1763 - Town charter granted by the British Province of New Hampshire.
• 1774 - Settlement established.
• 1791
  • March 4: Town becomes part of the State of Vermont.
  • November 3: University of Vermont founded.
  • Burlington becomes shire town of Chittenden County.
• 1797 - Burlington Mercury newspaper begins publication.

19th century

• 1801 - Vermont Sentinel newspaper begins publication.
• 1802 - Court house built.
• 1804 - Grasse Mount built, now a campus building of the University of Vermont
• 1810 - Population: 1,690.
• 1813 - August 2: Town besieged by British forces.
• 1815 - September: University of Vermont begins operating again.
• 1816 - Unitarian Church built.
• 1823 - Methodist Episcopal Church established.
• 1825 - LaFayette visits town.
• 1826 - Champlain Transportation Company founded.
• 1827
  • Free Press Weekly begins publication.
  • Champlain Glass Company established.
• 1829
  • Lyman block built.
  • Burlington High School and Burlington Fire Company incorporated.
• 1830 - Episcopal Society of Burlington founded.
• 1834 - Baptist church established.
• 1842 - Burlington Mechanics' Institute founded.
• 1845 - Winooski Mill Company established.
• 1847
  • E. & E. Lyman in business.
  • Commercial Bank of Burlington and Burlington Savings Bank chartered.
• 1848 - Central Vermont Railway began operating (until 1995).
• 1849
  • Rutland & Burlington Railroad built.
• 1852 - Burlington Lyceum founded.
• 1853 - Medical College established as part of the University of Vermont.
• 1854
  • Town Hall built.
  • Vermont Episcopal Institute incorporated.
• 1856 - Van Sicklen & Walker grocers in business.
• 1857
  • Custom House built.
  • Burlington Breakwater Lights established.
• 1858
  • Marine Hospital built.
  • Burlington Times newspaper begins publication.
• 1862 - University of Vermont library building constructed.
• 1865
  • Burlington chartered as a city; town of South Burlington established.
  • Albert Catlin becomes mayor.
  • Vermont Agricultural College incorporated with the University of Vermont.
  • Home for Destitute Children founded.
• 1866 - St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum incorporated.
• 1867
  • J.M. Henry & Sons in business.
  • Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception built.
• 1869 - First Methodist Church of Burlington built.
• 1870
  • City market building constructed.
  • E.S. Fullam & Co. in business.
  • Population: 14,387.
• 1872
  • Winooski & Burlington Horse Railroad incorporated.
  • Wells, Richardson & Co. in business.
• 1873
  • Fletcher Free Library established.
  • County courthouse built.
• 1874 - Park House (hotel) in business.
• 1877 - Howard Opera House built (approximate date).
• 1878 - Burlington Commercial School established.
• 1879 - Mary Fletcher Hospital founded.
• 1880 - Population: 11,365.
• 1884 - Burlington Venetian Blind Company incorporated.
• 1885
  • Old Ohavi Zedek Synagogue built.
  • Urban A. Woodbury becomes mayor.
• 1886 - Daniel Webster Robinson House built.
• 1887 - Cathedral of Saint Joseph completed.
• 1888 - Burlington Cotton Mills incorporated.
• 1889
  • St. Mary's academy founded.
  • Baldwin Refrigerator Company established (approximate date).
• 1890 - Population: 14,590.
• 1894
  • Queen City Cotton Co. incorporated.
  • William J. Van Patten becomes mayor.
  • Burlington Daily News begins publication.
  • Fort Ethan Allen established.
• 1897
  • Burlington Masonic Temple built.
  • Battery Park established.
• 1900 - Population: 18,640.

20th century

• 1902 - Fletcher Free Library re-located.
• 1904 - Strong Theatre opens.
• 1905
  • Burlington Electric Department created.
  • McIntosh and Crandall engineering company in business.
• 1910 - Population: 20,468.
• 1916 - Union Station operated until 1953.
• 1920 - First aircraft lands at Burlington International Airport.
• 1922
  • State Tree Nursery relocates from Burlington to Essex.
  • Champlain Valley Fair begins in nearby Essex.
• 1925 - Trinity College founded.
• 1926 - Ira Allen Chapel dedicated.
• 1930 - Flynn Theatre built.
• 1948 - U.S. Coast Guard Station Burlington established on Juniper Island.
• 1953 - Ethan Allen Air Force Base activated.
• 1964 - Burlington High School moves to current location; as part of a major realignment of the city's schools, Edmunds Elementary opens on the former campus replacing Adams (sold off and repurposed as office space) and Converse (demolished in urban renewal) schools.
• 1967
  • City Council expands to 13 aldermen.
  • Population: 35,531.
• 1969 - Howard Center headquartered in city.
• 1972 - Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception destroyed by arson.
• 1973 - Burlington International Airport new terminal opens.
• 1977 - Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception re-built (closed 2018)
• 1978 - Ben & Jerry's in business.
• 1981
  • Church Street Marketplace constructed.
  • Bernie Sanders becomes mayor.
• 1983 - City government Community and Economic Development Office established.
• 1989
  • Outright Vermont founded.
  • Peter Clavelle becomes mayor.
• 1990
  • Burlington City Arts established.
  • Cara Wick designs the flag of Burlington as a school project.
• 1993
  • City Council expands to 14 councilors.
  • Population: 39,127.
• 1998 - City website online.
• 2000 - "Legacy Plan" for development created.

21st century

• 2003 - Howard Dean presidential campaign, 2004 headquartered in Burlington.
• 2006 - Bob Kiss becomes mayor.
• 2009 - Vermont Daily News begins publication.
• 2010
  • Population: 42,417
  • The city-owned Burlington Telecom cable provider is unable to pay the city of Burlington the $17 million it owes. As a result, Moody's downrates the debt for the city to A2, "upper medium". Moody's also downrates the credit rating for Burlington International Airport.
• 2012 - Miro Weinberger becomes mayor.
• 2014 - with the purchase of the Winooski 1 hydroelectric project on the Winooski River electricity comes from 100 percent renewable sources
• 2015 - Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2016 headquartered in Burlington.
• 2017 - Owen and Lucas Marchessault win a competition to redesign the former flag of Burlington. Their winning design is the current flag of the city.