Talked to local historian vince feeney about the life of ira allen and his influence on the city in vermont. Vince here we are in whats called College Green of the university of vermont. Probably one of the prettiest spots in burlington. Behind me we have a statue of ira allen. Was the youngest of the six allen brothers, the most famous of whom was ethan allen. The statue is here because some would say that ira allen was the founder of the university of vermont and as this inscription on the statue says, some claim he was the founder of the state of vermont. I think there would be a lot of people who would contend that is not exactly true, particularly his older brother ethan might have something to say about that and people like the first governor of the independent state of vermont. Allen, andthat ira about 1772, came up here to vermont from connecticut, where the allens live, and at the time for montt was a New Territory being opened up. It was a territory claimed by the governor of
Ethan allen was one of vermonts founding fathers. He was the first colonel commandant of the original Green Mountain boys, and the Green Mountain boys were at one time the Largest Paramilitary Force in north america, if not for the actions of ethan allen, and the other Green Mountain boys, vermont may very well have looked different than it does today. Announcer welcome to burlington, vermont on American History tv. Located on Lake Champlain, about 45 minutes south of the canadian border. It is home to the university of vermont, and it is the states most popular city with about 42,000 residents. Our comcastp of cable partners, over the next 75 minutes, we will explore the city and region. We begin on the waters of Lake Champlain. To hear how important it was to the citys origins. Welcome to Lake Champlain. We are out here today on the spirit of ethan allen interiors. Great opportunity to tip to talk about americas first great lake when it comes to historic significance. Lake champlain