Things invented in Vermont? Most people figure the Green Mountain State gave us maple syrup, cheddar and a lot of mud in April. But Vermont has also given the world the electric motor, the platform scale, the first photographs of snowflakes and a balm that cows and hockey players both swear by. Not bad for a state with more cows than you can count and one stoplight in some towns.
Here are 10 things invented in Vermont (or made famous there), in rough order from oldest to newest. Where the credit gets argued about, we'll tell you. Vermonters love a good argument almost as much as a good creemee.
1. The Gas Engine and the Steamboat Tinkerer: Samuel Morey of Fairlee
Samuel Morey of Fairlee spent years on the Connecticut River tinkering with steam-powered boats, and in 1826 he received a U.S. patent for an early internal combustion engine. He never got rich off any of it. Lots of inventors fought over steamboat credit back then, so we'll just say Morey was in the thick of it, and he did it from a Vermont riverbank.
2. The Platform Scale (about 1830): Thaddeus Fairbanks of St. Johnsbury
The Fairbanks brothers ran a hemp operation in St. Johnsbury, and weighing wagonloads of hemp was a pain. Thaddeus Fairbanks came up with a scale built around a platform and a set of levers, so you could drive the whole wagon on, weigh it, then weigh it empty and do the math. It caught on almost overnight, and Fairbanks scales ended up weighing stuff all over the world. The Fairbanks family also helped found the St. Johnsbury Academy, the Fairbanks Museum and the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. A scale paid for a lot of good stuff.
3. The Electric Motor (patented 1837): Thomas Davenport of Brandon
Thomas Davenport was a blacksmith in Brandon with very little schooling. After seeing a demonstration of a powerful electromagnet, he scraped together the money for one, built another and used them to spin a wheel. He's credited with building one of the first electric motors in America, and he got his patent in 1837. Some folks say his wife Emily deserves a share of the credit, and a neighbor's family says the same about their guy. The motor is in the Smithsonian now. Either way, it started in a Brandon blacksmith shop.
4. The Safety Elevator: Elisha Otis, Born in Halifax
Elisha Graves Otis was born in Halifax, Vermont, in 1811. In 1854 he stood on an elevator platform at the New York Crystal Palace exhibition, had the rope cut, and showed that his safety brake would catch the car. That demo is why people trust elevators enough to ride them 40 floors up. A Vermont kid made skyscrapers practical. Remember that next time you push the button in Boston.
5. The First Snowflake Photos (1885): Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley of Jericho
Wilson Bentley, a Jericho farmer, strapped a camera to a microscope and in 1885 captured what's widely recognized as the first photograph of a single snowflake. Over his lifetime he photographed thousands of snow crystals, and his work showed the world that no two looked exactly alike. Only in Vermont does a guy see a blizzard and think, "Perfect. Let me get my camera."
6. The Open Fly Reel (1874): Charles Orvis of Manchester
Charles F. Orvis opened his fishing tackle shop in Manchester, and in 1874 he patented a lightweight, open-frame fly reel that's often called the first modern fly reel. The company is still based in Vermont, and it's still outfitting folks who stand in a cold river for fun. If you'd rather be fishing, we get it. If you'd rather be in Vermont, our Love Vermont T-Shirt says it for you.
7. Bag Balm (1899): Wells River's Cow Udder Cure
In 1899, a pharmacist in Wells River came up with a salve to soothe cracked cow udders. John Norris of nearby Lyndonville bought the rights and put it in a green tin decorated with red clovers, Vermont's state flower. Today people use it on chapped hands, lips and heels. Admiral Byrd even took some on an Antarctic expedition, and the herdsman reported it healed a frostbitten cow. Only in Vermont does a cow remedy end up in a gym bag.
8. The Optical Comparator (1919): Hartness and Porter of Springfield
Springfield, Vermont was the heart of "Precision Valley," a cluster of machine tool companies. James Hartness and Russell Porter developed the optical comparator there around 1919, a gadget that projects a magnified shadow of a part so machinists can check it against a template. You've never heard of it, but it helped factories across the world make better parts. Quiet Vermont genius, as usual.
9. The Martin-Wasp: A Fancy Car From Bennington
In the 1920s, Karl Martin built the Martin-Wasp in Bennington, a pricey car with an aluminum body over a wood frame. It was a beauty, and only a small number were made. A Vermont-made luxury car sounds like a joke, but the Wasp was the real deal, and according to Vermont lore, a movie star bought one right off the show floor.
10. America's First Commercial Ski Tow (1934): Woodstock
In the winter of 1934, folks near Woodstock rigged up a rope tow powered by a Model T engine at Clint Gilbert's farm in Pomfret, and it's widely considered the first commercially operated ski tow in the country. No more hiking back up the hill. The pasture is now part of Suicide Six. If you want more Vermont bragging rights, see our fun facts about Vermont.
Honorable Mentions
Vermont's inventors didn't stop there. The Windsor Armory is remembered for early volume production of rifles with interchangeable parts, and Vermont's marble, slate and granite businesses kept a whole lot of folks employed. If you want more, read up on famous people from Vermont, watch the movies filmed in Vermont, or compare notes with things invented in New Hampshire next door.
Made in Vermont, Worn Everywhere
Vermont is small, stubborn and a little weird, and that's why it keeps coming up with stuff the rest of us didn't think of. Rep the Green Mountain State with our Go Green Vermont Highway Sign T-Shirt. What's your favorite Vermont invention? Tell us. We're listening.
Stay wicked proud, Vermont,
Ryan & the Chowdaheadz Crew