The Green Mountain Parkway was a proposed

scenic highway A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoint ...

in the U.S. state of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. The project was first introduced around 1934, and was proposed to run for over ridges of the

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Quebec, Canada. The part of the same range that is in ...

. The parkway was modeled after the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenand ...

Skyline Drive Skyline Drive is a National Parkway that runs the entire length of the National Park Service's Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, generally along the ridge of the mountains. The drive's northern terminus is a ...

in the American South. In 1935, the project was approved, and a referendum was held to choose between a 1936 or 1941 effective date; voters chose the latter date. By 1937, the parkway project became unpopular, and the 1937 legislature repealed the Green Mountain Parkway Act, effectively shuttering the proposal.

History

The Green Mountain Parkway was proposed in 1933, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. It proposed as a large project to offer employment to the 16,000 unemployed Vermonters at the time, and to stimulate the economy, including by increasing tourism and recreation in the state. The project involved a 260-mile highway among a 50,000-acre national park. The state of Vermont would be required to provide $500,000 for purchasing rights of way. Colonel William Wilgus, former chief engineer for the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

, first proposed the highway. By April 1934, support grew for the project, and U.S. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

convinced Congress to approve $50,000 for a ten-month feasibility study for the parkway. The highway project was divisive among local residents. Prominent Vermont supporters included Governor Stanley C. Wilson; the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and its executive secretary, James P. Taylor, one of the founders of the

Green Mountain Club The Green Mountain Club is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to preserving and protecting Vermont's Long Trail. The Long Trail is the oldest long-distance hiking trail in America and stretches from the Massachusetts state line to the ...

and an early promoter of the

Long Trail The Long Trail is a hiking trail located in Vermont, running the length of the state. It is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, constructed between 1910 and 1930 by the Green Mountain Club. The club remains the primary organiza ...

; the State Planning Board; the editors of

The Burlington Free Press ''The Burlington Free Press'' (sometimes referred to as "BFP" or "the Free Press") is a digital and print community news organization based in Burlington, Vermont, and owned by Gannett. It is one of the official "newspapers of record" for the St ...

Brattleboro Reformer The ''Brattleboro Reformer'' is the third-largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Vermont. With a weekday circulation of just over 10,000, it is behind the ''Burlington Free Press'' and the ''Rutland Herald'', respectively. It publishes six d ...

, and

Bennington Banner ''The Bennington Banner'' is a daily newspaper published in Bennington, Vermont. The paper covers local, national, and world news. It is distributed throughout Southwestern Vermont and eastern New York (Rensselaer and Washington Counties). The pa ...

; and Vermont's notable resident authors

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Dorothy Canfield Fisher (February 17, 1879 – November 9, 1958) was an educational reformer, social activist, and best-selling American author in the early 20th century. She strongly supported women's rights, racial equality, and lifelong educat ...

and Sarah N. Cleghorn. Arguments in favor of the project included that the highway would open up the state to the rest of the country, breaking from its reputation as isolated and provincial. Supporters also noted that the state would receive $18 million for the project, while only contributing $500,000. These funds as well as benefits from the completed project were seen as fruitful for the state economy. Some residents opposed the project, including Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives Ernest E. Moore, the

Rutland Herald The ''Rutland Herald'' is the second largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Vermont (after ''The Burlington Free Press''). It is published in Rutland. With a daily circulation of about 12,000, it is the main source of news geared towards t ...

, and author

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...

, along with members of the Green Mountain Club, maintainers of the Long Trail. Reasons included that the state had recently provided flood relief bonds following the

Great Vermont Flood of 1927 The Great Vermont Flood of 1927 was a major flooding event in Vermont which occurred November 2–4, 1927. Following a very wet October, record levels of rainfall fell in early November. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated 53% of the state receiv ...

, and the project would add to the state debt. Southern Vermonters who operated tourism and recreational facilities were opposed to the highway, fearing that it would drain some visitor business to sites northward. As well, Vermonters disliked that the national park and parkway would divide the state in two parts.

Dog whistle A dog whistle (also known as silent whistle or Galton's whistle) is a type of whistle that emits sound in the ultrasonic range, which humans cannot hear but some other animals can, including dogs and domestic cats, and is used in their training ...

s were used to voice opposition to Jews and other foreigners visiting Vermont. Lieutenant Governor and later Governor

George Aiken George David Aiken (August 20, 1892November 19, 1984) was an American politician and horticulturist. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 64th governor of Vermont (1937–1941) before serving in the United States Senate for 34 years, ...

, as well as poet Arthur Wallace Peach prominently stated that the parkway could make Vermont like the Catskills, what they called the Jewish Alps. Act 17 of the Vermont State Legislature's 1935 Special Session was passed on December 14, 1935, approving a national park, establishing jurisdiction over it, and allocating funds to begin the project. A state-wide referendum was then held, asking voters to set a April 1, 1936, effective date (a yes vote) or April 1, 1941 (a no vote). On town meeting day (March 3) in 1936, the public voted "no", 42,318 to 30,897. Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, and Washington counties had predominantly voted "yes". The 1937 legislature was then able to repeal the Green Mountain Parkway Act, through Act 243 passed February 5, 1937. Interstate highways began construction elsewhere in Vermont in the 1950s with federal passage of the

Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, was enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law. With an original authorization of $25 billion for t ...

References

{{coord missing, Vermont Transportation in Vermont Unbuilt buildings and structures in the United States

History

See also

References