Adamant is a small,
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in the town of
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
in
Washington County,
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
, United States, in the central part of Vermont.
The village is situated on the town line between Calais to the north and
East Montpelier to the south. There is no true boundary to define the village, and as such, there is great debate as to what constitutes residence. This is, however, purely theoretical as there is no legal, governmental, or commercial status associated with residence. The debate has given rise to the common
aphorism
An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...
that "Adamant is a state of mind".
The village was originally known as
Sodom from its inception prior to the mid-19th century
as a
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...
-town.
Local lore tells the story of a preacher slamming his fist on the pulpit proclaiming, "I am adamant that we change the name of this town!" In 1905, residents petitioned the state legislature for a name change to "Adamant."
The quarries remained an active part of the Vermont granite industry well into the mid-20th century. The small, rural village has no paved roads or traffic lights.
The village center is the member-owned Adamant Co-op, a
general store
A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
and
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
located at the junction of Haggett, Quarry, Center and Sodom Pond Roads. Founded in 1935, it is the state's oldest
co-operative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...
.
Perhaps the village's most notable inclusion is the
Adamant Music School, a summer-long piano and musicology school founded in 1942. Adamant is also home to the Quarryworks Theater, a community theater set on the grounds of Adamant's largest quarry.
Adamant was mentioned in the 2000 blockbuster movie ''
What Lies Beneath
''What Lies Beneath'' is a 2000 American supernatural horror thriller film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, with supporting performances from Diana Scarwid, Miranda Otto, James Remar, Joe Mort ...
'' starring
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...
and
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( ; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. She was one of the most bankable stars in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood during the 1980s and 1990s, and her List of Michelle Pfeiffer performances, performances ...
.
References
External links
Adamant Co-op
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Vermont
Unincorporated communities in Washington County, Vermont