Bennington Battle Monument #AtoZChallenge

 Bennington, Vermont is the fifth largest city in the state of Vermont.  If I told you its population was a bit over 8,600, you would get a feel for the fact that Vermont is mainly a rural state.

Bennington lies right on the Vermont/New York border, and when you cross over on the road from New York to Vermont, you are immediately in a different world - a world without billboards (Vermont bans them) and suddenly lower speed limits.

So, what if I told you that, if this was a building and not a monument, this would be the tallest building in Vermont?  This is the 306 foot (93m) Bennington Battle Monument, which commemorates a Revolutionary War battle in  August of 1777 that didn't take place in Vermont, but, rather, about 10 miles (16 km) away, in the colony that became New York State.  At the time, Vermont was an independent republic formed in January of 1777, and remained so until 1791.  This is a part of history I don't remember being taught in school, but maybe I wasn't paying attention.

The monument was completed in 1891.

There are 407 stairs to the top (not open to the public due to being unsafe), and an elevator (which was broken the day we visited, and we were told by locals this happens a lot). We weren't charged to get in because the elevator was broken.  There's a small museum in the base of the monument. 

Here is some of the stone that forms the base, a dolomite (type of limestone) rich in fossils.

Some history on this granite stone.

If you are interested in what the tallest building in Vermont is, it's an 11 story apartment building in the largest city, Burlington.

We'll spend a couple of more days (Monday and Tuesday) in Vermont, and then it's down to a different state and a different historic area.

"B" day for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:  "From Florida to Vermont With Stops In Between".