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by Margaret Pearl (Author)
Tucked away in the dark forests of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, St. Johnsbury was mostly unbroken wilderness when first chartered in 1786. Swinging axes soon made way for the burgeoning split-level town, with stately Main Street homes on St. Johnsbury Plain presiding in grandeur over the bustling commerce of Railroad Street below. Peggy Pearl brings a decidedly human element to this comprehensive history, wandering the graves of Mount Pleasant Cemetery and bringing to life the stories of those tanners, cobblers, millworkers and brick makers who made St. Johnsbury their home. With excerpts from vintage newspapers like the Caledonian-Record and the Farmer's Herald, Pearl unfolds the transformation from quiet mill town into picturesque manufacturing hub of Caledonia County.
Author Biography
A native of St. Johnsbury, Peggy Pearl is a graduate of St. Johnsbury Academy and Vermont's Lyndon State College, where she majored in history. In the 1980s, Peggy wrote human interest stories for the local paper, The Caledonia Independent. She is currently the Director of Education and History Curator at the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury. Peggy's curriculum and resource guide, History Comes to School, is used by educators throughout the region. Peggy's extensive research has led to several special exhibits at the Fairbanks Museum, including The Strong and Spirited-Women of the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont in the Civil War, Sheep in Vermont, and Vermont Inventors.
