# Timeline of Burlington, Vermont

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Burlington, Vermont, USA

## Prior to 19th century

* 1763 - Town charter granted by the British Province of New Hampshire.
* 1774 - Settlement established.
* 1791
** March 4: Town becomes part of the State of Vermont.
** November 3: University of Vermont founded.
** Burlington becomes shire town of Chittenden County.
* 1797 - Burlington Mercury newspaper begins publication.

## 19th century

* 1801 - Vermont Sentinel newspaper begins publication.
* 1802 - Court house built.
* 1804 - Grasse Mount built, now a campus building of the University of Vermont
* 1810 - Population: 1,690.
* 1813 - August 2: Town besieged by British forces.
* 1815 - September: University of Vermont begins operating again.
* 1816 - Unitarian Church built.
* 1823 - Methodist Episcopal Church established.
* 1825 - LaFayette visits town.
* 1826 - Champlain Transportation Company founded.
* 1827
** Free Press Weekly begins publication.
** Champlain Glass Company established.
* 1829
** Lyman block built.
** Burlington High School and Burlington Fire Company incorporated.
* 1830 - Episcopal Society of Burlington founded.
* 1834 - Baptist church established.
* 1842 - Burlington Mechanics' Institute founded.
* 1845 - Winooski Mill Company established.
* 1847
** E. & E. Lyman in business.
** Commercial Bank of Burlington and Burlington Savings Bank chartered.
* 1848 - Central Vermont Railway began operating (until 1995).
* 1849
** Rutland & Burlington Railroad built.
* 1852 - Burlington Lyceum founded.
* 1853 - Medical College established as part of the University of Vermont.
* 1854
** Town Hall built.
** Vermont Episcopal Institute incorporated.
* 1856 - Van Sicklen & Walker grocers in business.
* 1857
** Custom House built.
** Burlington Breakwater Lights established.
* 1858
** Marine Hospital built.
** Burlington Times newspaper begins publication.
* 1862 - University of Vermont library building constructed.
* 1865
** Burlington chartered as a city; town of South Burlington established.
** Albert Catlin becomes mayor.
** Vermont Agricultural College incorporated with the University of Vermont.
** Home for Destitute Children founded.
* 1866 - St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum incorporated.
* 1867
** J.M. Henry & Sons in business.
** Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception built.
* 1869 - First Methodist Church of Burlington built.
* 1870
** City market building constructed.
** E.S. Fullam & Co. in business.
** Population: 14,387.
* 1872
** Winooski & Burlington Horse Railroad incorporated.
** Wells, Richardson & Co. in business.
* 1873
** Fletcher Free Library established.
** County courthouse built.
* 1874 - Park House (hotel) in business.
* 1877 - Howard Opera House built (approximate date).
* 1878 - Burlington Commercial School established.
* 1879 - Mary Fletcher Hospital founded.
* 1880 - Population: 11,365.
* 1884 - Burlington Venetian Blind Company incorporated.
* 1885
** Old Ohavi Zedek Synagogue built.
** Urban A. Woodbury becomes mayor.
* 1886 - Daniel Webster Robinson House built.
* 1887 - Cathedral of Saint Joseph completed.
* 1888 - Burlington Cotton Mills incorporated.
* 1889
** St. Mary's academy founded.
** Baldwin Refrigerator Company established (approximate date).
* 1890 - Population: 14,590.
* 1894
** Queen City Cotton Co. incorporated.
** William J. Van Patten becomes mayor.
** Burlington Daily News begins publication.
** Fort Ethan Allen established.
* 1897
** Burlington Masonic Temple built.
** Battery Park established.
* 1900 - Population: 18,640.

## 20th century

* 1902 - Fletcher Free Library re-located.
* 1904 - Strong Theatre opens.
* 1905
** Burlington Electric Department created.
** McIntosh and Crandall engineering company in business.
* 1910 - Population: 20,468.
* 1916 - Union Station operated until 1953.
* 1920 - First aircraft lands at Burlington International Airport.
* 1922
** State Tree Nursery relocates from Burlington to Essex.
** Champlain Valley Fair begins in nearby Essex.
* 1925 - Trinity College founded.
* 1926 - Ira Allen Chapel dedicated.
* 1930 - Flynn Theatre built.
* 1948 - U.S. Coast Guard Station Burlington established on Juniper Island.
* 1953 - Ethan Allen Air Force Base activated.
* 1964 - Burlington High School moves to current location; as part of a major realignment of the city's schools, Edmunds Elementary opens on the former campus replacing Adams (sold off and repurposed as office space) and Converse (demolished in urban renewal) schools.
* 1967
** City Council expands to 13 aldermen.
** Population: 35,531.
* 1969 - Howard Center headquartered in city.
* 1972 - Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception destroyed by arson.
* 1973 - Burlington International Airport new terminal opens.
* 1977 - Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception re-built (closed 2018)
* 1978 - Ben & Jerry's in business.
* 1981
** Church Street Marketplace constructed.
** Bernie Sanders becomes mayor.
* 1983 - City government Community and Economic Development Office established.
* 1989
** Outright Vermont founded.
** Peter Clavelle becomes mayor.
* 1990
** Burlington City Arts established.
** Cara Wick designs the flag of Burlington as a school project.
* 1993
** City Council expands to 14 councilors.
** Population: 39,127.
* 1998 - City website online.
* 2000 - "Legacy Plan" for development created.

## 21st century

* 2003 - Howard Dean presidential campaign, 2004 headquartered in Burlington.
* 2006 - Bob Kiss becomes mayor.
* 2009 - Vermont Daily News begins publication.
* 2010
** Population: 42,417
** The city-owned Burlington Telecom cable provider is unable to pay the city of Burlington the $17 million it owes. As a result, Moody's downrates the debt for the city to A2, "upper medium". Moody's also downrates the credit rating for Burlington International Airport.
* 2012 - Miro Weinberger becomes mayor.
* 2014 - with the purchase of the Winooski 1 hydroelectric project on the Winooski River electricity comes from 100 percent renewable sources
* 2015 - Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2016 headquartered in Burlington.
* 2017 - Owen and Lucas Marchessault win a competition to redesign the former flag of Burlington. Their winning design is the current flag of the city.