page_title: Swanton (town), Vermont
section_title: Swans
hierarchical_section_title: Swanton (town), Vermont / Swans
caption_attribution_description: English: Two hundred years ago, an Englishman by the name of Captain William Swanton founded what is now known as the Town of Swanton, Vermont. On the occasion for the 3rd annual Swanton Summer Festival it was deemed desirable that a link with Britain, the homeland of the founder of Swanton, should be established in a tangible manner, and thus on the 29th day of July, in the year 1961, two swans were formally presented by Hon. T.A. Kirkland, M.D., minister without Portfolio, Province of Quebec, and accepted by F. Ray Keyser, Jr., Governor of the State of Vermont. The swans, by kind permission of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and in conjunction with the Norfolk Naturalist Trust of Hickling Broad, Norfolk, England and the office of the Clerk of the Smallburgh Rural District Council, which includes the Village of Swanton Abbot, were obtained and transported by Trans-Canada Air Lines. The Swanton Chamber of Commerce, which plans the Summer Festival, hopes that the swans will serve as an example to all who pass of the international friendship which exists between, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
context_page_description: Swanton is a town in Franklin County, Vermont. The population was 6,427 at the 2010 census. The town includes the village of Swanton.
context_section_description: In 1961, Queen Elizabeth II gifted a pair of her Royal Swans to the Town of Swanton at their annual Summer Festival. Swanton Chamber of Commerce members named the swans Sam (for Uncle Sam) and Betty (for Queen Elizabeth). The idea for the swans came from a summer visitor to the area, Harry Gibbons, who worked in public relations for the International Air Transport Authority of Montreal. He presented his idea to the Chamber and a letter of request was sent to Buckingham Palace. The request was granted and the swans were sent from Hickling Broad, Norfolk, England through the Smallburgh Rural District Council which includes the village of Swanton Abbott.
  "The swans were caught during the annual "swan-upping" outing held by members of England's ancient guilds, who mark the Queen's swans with a nick on the beak to separate them from their less exalted brethren." 
  The swans were presented to Vermont Governor F. Ray Keyser by a representative of the Canadian Government at a ceremony attended by dignitaries from both sides of the border.
  Before summer 2016, the swans died of old age. After a gap of two years, a new set of swans (still named Sam and Betty) were secured and placed in their home in Village Green Park, surrounded by a black fence. The new swans are not related to, or descended from, the original, but they are still called the Royal Swans.
caption: A new pair of Royal Swans took up residence in Swanton's Village Green Park in 2017.
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