Montpelier Vermont may be the smallest capital city in the US, but it is a great place to visit
The Vermont State House in Montpelier is made from granite 
quarried in the state because they really like to keep things local. Walking up to the building you will notice how well they keep the grounds. It is very pretty with a beautiful display of flowers leading up to the front steps. It made for some great pictures. Our tour guide did a great job of showing us the building and giving us some interesting facts. At the start of the tour she informed us that they will soon be redoing the gold dome and she brought out a “bar of gold” that would be equal in weight to what they put on the dome. The kids were thrilled to hold a “bar of gold.”
Like most of the capitols we have toured, this one had a fire in it’s early days making them extra cautious when rebuilding, most of it is made of stone or metal
In the house chamber our tour guide demonstrated the acoustics of the building by having one of us stand on one side of the gallery and another on the other side, when we whispered we could hear each other perfectly! We always enjoy when we learn something from the tour that we wouldn’t have learned otherwise. In the Vermont state house we toured a room that has been used for many purposes, but was restored to its historical accuracy in the 2000’s. It had stained glass pictures in the ceiling which were missing when the current ceiling had been removed. They ended up finding the missing glass in the attic, but it had been broken into lots pieces. It took a couple of years before it was finally restored and put back into it’s rightful place. The workers did such a good job of figuring out how the pieces went that it was hard to even tell that it had been broken! The Vermont state house is a beautiful building and definitely worth stopping in.
After our tour we headed over to Hubbard park to have a picnic lunch
It is a very large park with lots of hiking and bike trails, we enjoyed watching the birds while we ate. We really liked the small town feel of Montpelier and that they are so supportive of small businesses. You can check out more of our Vermont experiences on YOU TUBE or by reading the following articles.
Rock of Ages
http://statebystatenet.ipage.com/rock-of-ages/
Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks
http://statebystatenet.ipage.com/morse-farm-maple-sugarworks/
Here are more pictures and the link to the capitol:
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/centralvermont/cv20.htm
and Hubbard Park
http://www.montpelier-vt.org/238/Hubbard-Park
I didn’t realize there was a Montpelier in the United States — I’ve been to the city by that name in France. I wonder if there is a connection with French roots? I, too, love a good historic tour and learning more about the history of an area. Looks like you had a great visit!
Fascinating! I was under the impression that Providence was the smallest capital in the USA but you learn something new everyday. Boston has a gold-capped state house too, is that a staple architectural construct for each state capitol?
No, quite a few have domes but every state Capitol building is different. Louisiana and Florida have sky scrappers.
I had never heard about Montpelier earlier but it really sounds interesting. The places which makes you learn so much are always lovely. Holding gold bar will be like a dream. I am sure your kids might had a great time.
Montpelier looks enchanting. I like the old world charm of the place that comes across vividly in the picture. I love the heritage and history associated with the different capitols of the US. It is simply fascinating.
I loved Montpelier when I was there 4 years ago. I had no idea, though, that it’s the smallest capital in the U.S.! That’s super cute. I wish I had toured the capitol building because it sounds interesting. I love that the kids got a kick out of holding the bar of gold.
It’s great when the kids are involved! Such an experience to be able to hold an actual bar of gold. I would want that as well.
The bar was made of iron and painted gold, it weighed the same amount as the gold they will re-leaf the dome. A great hands on way for the kids to see how little gold it actually takes to leaf the domes of these fancy buildings.
Montpelier is a city that needs to be discovered. Since it owns the crown of the smallest capital in the USA, it is a good enough reason to visit there. It looks like a good place to visit. I hope you enjoyed the tour.
I remember visiting Montpelier. Years ago but I did enjoy my short visit to Vermont. Didn’t know it was the smallest state capital in the USA. Learn something new today 😀
What a lovely visit to a capital building most people probably haven’t even thought about! I like that the tour gave some extra information and helped you to discover more interesting tidbits about the place.
There’s so much about America that’s required to be discovered. DIdn’t know about the smallest capital at all. Also, i like such tours where instead of just saying the stories they involve us as if we were a part of it.. It’s so much fun!