Who Was Ethan Allen?
Patriot. Rebel. Farmer. Philosopher. Vermonter.
Ethan Allen (1738-1789) was an unusually colorful backwoodsman-turned-statesman. He is now seen as a folk hero for his major contributions to the early history of Vermont, which was then the northern frontier of the emerging nation.
Ethan Allen is best known for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War and for his leadership of the Green Mountain Boys. He was also a Deist and philosopher: Ethan published Reason, the Only Oracle of Man, among other works. After the Revolutionary War, Ethan became one of the early Anglo inhabitants of Burlington, VT, and lived on his property in the Winooski River Intervale (now the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum) from 1787 until his death.
As is so often the case with folk heroes, it is hard to separate fact from myth and form an accurate picture of Ethan Allen. Hero to some, rogue to others, it depends on with whom you speak!
“There is an original something in him that commands attention.”
George Washington, of Ethan Allen in 1778
Explore the Life of Ethan Allen
The Rebel and the Tory: Ethan Allen, Phillip Skene, and the Dawn of Vermont
Historian Gary Shattuck shines a fresh light on the 200-year-old origin story of Vermont.
An Intimate History of the Ethan and Fanny Allen Family in Burlington 1787-1789
Local historian Glenn Fay provides an in-depth look at Ethan’s family life, from moving his household to the young town of Burlington to building a successful farm.
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