Welcome to the wonderful world of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont –located in the northeastern corner of the state of Vermont, in the northeast corner of the United States. Like many others, some of my family members travelled to the Northeast Kingdom from Ireland in the early 1800s — settling there for good and finding work as farmers, servants, sawyers, tradespeople.
My maternal grandmother was born and raised in the Northeast Kingdom, moved away to New York City for employment, returned decades later with a husband to retire and settle. My grandmother and grandfather Rhoades, as well as Darling family members and many more of my relatives, are all buried and have their final resting places at the Woodmont Cemetery in East Burke.
My first son Noah is named after my grandmother’s father Noah Powers (the one who came over from Ireland), my middle name Powers comes from my maternal grandmother’s maiden name, and my second son Willoughby’s name hails from Lake Willoughby, Vermont’s deepest glacial lake, found in Westmore in the NEK.

In the summer months, we used to visit my Great Uncle Henry at the Lake Willoughby house [that could be his cottage in the image above] and at the Mountain View Farm on Darling Hill. Darling family members were involved in the operation of the Fifth Avenue Hotel [closed and demolished in 1908] in New York City and came to own quite a bit of land in the Northeast Kingdom.
The huge main house at Mountain View Farm was called Burklyn Mansion, because it straddled the town lines of Burke and Lyndon. Like the Darlings, other wealthy New Yorkers purchased and peopled their “little kingdoms” in the northeastern corner of Vermont. Thus, the Northeast Kingdom — the NEK. [Note: None of the Darling wealth ever filtered down far enough to reach me.]
There are abundant well-marked hiking trails in the Green Mountains in the Vermont State Parks which you can visit and enjoy — like Darling State Park and Willoughby State Forest. Depending on the season, there’s skiing, biking, hiking, or snowshoeing at Burke Mountain and on numerous other NEK trails.Follow links listed below for images of great color and beauty, for leads on seasonal and recreational activities, for museums and art galleries, for flea markets and village fairs, for quintessential white clapboard homes and questionable modern vacation mansions. Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom has bits of something for everyone, especially if you love old barns, sugar houses, maple syrup, seasonal changes, and sweet memories.

Vermont.com | Vermont Byways | Trip Advisor NEK | Travel the Kingdom | NEK Chamber of Commerce | Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom | Willoughvale Inn and Cottages | Inn at Mountain View (old Darling Mountain View Farm)

There’s lots to see and do and enjoy in the Northeast Kingdom. Each of the four seasons — five, if you count Mud Season — offers its own unique gifts and challenges. Roots run deep and strong in this part of Vermont — for me and many others — born and buried, wintering or simply summering, in this corner of emerald-green earth, where it can lonely as well as lovely.
Vermont author Archer Mayor‘s second detective novel is set in the fictitious village of Gannet in Essex County; Howard Frank Mosher also has written works of fiction set in fictitious Kingdom County. Contemporary poet Carol Potter lives and writes in the Northeast Kingdom. And Robert Frost wrote a poem about the Kingdom called “A Servant to Servants,” published in his 1915 volume North of Boston. The Kingdom is definitely north of there.
Another of my favorite little books is Talk Less and Say More  by University of Vermont Professor Wolfgang Mieder — and illustrated with simple woodcuts by Vermont artist Mary Azarian. Below, “Four Seasons” in Vermont found on Mary’s website, where you can view many of her other wondrous artworks. 
Last but not least, here’s a joke that helps illuminate the frugal nature and often wry common-sense character of NEK natives. To wit — “How many Vermonters does it take to change a light bulb? Three. One to change the bulb and two to sit around discussing how they liked the old one better.” And, do remember when you cross over one of the covered bridges to stop [safely, of course!], beep your horn twice, and kiss your sweetheart — or your dog. Enjoy!

. . . . .

Poet Guide: Susan Powers Bourne
First Image Credit: Patmac 13-Mine | CC BY-SA 3.0