Museum Profile
Bennington Battle Monument State Historic Site
On August 16, 1777, Vermont’s Green Mountain Boys, the New Hampshire Militia, and volunteers from Massachusetts, defeated British troops charged with capturing provisions stored at the Bennington military supply depot—the site where the monument stands today.
Designing of a monument to mark the site of a critical supply depot began in earnest in 1876 with the incorporation of the Bennington Battle Monument Association. Former Governor Hiland Hall spearheaded the commemoration efforts, fearing that “a smaller monument would remain unknown to the world and would dwindle into an obscure art gallery.” The third design of J. Phillip Rinn, a well-known Boston architect, developed into the 306-foot monument that we see today. Ground was broken on June 4, 1887 with a ceremony marking the laying of the cornerstone on the 110th anniversary of the battle. The two-ton capstone was set on November 25, 1889. Bennington Battle Monument was dedicated on August 19, 1891 with a grand ceremony lead by President Benjamin Harrison and a gathering of tens of thousand onlookers.
The exterior of the stone monument is constructed of Sandy Hill dolomite, a blue-gray magnesian limestone quarried from the Town of Kingsbury, New York. J. Phillip Rinn also designed the 417-step interior stair. With its wide sloping treads and low risers, the Rinn stair made for a gradual climb to the monument’s observation level that provides spectacular open views of Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts. The State of Vermont was deeded ownership of the Battle Monument, 1930 gift shop, and monument property in 1953 from the Bennington Battle Monument and Historical Association.
