(side 1)
In 1884, the State General Assembly authorized an initial $10,000 appropriation to establish a soldiers' home to care for disabled veterans of the Civil War. The former country estate of Seth B. Hunt, erected in 1860, was chosen. The Soldiers' Home of Vermont opened on April 1, 1887, with 25 veterans. The 200-acre site included a working farm for able members. In the 1880s, the first building campaign expanded the barracks and added a chapel and hospital facility. The original one-acre cemetery was enlarged to 17 acres, interring more than 300 veterans. The capital construction program of the 1960s added a social hall, new chapel, new barrack wings, dining hall, and the first veterans nursing home care unit in the U.S.
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(side 2)
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In 1898, soldiers of the Mexican and Spanish Wars and every subsequent conflict were granted admission to the Soldiers' Home. By the 1960s, the focus shifted from domiciliary care to long-term extended care with facilities for 159 veterans. The Soldiers' Home of Vermont was renamed the Vermont Veterans' Home in 1971. Today, the Vermont Veterans' Home is the second oldest operating state veterans' home in the U.S. and the only veterans' home in Vermont. The State
continues to honor our nation's veterans by providing a home, community, and exceptional health care at this site. Memorial areas honor Vermont Medal of Honor winners, Gold Star Mothers, and Vermont veterans from all of our nation's conflicts since the Civil War.
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