The town was originally granted in 1760 as part of the New Hampshire Grants and named Bessborough. However, it was regranted by Vermont in 1786 as Dunmore, and the town's first settlers of EuropeEuropean descent were led by Dr. Jonathan Arnold, a member of the Continental Congress and the author of Rhode Island's act of secession from the United Kingdom in May, 1776. Arnold left Rhode Island in 1787 and he and six other families built their homes in what is now the center of town. By 1790 the town had grown to 143 inhabitants, and the first town meeting took place in Arnold's home that year, where the name St, Johnsbury was adopted. According to local lore, Vermont founder Ethan Allen himself proposed naming the town St. John in honor of his friend Jean de Crèvecoeur, a French-born author and agriculturist and a friend of Benjamin Franklin (he was known in the United States as J. Hector St. John). According to this account, de Crèvecoeur suggested instead the unusual St. Johnsbury to differentiate it from Saint John, New Brunswick. In the mid-1800s, St. Johnsbury became a minor manufacturing center, with the main products being Scale (measurement)scales — the platform scale was invented there by Thaddeus Fairbanks in 1830 — and maple syrup and related products. With the coming of the railroad line from Boston to Montreal in the 1850s, St. Johnsbury grew quickly and was named the shire town (county seat) in 1856, replacing Danville, VermontDanville. One of the two founders of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935, Robert Holbrook Smith — better known as "Bob Smith (doctor)"Dr. Bob" Smith" — was a native of St. Johnsbury. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Johnsbury%2C_Vermont

August 2008 Recovery Highlights for St. Johnsbury IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact Dick B.; dickb@dickb.com; (808) 874 4876; www.DickB.com • August 2008 Inspirations for Spiritual Recovery from Alcoholism/Addictions at St. Johnsbury, Vermont. A precursor to the national recovery month in September. August 8, 1879: Birth on Summer Street of Robert Holbrook Smith (A.A.’s cofounder Dr. Bob). August 9, 2008: St. Johnsbury Summerfest and new St. Johnsbury Historic Walking Tour including: Dr. Bob’s birthplace on Summer Street Dr. Bob’s family church, North Congregational Church, St. Johnsbury, on Main Street--with the new Dr. Bob Core Library in the North Congregational Church August 12, 2008: Senator Leahy will cut the ribbon for the newly-renovated Welcome Center • What Is Available in St. Johnsbury for the Recovery Community as Recovery Month Approaches A New Book about Dr. Bob and St. Johnsbury: Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good Book as a Youngster in Vermont by Dick B. and Ken B. An Earlier Book: Dr. Bob and His Library: A Major Spiritual Source by Dick B. Free copies given to the earliest visitors at the Dr. Bob Core Library, North Congregational Church Free access to early A.A. spiritual history and roots in Vermont: books and other historically-important materials are available at the Dr. Bob Core Library at North Congregational Church Free access to many books and other materials at the North Congregational Church, the Athenaeum, the Academy, and the Fairbanks Museum which show St. Johnsbury’s impact on the Smith family: The Judge Walter Smith Family, and the enormous Fairbanks family influences. North Congregational Church worship, Sunday School, prayer meetings, Bible study. The Christian Endeavor Society, conversion, Bible, prayer meetings, and Quiet Hour events. The “Great Awakening” of 1875, revivals, conversions, and their impact on the community. The YMCA lay evangelists, revivals, town-wide union church events, and YMCA building. St. Johnsbury Academy—its curriculum, chapel, Bible study, church service requirements, and Congregationalist and Fairbanks family emphasis. • In a few choice phrases, St. Johnsbury’s Dr. Bob told the recovery world “Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!” “We believed the answer to all our problems was in the Good Book.” “We got the basic ideas from our study of the Good Book.” “I had refreshed my memory of the Good Book, and I had had excellent training in that as a youngster.” “Cultivate the habit of prayer. Read the Bible.” • May this August opportunity usher in recovery visitors to see how and why early A.A. succeeded!