On March 13, 2020, Governor Phil Scott declared an official state of emergency in Vermont due to the viral disease COVID-19. Over the following weeks, he supplemented that order with a number of restrictions to movement, business, and daily life.  Meanwhile, public health and medical systems ramped up their preparations to combat the global pandemic that had now reached Vermont.

Vermonters have found themselves in a new world practically overnight, with many experiencing job loss, difficult emotions, unrecognizable daily routines, and a host of other difficulties and challenges. They are reacting in every imaginable way, as they have throughout history.

For nearly two centuries, the Vermont Historical Society has documented and shared Vermont’s story. We have collected photos, letters, diaries, and objects related to happy times and sad times, and we will continue to do so for centuries to come.

Today, we’re documenting the crisis that we are facing together. We are employing digital archiving technology and crowdsourcing so that researchers in the future can study how the outbreak of the coronavirus affected life in Vermont in the year 2020. We thank you for your contributions to this effort.

If you’d like to learn more about the Vermont Historical Society and the work we do to connect you to Vermont’s story, visit vermonthistory.org.