Secretary of State

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Vermont State Archives

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The State Archives is an embodiment of the Secretary of State's constitutional role as the record keeper of the state. On October 23, 1779, a legislative committee, which had been appointed to "point out the office and duty" of the Secretary of State, enumerated the records to kept by the Secretary and stated his responsibility to "grant copies thereof...when requested."

On February 15, 1782, the Legislature agreed that with the exception of records belonging to the Executive Council, "all public acts, papers and records, that belong to the State... be deposited and remain in the hands of the Secretary of State."

Over time, various records were designated for deposit by law or rule with the Secretary, including gubernatorial records (1864) and legislative records (1917). The Secretary was directed to publish Vermont State Papers by Act #259 in 1912, which began the Archives formal publication program. In 1991, the law (3 V.S.A. §117) was amended to further clarify the archival responsibilities of the Secretary.

In addition to traditional responsibilities, the Archives maintains certification files on all 17,000 Vermont notaries public and certifies notary signatures. Within the limits of our resources, we also assist private Vermont repositories through technical advice and through our role as liaison to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.