In her recently published book, "Hill Farms: Surviving Modern Times in Early Twentieth-Century Vermont," historian Dona Brown focuses on the small mountain town of Jamaica in southern Vermont. On October 15, 2025 at 5 p.m., she will describe what she learned from a close analysis of field notes gathered during a 1930 study of Jamaica conducted by the Vermont Eugenics Society at a presentation co-sponsored by the UVM Libraries and the Center for Research on Vermont in the Marsh Room, Billings Library.
Brown explains that while the Vermont Eugenics Survey is remembered today mostly for promoting the institutionalization and sterilization of vulnerable populations and conducting flawed research that had destructive impacts, the women who worked for the survey were painstaking record keepers. Brown recognized that these women left behind a great gift to researchers: an enormous treasure trove of hand-written field notes. These documents offered Brown a rare opportunity to hear the voices of ordinary people at a moment of great change in Vermont’s small rural communities.
“Dona Brown spent many hours in Special Collections, consulting with library staff to find resources about Vermont agriculture, the Eugenics Survey and rural life in the 1930s," said Prudence Doherty, UVM Silver Special Collections librarian. "We are excited to see the end product, 'Hill Farms,' and to host this presentation.”
Dona Brown retired from teaching history at UVM in 2023 after nearly 30 years. Over those years, she taught courses in everything from book history to American regionalism, but Vermont has always been a focal point for both her teaching and her research. Her earlier books were primarily cultural history: "Inventing New England" (1994) examined the evolution of New England’s regional identity through a study of its nineteenth-century tourist industry; her second book, "Back to the Land" (2011), explored the ideas and practices of American back-to-the-landers over the course of the twentieth century. Since her retirement, she completed her new book, "Hill Farms." Brown says that working on this book showed her that she is still just beginning to learn about Vermont’s history.
“My debts to librarians and archivists have also been piling up for years. At UVM’s Special Collections library, the entire staff is owed many thanks," said Brown. "Prudence Doherty worked closely with me, not only on my research, but also on a series of graduate seminars that taught me as much as they did the students.”