View from highway - Photo St. Johnsbury, VT. welcome highway sign. Welcome to St. Johnsbury, VT. St. Johnsbury, VT. was settled by Jonathan Arnold, a Rhode Island native. He built the first frame dwelling in 1787, on a spot at the north end of Main Street now known as Arnold Park. Allen spent a considerable portion of his life in the effort to achieve independence for what is now Vermont, commanding (1770-1775) an irregular force called the Green Mountain Boys, so named in defiance of the New York threat to drive Vermont settlers off the fields and 'into the Green Mountains. Recreation in the out-of-doors is equally varied in the summer season. State parks and privately operated campgrounds provide everything from wilderness tent sites to complete hook-ups for RVs. Streams, ponds and lakes invite bass and trout fishing, canoeing, kayaking, sailing and boating. Winding blacktop roads are ideal for touring by car, motorcycle, or bicycle. Mountain resorts offer chair-lift assist to hiking and mountain bike trails, or extensive facilities for tennis, golf and swimming.