A Town Called Sodom Sometime in the middle of the 19th century, a village was born in the Vermont hills north of Montpelier, in the town of Calais, with the unlikely name of Sodom. Says Frank Suchomel, "We understand that it was called Sodom because it had no church." Like so many towns in Central Vermont, granite was the raw material that fueled industry, and there were several active quarries in Sodom. The quarry men who lived there helped the town live up to its name in many respects.	An 1890's View of Dam
Playing Pool in Barney Hall	During the 1890s, the granite industry was peaking in the region and Barney Hall was built. In its early days it was furnished not with pianos but with pool tables and a bar to amuse the quarry workers in their off hours. Barney Hall, however, was not solely a house of ill repute, for while the town may not have had a church, on Sundays the pool tables were moved aside to make room for weekly religious services.
The turn of the century saw some changes in the town of Sodom. In 1905, a local resident became so incensed with the connotations of the name Sodom that he successfully petitioned the state legislature to change the name to the less sinful, but equally intriguing, name of Adamant. Meanwhile, the general store next to Barney Hall had become the Adamant United Methodist Church and Barney Hall itself became the parsonage.	Quarry workers around the turn of the century
Says Frank, "Adamant is supposedly a name just as hard but not as wicked." The granite and lumber industries continued to thrive and the 1930s saw the founding of the state's first credit union in Adamant, as well as what is now the state's oldest cooperative grocery. The credit union became part of the North Country Federal Credit Union, but the co-op continues to be a vital part of the village, housing the Adamant post office. By the 1940s, the parsonage had been abandoned, and though in decline, the quarry continued to produce. Soon a trio of visitors would arrive who would greatly alter the future of a town once called Sodom. Today, Adamant is considered one of the most beautiful unincorporated villages in Vermont. - Excerpted from the 60th Anniversary book.