Julia C. Dorr was born on this day in 1825. She would grow up and live much of her adult life in Rutland. Dorr was best known as a writer.

Her husband, Judge Seneca M. Dorr, sent one of her poems to a magazine without her knowledge. It became the first piece she had published. She then published two novels under the pen name Caroline Thomas before using her real name.

Dorr published hundreds of popular pieces, attracting admirers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Dorr also worked to better her community. She founded the Rutland Free Library and served as its president.

Image courtesy the Vermont Historical Society.