Thomas Rowley (1721–1796) was a famous poet of Vermont, known both as the spokesman for Ethan Allen and dubbed “The Bard of the Green Mountains.” [citation needed] During his lifetime and before the American Revolution, his poetry gained a reputation, as did his catchphrase "Setting the Hills on Fire."
The Green Mountain Boys were concerned New York would claim all the lands of Vermont known at the time as a dispute over the New Hampshire Grants.
As early as 1774, Thomas Rowley moved even further north to the eastern shore of Lake Champlain to the town of Shoreham in Addison County, Vermont, with his wife and family.
One of Rowley's motivational poems, simply called "To Rutland Go" over the years, was originally published with a longer title which invited new settlers to Vermont as the paradise compared to New York, as follows: An Invitation to the Poor Tenants that Live Under Their Poor Patrons in the Province of New York, To Come and Settle on Our Good Lands, Under the New Hampshire Grants.
This is the noble land by conquest won Took from a savage band by sword and gun We drove them to the west, they could not stand the test Rowley's poetry actually focused not only on politics, but also on the pleasantness and rustic nature of pioneer life, with humor and witty observations.