High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Northeast Kingdom is a term used to describe the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Vermont, comprising?approximately?Essex, Orleans and Caledonia Counties and having a population of 62,438. In Vermont, the written term "NEK" is often used. The term is attributed to the late George D. Aiken, former Governor of Vermont and a U.S. Senator at the time of a 1949 speech, the first recorded use of the term. The area is often referred to by Vermonters simply as "The Kingdom."