Hometown of our 30th President!

…continuing with our August 2018 adventures in the northeastern USA.

After our first night in Rutland Vermont, we were off to the first of our 2 attractions for the day…

Along the way, we passed the well-known ski slopes at Killington Vermont.   The Killington Mountain Resort and Ski Area is the largest ski area in the eastern USA.  It also has the largest vertical drop in New England at 3,050 feet.  Its nickname is the “Beast of the East”.

For more information about the Killington Ski Area, you can go to https://www.killington.com/.  Snow and winter cold are not for us!  We do enjoy watching others suffer in the north country…as we did as well for most of our lives!

The scenery as we approached our destination was peaceful, green and beautiful.  We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day!

This is Calvin Coolidge Museum and Educational Center at Plymouth Notch Vermont.  The Plymouth Notch Historic District is the birthplace (July 4, 1872) and boyhood home of Calvin Coolidge, the 30^th President of the United States.  This National Historic Landmark is owned and operated by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. 

The museum and education center was built in 1972 by the State of Vermont for the centennial of President Coolidge’s birth.  It was expanded in 2010.  In addition to serving as the Visitor’s Center, the building has meeting rooms, a gift shop, restrooms, offices, a research library and of course, an exhibit that explores Calvin Coolidge’s career including his presidency. 

This painting of Calvin Coolidge is one of the many items on display in the museum at the Visitor’s Center.  

Calvin Coolidge was a Republican lawyer.  He moved from Vermont to Massachusetts and worked his way up the ladder in state politics, eventually becoming governor.  His response to the Boston Police Strike of 1919 gave him the reputation of being a man of decisive action.  In 1920, he was elected Vice President of the United States with Warren G. Harding as President. 

To learn about the bloody Boston Police Strike and its aftermath, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Police_Strike.

 This photo is of an Native American headdress that was given to President Coolidge.  It was given to him on 7/23/17 at Fort Yates North Dakota.  The President was presented with this ceremonial feathered headdress by Sioux Chief Standing Bear and he was officially declared an honorary tribal member.

I tried to attach a photo from the Internet of a decidedly uncomfortable President Coolidge with his headdress, but I couldn't figure out how to move the photo to the blog site.  You can see several photos of the President in his headdress at https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=president+coolidge+headdress&qpvt=President+Coolidege+headdress&FORM=IGRE  and the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t54xMnsuhmQ is even more amusing.

Coolidge’s public policy toward Native Americans included the Indian Citizen Act of 1924, which granted automatic US citizenship to all American tribes.  On personal moral grounds, he regretted the state of poverty that many tribes were experiencing after decades of legal persecution and forced assimilation. (Little changed though…as forced assimilation as a policy continued for many years)

There was a wide variety of memorabilia on exhibit in the museum…far too many for me to try to show in this post.  Many strange and sometimes wonderful gifts are given to Presidents.  This elaborately carved chair with tooled leather was given to President Coolidge in 1928 to commemorate the warm relations between the USA and Hungary.  Hungary’s Day of Independence is the same as ours in the USA…July 4^th.

Another item on exhibit in the Coolidge Museum is this desk that belonged to Chester A. Arthur, the 21st President of the United States and the only other President that came from Vermont.  Both Arthur and Coolidge left Vermont and gained political prominence elsewhere.  I don’t remember why this desk is on exhibit at the Coolidge Museum.

Plymouth Notch is virtually unchanged since the early 1900s.  The buildings have been preserved and many of the buildings even have their original furnishings.

 

The Florence Cilley General Store was built in the 1850s.  John Coolidge, father of the future President, became storekeeper here in 1868.  By 1875, he bought the store.  Later he sold the business but retained the building.  He sold it to Florence Cilley in 1917.  The small post office (sign at the far left) served Plymouth Notch until 1976.

 

The first floor of the Cilley Store is stocked with all types of old-fashioned sweets, Vermont-made jams, jellies, spreads, maple syrup, homemade fudge and brittles.  Lots of other items are offered too…including ornamental tiles, cast iron doorstops, jewelry, felting kits, sleigh bells and much more!

Historically speaking the second floor of the General Store is more significant.  Coolidge Hall, this large vaulted room above the store, was used by the Grange for weekly dances and family reunions well into the 1900s.  

This second floor room gained fame in 1924 when it served as President Coolidge’s Summer White House office in 1924.  The hall has its original furnishings which included tables made especially for the President.  Note the musical instruments in the back left from the “Plymouth Old-Time Dance Orchestra".

Calvin Coolidge’s birthplace is attached to the back of the General Store.  The first child of John Calvin and Victoria Josephine Moor Coolidge was born in the downstairs bedroom.  The family lived in this house until 1876 when they moved across the street to the home that is now called the Coolidge Homestead.  

Unlike the other buildings in town, the Coolidge birthplace had been extensively remodeled over time.  The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation bought it in 1968 and they restored it to its 1872 appearance.

The Coolidge family donated the original furnishings in the home.  John Calvin Coolidge III and his wife helped start the Coolidge Foundation and their gift of buildings, land and artifacts were critical in the creation of the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site.  John III died in 2000, but well into his 80s he was frequently seen going from his home to the post office to collect his mail. 

This is the Coolidge Homestead, the boyhood home of Calvin Coolidge.  The family moved into this home when Calvin was 4 years old.  His chores included filling the wood box and caring for the animals.  Free time was often spent visiting his grandparents in their home across the pasture behind the homestead. 

John Calvin Coolidge, Calvin’s father, was born in Plymouth Notch.  He lived in this house until he died in 1926.  In addition to being a farmer and store owner, he also was a banker, insurance broker, member of the State House of Representatives, State Senator, veteran of the Vermont militia, town constable, county deputy sheriff and notary public.    

John’s housekeeper Aurora lived in the Coolidge homestead for another 30 years…rejecting the easy life of electricity and indoor plumbing, so the house remained as it was back in 1923.  It certainly wasn’t a fancy ‘modern’ kitchen, even for the 1920s…

This parlor or living room was witness to an important part of US History.  Vice President Coolidge was vacationing here at his old family home in August of 1923, when he received an urgent message that President Warren G. Harding had died.  In the middle of the night, in this very room, Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as President by his father, the local notary public.

The story goes that when President Harding died, a phone call was made to the post office to inform Coolidge of the fact.  However, the postmistress/store owner was afraid of the newfangled gadget so she didn’t answer it.  The message was delivered by a messenger who drove to the village.  Later, when a visitor asked John Coolidge how he knew he could administer the presidential oath to his son, his comment was “I didn’t know that I couldn’t.”  

Note: 

• A bit about Calvin Coolidge, our 30^th President.  Nicknamed “Silent Cal” for his quiet, steady and frugal nature, he cleaned up the rampant corruption of the Harding Administration and provided a model of stability in the fast-paced roaring 20s.  He was pro-business and he favored tax cuts and limited government spending.  However, some of his ‘hands off’ policies later contributed to the economics issues leading to the Great Depression.  He was re-elected in 1924 but declined to run again in 1928 although many thought that he could have won another term in office.

The Plymouth Cheese Factory was built by John Coolidge and 4 other local farmers in 1890.  It provided a convenient way for them to market the milk produced on area farms.  The operation closed down in 1934, but the President’s son, John III, reopened it in 1960.  The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation bought it from him in 1998, upgrading it to meet today’s requirements while preserving its historic character.

These photos show the inside of the Plymouth Cheese Factory with the store in the first photo and the cheese making in the second.  Of course, there was another opportunity for shoppers and visitors can watch workers engaged in the cheese-making process.  The Plymouth Cheese Factory is the second oldest cheese factory in the United States.

Good news for cheese lovers and on-line shoppers!  Check out the Plymouth Cheese Factory’s offerings at https://www.plymouthartisancheese.com/.

The Greek revival style Union Christian Church was built in 1840.  Even the iron thresholds for the front doors were cast in a local iron furnace.  Over the years, repairs were needed.  In the 1890s, strawberry socials and baked bean suppers were held to raise funds for the needed work. 

The Church is owned by the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation.  This non-profit perpetuates the memory of the President through educational programs and publications.  To learn more about this organization, you can go to https://www.coolidgefoundation.org/.

A local artisan then redesigned the interior of the church in the Carpenter Gothic style.  The woodwork and patterns are both beautiful and amazing!  The hard pine for the woodwork was sawn locally.  The interior offered perfect acoustics for the new pump organ and the church was rededicated in 1900. 

This is the Wilder House.  Originally it was built in 1830 and it served as a tavern.  It was the childhood home of President Coolidge’s mother, Victoria Josephine Moor.  She married Calvin’s father in the front sitting room of the home.  Her sister and brother-in-law, Gratia and John Wilder, lived in the house in later years. 

The house is painted as it was in the 1920s…with that mustard-gold and green color scheme.  In 1956, the interior was remodeled and the home now serves as the restaurant for the State Historic Site.  Breakfast and lunch are served during the season…

Note:

·       Despite his nickname, “Silent Cal” made good use of the new medium of radio.  His second inauguration was the first such event to be broadcast on radio.  He met with reporters more times than any other President, then or now, with 520 press conferences!

The Wilder Horse Barn was reconstructed in 2003.  It’s a recreation of the original ca. 1875 barn that was torn down in the mid-2000s. 

For the sake of at least some brevity, I haven’t pictured or discussed several other buildings or features in this historic complex.  These include the Coolidge Farm Shop, the Carrie Brown Coolidge Garden, the Wilder Bank Barn, The Aldrich House, the Top of the Notch Cabins or the One-Room Schoolhouse.

…but back to some of the items on display in the Horse Barn.

This is a 1923 Ford Model “T” Tudor Sedan.  At the time it was built, it cost about $580.00.

This is a Rural Free Delivery Sleigh that was used to deliver mail during the winters in the 1920’s and 1930s.  It was equipped with a small stove that provided a modicum of heat.  The shafts are offset so the horses can walk in the runner tracks left by previous sleighs. 

I didn’t know that back in the early days mail carriers had to buy their own carriages or wagons and they had to purchase and care for their own horses!

This is referred to as a “Summer Hearse”.  It was built ca. 1885 in New Bedford Massachusetts and it was in use until about 1920. 

This is the “Flying Eagle” (Unit #348).  This Concord coach was built ca. 1850 in the hotel or city style. (Based on the windows) Concord coaches were superior to other wagons due to their suspension system…which was called a “thoroughbrace”.  They could really handle the rough roads of the time.

This coast was once used on the mail run between Woodstock and Reading Vermont.  Later in its career, it served to carry guests from the Woodstock Railway Station to the Woodstock Inn.  It operated well into the early 2000s.    

This is the Plymouth Cemetery… This hillside cemetery was established sometime prior to 1800.  It’s under the care of the Plymouth Cemetery Commissioners who are elected at the annual town meeting.

So why did I include a photo of a country cemetery?   

President Calvin Coolidge and his family, actually 7 generations of the Coolidge family, are buried here.  Some visitors are reported to express surprise that a President of the United States is buried in such a simple fashion in a country cemetery.  When Calvin Coolidge left the White House, he said, “We draw our Presidents from the people…I came from them.”

Here are a few famous quotes from President Calvin Coolidge:

·       Collecting more taxes than are absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.

·       I have never been hurt by what I have not said.

·       Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.

·       All growth depends upon activity.  There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work. 

Not only did we enjoy the history of this place, Laurie and I also thought that it was one of the prettiest places we’ve visited.  To learn more about the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site at Plymouth Notch Vermont, you can just go to https://historicsites.vermont.gov/directory/coolidge.

For more information about Calvin Coolidge, his life, politics, accomplishments and miscues, check out a bit of history at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for this trip down history lane!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Rutland Vermont with Dinner

…continuing with our summer adventures in the northeastern USA.

This view was taken from US Hwy. 4 looking down into the valley where Rutland Vermont is located.

Rutland has an estimated population of about 15,800.  In the early 1800s, Rutland had its beginnings as a small settlement named Mill Village.  High quality marble deposits were discovered in the area and with the arrival of the railroad in 1851, plus the decline of Italian quarries, Rutland grew to be one of the world’s leading marble producers.  Experienced Italian marble workers and their families immigrated to the area.  The closing of the quarries in the 1980s and 1990s led to the loss of many jobs in the area.

This handsome 3-story red brick building, called the Metzger Block, is located at 60 Center Street in downtown Rutland.  It was built ca. 1860 for the Verder-Steam Bakery.  The block still has most of its original details including the oversized corbeled cornice and the pilastered and transomed store front.  The interior was completely updated in 1997. 

From what I could determine this office building is well occupied by tenants including the local McDonald’s offices and Blush Salon and Beauty Lounge.  It is on the market so if you’re in the market for some commercial real estate, this building could be yours!  It’s listed for only $299,000.  Check it out at https://www.josiahallen.com/listing/4358308/60-center-street-rutland-city-vt-05701/.

This building is one of many in downtown Rutland that is listed as part of the Rutland Downtown Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. 

This is the new (1999) Rutland railroad passenger depot.  It’s adjacent to the Rutland Shopping Plaza and Merchants Row.  It’s the terminal station for Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express.  That rail service provides daily 5.5 hour service to and from New York City.  A joint project sponsored by the State of Vermont and Amtrak to extend the Ethan Allen Express north to Burlington Vermont.  Track and tunnel improvements are underway.

Note:

 

·       In 1894, the first polio outbreak in the USA was identified in the Rutland area.  132 people were affected, 7 died and 110 others suffered from some paralysis for life.

This is the Service Building at 128 Merchant’s Row in Rutland.  In 1930, this was not only the tallest building in Vermont at 101 feet tall, but it also was the only skyscraper in the state.  It’s then popular Art Deco style accented its height, making the building seem taller than it was.

At one point the pyramid on top of the building was crowned by an amber glass globe that gleamed brightly at night.  Airplanes didn’t have radar in the 1930s and pilots has to find their way by sight and landmarks.  Pilots approaching Rutland could tell where they were when the Service Building was completed in 1930…

Note:

·       For many years, tall buildings, especially skyscrapers were deemed impractical.  No one wanted to build a structure requiring tenants to climb more than 4 or 5 flights of stairs.  The weird fact is that Elisha Graves Otis, a man from Halifax Vermont, a town with no buildings higher than 3 stories, solved the problem.  He demonstrated the Otis safety elevator in 1853 at the New York Crystal Palace Exhibit, at the World’s Fair.

The Bardwell House was built in 1852.  For many of its early years, this hotel was very well known.  Jay Gould made his home here when he bought up his first railroad holdings at fire sale prices.  FYI, Jay Gould was the epitome of a ruthless robber baron of the Gilded Age.  While he was one of the richest men of his era, he was hated and reviled…with few defenders either then or now.

To learn more about this rather nasty and many faceted character, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Gould.

The 1864 Bardwell House hotel register from the summer of 1864 listed businessmen from Montreal, New York City and Boston.  Others, from as far away as Colorado stayed longer, using the hotel for vacations.  One of the prominent vacationers that summer were Mrs. Abraham Lincoln and her party…

Today this handsome building is a 75 unit apartment complex providing affordable housing through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  

The Paramount Theater was originally called the Playhouse.  It was built in 1913 in a style which was referred to as the City Beautiful movement.  The interior actually resembled a Victorian era opera house.  Its decor was very over the top…  The theater was renamed The Paramount in 1931, with entertainment shifting from live performances to movies.  The movie theater closed in 1977.  In 1999, a local group began work to restore the theater to its original appearance.  It reopened in the spring of 2000, once again serving as a center for artistic, cultural and educational events.

To check and see what’s going on these days at The Paramount Theater, go to https://www.paramountvt.org/.

This is the Hop N Moose Brewing Company and Restaurant in downtown Rutland.  As per their website, this pub is all about “locally sourced food paired with hand crafted ales and lagers…”

The inside of Hop N Moose features a woodsy industrial look in a long dining area with an equally long bar.

Here is the namesake of the pub and restaurant.  That was one big bull-moose! 

After a long day of exploration, Laurie went for a double Tito’s Vodka and tonic with 2 limes. ($7.50) I ordered a Lake Monster Lager. ($4.50) My lager is a product of the Lake Monster Brewing Company…in St. Paul Minnesota!  I thought for sure that it was a local brew playing off the alleged monster residing in nearby Lake Champlain.

There was an interesting list of 14 different small plates and appetizers that we could have started with…but I chose the Jumbo Bavarian Pretzel with House Made Rutland Beer Cheese. ($8.95) As you can see, this tasty pretzel was indeed huge!  It was a challenge, even for yours truly… The beer cheese sauce was very nice.

When you’re in a restaurant and you notice a solid stone pizza oven, pizza as your entrée has to be a consideration.  Add to that fact that other than the aforementioned small plates and appetizers, only a handful of sandwiches were on the menu, the choice was obvious.

This was our large Pepperoni and Sausage Pizza with Blue Cheese Crumbles. ($18.95) It was good pizza…but the blue cheese was a bit of overkill on my part!  I should have stuck with our usual and left off the blue cheese…but I had to try it once.

All in all, Hop N Moose was a good choice.  It’s located at 41 Center Street in Rutland Vermont.  Phone: 802-775-7063.  To check out the website and menu, go to https://rutlandbeerworks.wixsite.com/hopnmoose.

We passed this building the next day as we began exploring attractions in the area around Rutland.  Located at the entrance to the Vermont State Fairgrounds this is probably the most interesting structure I noted around Rutland.  Unfortunately, other than the obvious fact that it’s an entrance to the fairgrounds and it’s easily over 100 years old, I couldn’t find any other information.  Originally this land was The Rutland County Park.  The Vermont State Fair has been held at this location since 1856.

To learn more about the State Fair (August 13 – 17, 2019) and other events being held here, go to http://www.vermontstatefair.org/events.php.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Next up, visiting a President’s tiny old home town!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Driving from Middlebury to Rutland Vermont

…continuing with our exploration of the northeastern USA in August 2018.

After leaving Middlebury, we followed VT Hwy. 125 through the Green Mountains National Forest.  This National Forest, established in 1932, covers over 399,000 acres.  The famed Appalachian Trail passes through this preserve.

I had plans for us to visit a couple of country stores during the remainder of our trip, so we didn’t stop at the Ripton Country Store along VT Hwy. 125. 

This store is still in business thanks to an op-ed in the New York Times.  The most recent owners who had operated the store since 1976, were retiring and the store was in danger of being closed.  The store had been open since 1879!  A buyer was needed and the editorial in the Times lauded the store in an effort to help the owners find a buyer.  The effort was successful and new owners are continuing to operate the store in this village that has a population of less than 600.

The building at the left of this photo is Ripton’s Town Hall.  Originally it was a Congregational Church that was built in 1838.  Due to the manpower shortage during the Civil War, construction of the Methodist Episcopal Church at the right of the Town Hall, began in October of 1862 but wasn’t completed until March of 1864.  The Ripton Community Church is now affiliated with the United Methodist Church. 

For information on this church and its scheduled events and services, go to http://www.umc.org/find-a-church/church/151124.

The Greek revival style Ripton Community House was formerly the Ripton Congregational Church.  Built in 1864 as a Congregationalist Church, it has since served at a community clubhouse and town-owned meeting hall.

The scenery along our route wasn’t too hard to take!  It was a nice drive…

Suddenly, we came to this flock of yellow frame buildings along VT Hwy. 125.  This is the unincorporated community of Bread Loaf.  This little town is on the western flank of Bread Loaf Mountain.  In reality, Bread Loaf is part of Middlebury College.

The College’s School of English is actually located here on this 1,800 acre mountain campus 12 miles east of Middlebury.  Remember Joseph Battell from my former posts?  Between 1860 and 1910, he had purchased vast amounts of land.  He left 31,000 acres to Middlebury College when he died in 1915.  The College sold most of the land to form the core of the Green Mountain National Forest but it did retain the mountain campus and the rustic summer resort that Battell had developed.   

The Middlebury Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference is held at the Bread Loaf Inn every summer.  The New Yorker Magazine has referred to the conference as “the oldest and most prestigious writers’ conference in the USA.  It’s a program of Middlebury College and at its beginning it was closely associated with poet Robert Frost who attended 29 sessions.

I didn’t know it but the Robert Frost Farm is also located near Ripton and Bread Loaf Vermont.  This 150 acre farm right off VT Hwy. 125 is where Frost lived and wrote in the summer and fall months from 1939 until his death in 1963.  This Middlebury College property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and it’s open to the public.  To learn more, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frost_Farm_(Ripton,_Vermont). 

This is one view of the inside of the Bread Loaf Inn.  Initial construction of the Inn took place in 1861 and it was expanded using the Second Empire style.  We happened to arrive in Bread Loaf during a conference or class sessions so there were lots of people around. 

The Bread Loaf School of English was established in 1920.  It’s the graduate school of English at Middlebury College.  The school offers courses in literature, creative writing, the teaching of writing and theater.  About 95 students graduate each year. 

To learn more about the school and happenings at Breadloaf, go to http://www.middlebury.edu/student-life/annual-events/orientation/family/stay/Breadloaf.

The Breadloaf Campus consists of about 2 dozen buildings that serve as dormitories, classrooms and social space.  Another 7 cottages are located nearby.  The campus is known for its mustard-colored buildings that date back to Battell’s rustic resort.  Newer buildings completed in the Colonial revival style since 1915 are painted white.

There is activity here in the winter as well.  In that season, the campus is home to Middlebury’s Rikert Nordic Ski Touring Center.  It offers experiences in cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the Green Mountains.  Miles of groomed cross country ski and snowshoe trails can be accessed.  Equipment can be rented on site.  For more information, go to http://www.middlebury.edu/about/facilities/rikert/node/158871. 

I couldn’t find out much about the Old Hancock Hotel in the tiny town of Hancock Vermont. (Population ca. 320) This is one of the many towns in the USA named after John Hancock.  The town’s growth peaked at 472 in 1830.  The hotel did have signs up advertising an all you can eat Sunday brunch…as well as another offering breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Hancock is located at the intersection of VT Hwy. 125 and VT Hwy. 100.

One more scenery photo taken from the car as we moved on south along VT Hwy. 100… Low mountains lined both sides of the roadway.

Note:

·       One side of the Green Mountains feeds the Connecticut River but the other side, via Otter Creek and Lake Champlain eventually feeds into Canada’s St. Lawrence River.

This business, "The Hardware Store" in Rochester Vermont, was founded ca. 1890.  At that time it was called Campbell and Martin.  In 1919, the company was the largest plumbing and heating business in the area.  Over time, furniture and household goods were added.  A funeral parlor, tin shop, town offices, the Post Office, a meat market, barber shop, apartments and more have occupied space in this building over the years.  The Campbell family owned this building and its businesses until 1961.   

The Huntington House Inn in Rochester Vermont was originally built in 1806 as the home and offices of a doctor.  Actually, 4 generations of the same family provided medical services here from 1806 through 1964. 

The Inn was totally renovated in 2003.  It now operates as a bed and breakfast.  The second photo shows the building next door to the Huntington House Inn.  The Top of the Park House was a General Store during the early 1860s.  It was renovated in 2006 and it’s operated as an extension of the Huntington House.   Rooms and suites for these properties currently showed rates ranging from $129 to $299 a night.  To learn more, just go to http://www.huntingtonhouseinn.com/rooms.html.

I had a heck of a time learning anything about the history of this large old building.  I eventually discovered (via a 1915 postcard) that at one time it was called the Pierce residence.  A little more research revealed that the Pierce family has been quite prominent and active in the area since the late 1700s…

At some point in time, the former Pierce home at 16 Park Row was transformed into Parker’s Inn.  Today, it is The Park House of Shared Elder Residence.  For between $1,030 and $1,055 a month, retirees are provided with 3 meals a day, utilities and basic housekeeping.  Website: www.Parkhousevt.org. 

 

FYI, Rochester Vermont was chartered in 1781.  Its current population is about 1,120.

This is the 'Original General Store' in Pittsfield Vermont.  Another old general store…and another 100 year old plus store saved!  The building was about to be turned into apartments when a Wall Street trader bought the property, restored it to its original appearance and hired a manager to run the business.

Pittsfield is located along VT Hwy. 100 and it has a population of only about 540.  The town was first settled in 1786.  Pittsfield is known for its annual snowshoe race. 

As you can see, the store is one of those places that you just want to explore.  The front of the store is occupied by tables which makes sense as the deli is reported to account for more than half of the business.  Breakfast is the biggest contributor.  Note the ice box in the last photo.  When renovating the store, this striking 60+ year old McCray commercial ice box was saved.

Note:  

·       In August 2011, Pittsfield was isolated when Tropical Storm Irene destroyed parts of VT Hwy. 100.  Vehicles couldn’t travel in and out of the town for several weeks.

I don’t know anything about this house.  I did think that its design was a bit unusual.  It’s sort of a Dutch Victorian mix.  It is a handsome structure…

The town of Pittsfield was chartered in July of 1781…to about 130 people mostly from Massachusetts and Connecticut.  This is Pittsfield’s Town Office/Municipal Building and the Roger Clark Library.  The former Pittsfield Free Library originated in 1901 but it was operated out of homes of library board members and volunteers.  In 1973, it moved to a permanent home in the basement of the town office building.  This multi-use building originally was a schoolhouse. 

The Roger Clark Library was named after a local Army SP4 from Pittsfield who was killed in action during a battle with a Viet Cong battalion on July 10, 1967 near Dak To in Vietnam.

This is the Pittsfield Vermont Town Hall.  This is the traditional village meeting place and the location for all community activities.  I couldn’t determine when either the Municipal Building/Library or Town Hall were built.  From their appearance…there is little doubt that both are well in excess of 100 years old.

That’s it for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by and going on a drive with us!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave