On to Bennington Vermont!

…continuing with the 16^th day of our trip from August of 2018.

We headed south from Rutland Vermont along US Hwy. 7, then onto VT Hwy. 103 and 100 through the towns of Clarendon, Mt. Holly, Ludlow, Weston and London.  I did have two attractions in mind along the route, one of them exclusively for my better half! 

In East Clarendon Vermont, I stopped to take photos of this former Rutland Railroad depot.  It was built in 1916 and remained in service until 1953 when passenger service was discontinued.  The interior of the depot remains in its original 3-room configuration with a waiting room, agent’s office and freight room.  Despite conversion into a 24 seat restaurant, interior finishes are either restored original or they’ve been covered over to preserve the originals. 

As you can see from the photo, the depot with its semi-attached rear mounted cupola caboose, was for sale at the time we drove through the area.  The former “Whistle Stop” restaurant with a bit over 4 acres was being offered for only $139,000.  It appears that it’s now off the market.

In the village of Ludlow Vermont, we spotted this former Rutland Railway combination passenger and freight depot.  It’s been moved away from the tracks and it’s been converted into a home.  The roof is the same but the door and window configuration has been completely altered.  I did discover a comment stating that there had been a fire in the depot so at least the roof line has been preserved.  

You can click on this link and check out a photo of this depot when it was still along the tracks. http://www.depotmaps.com/Images/DepotVT/LudlowVT.jpg.

The Ludlow Baptist congregation was organized in 1825 and they built their first church in 1840.  But in 1892 they decided to build this large eye-catching new church.  It was finished in 1893 at the cost of $11,080.  The oldest part of this church is its pipe organ.  It dates back to the 1840 church building. 

In Ludlow we also made note of Mr. Darcy’s Bar and Grill.  You might ask why as it’s not particularly interesting from an architectural viewpoint.  The reason was the sign at the edge of the porch that states “Home of the Parmesan Truffle Fries”.  Now that was something different…but unfortunately we drove by before the restaurant opened for lunch. 

I’m just guessing but I think that these may be the ski slopes at Okemo Mountain Resort.  This area in Vermont is dotted with ski slopes.  One listing I found showed a total of 18 ski resorts throughout the state.

The village of Weston Vermont was my first objective and this store was the reason I took the convoluted route I did this particular morning.  It was another huge shopping opportunity for Laurie and an interesting stop as well.  The first photo is of the front of the store but it’s deceptive.  This place is huge.  We entered through the side door.  That photo gives a better idea of the size of this store.

“The Vermont Country Store” is family owned.  Vrest and Ellen Orton opened The Vermont Country Store in Weston Vermont back in 1946.  This store was the first restored rural general store in the USA.  Today the Vermont Country Store is owned by Lyman Orton and his sons, seventh and eighth generation Vermonters and fourth and fifth generation storekeepers.

The next several photos will give you an idea of the variety of merchandise offered in this store.  Laurie was almost overwhelmed by it all!

So what made The Vermont General Store the retail icon that it is today?  Obviously, the Orton family has risen to the challenge over the years by expanding their product lines and learning to merchandise via mail order and via the Internet.  But the store got a major boost in 1952 when the then omni-present Saturday Evening Post magazine ran a 5-page article entitled “The Happy Storekeeper of the Green Mountains”.  Suddenly the operation was really ‘on the map’!

Given its wide variety of offerings, the Vermont Country Store will have your head spinning!  Major categories include Kids, Women, Men, Kitchen, Curtains, Home, Personal Care, Beauty, Food, Candy and Specialty Shops.  The latter includes “Brands from the past”.  Each of these categories has sub-categories…

Of course in this ‘modern’ day and age, it’s all about Internet Shopping.  On-line shopping is so big for The Vermont Country Store that back in 1984, mail order operations were moved to Manchester Vermont in order to have adequate space and a larger labor pool. 

The photos above are a sampling of the antiques scattered around the Vermont Country Store.  The toaster collection contains some rare and impractical models.  The large scales in the second photo are just part of that collection.  The ceiling is covered with many old Flexible Flyer Sleds.  Of course, every country store has to have an old potbelly stove and the store’s stove came from the old Rutland Railroad Station.

FYI…By one estimate, the company did over $92,000,000 in sales in a recent fiscal year.

Laurie loved this store and I earned more ‘points’!  The Vermont Country Store in Weston Vermont is located at 657 Main Street.  To learn more and to shop on-line, just go to https://www.vermontcountrystore.com/. 

The Bryant House Restaurant and Bar is located right next to the Vermont Country Store and it is owned by the company.  In 1959 the founders of the Vermont Country Store bought this home and opened the restaurant.  The dining rooms date back to 1827 and the barroom back to 1885. 

Of course when you have a ‘draw’ or attraction like the Vermont Country Store, others are going to try to ride its coattails to financial success.  The Weston Village Store was originally built in 1907 as the Parkhurst Store.  Website: https://www.westonvillagestore.com/.

The Weston Village Christmas Shop is located almost directly across the street from the Vermont Country Store.  We have enough Christmas decorations and ornaments to cover 3 large trees so we skipped this store…and it was only August.  You can check it out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Weston-Village-Christmas-Shop-608656222605541/. 

Construction of the Old Parish Church in Weston was completed in 1832.  However, it wasn’t originally built as a church.  Note the clock tower.  It was the Town meetinghouse.  It contained 64 pews and there was a balcony on 3 sides.  It was called the Weston-Landgrove Union Meetinghouse.  It cost $2,605.75 to build with the payment being made half in cash and the rest in barter.

 

In 1866 the meetinghouse was deeded to the Methodist Episcopal Church with a second floor built at balcony level.  The second floor was used for church services.  The first floor was sold to the Town and it became the Town Hall with the Town picking up half of the building’s maintenance costs.  

Ca. 1938, town meetings were moved to the Weston Playhouse and the building was sold back to the Methodist Church.  The upper floor was removed, the balcony reopened and the sanctuary was restored.

I didn’t note where we exactly saw this impressive old Federal style brick home.  Similar homes were noted in the area but the remarkably tall chimneys on either side of this home grabbed my attention.  Weston Vermont’s John Wilder Home is of a similar design.

The Corner Market and Deli occupies an Italianate Revival style building in the commercial center of South Londonderry Vermont.  The building was built in 1885 for Fred Winchester and originally served as a hardware store.  He sold it to a businessman named Landman and it is still sometimes referred to as Landman’s store.  The current owner purchased the building in 2017 for $120,000.  The full-width, 2-story porch is rather unusual…

To learn more about the Corner Market and Deli, just go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Deli/The-Corner-Market-Deli-124428001756232/.

This is the former South Londonderry Railroad Depot.  The former passenger depot and freight house for the abandoned West River Railroad were originally built ca. 1880 as detached building…just a few feet apart.  They were connected sometime around 1900.

The West River Railroad originated in Brattleboro Vermont and despite plans for it to continue on to Whitehall New York, it was only completed as far at South Londonderry.  Its narrow gauge and winding route along rivers and hills led to undependable and sometimes dangerous service.  Locals began calling the railroad “36 miles of trouble”.  The line was completely abandoned in 1936. 

Ca. 1940 the depot found new life as a grocery store.  In 1975 it was restored to its 1930 appearance.  Part of the building is rented out as office space and the other part serves as space for public gatherings and as a trail head facility for the West River Trail.     

As we approached Manchester Vermont, it was time for lunch.  When we drove past Bob’s Diner, we did a double take and a quick U-turn, then doubled back.  We love to try diners…a real rarity in East Tennessee.

The interior of the diner was exactly what one hopes for when they stop at one of these local restaurants.  Its appearance could have been enhanced only if it was an old ‘diner car’. 

Laurie had Bob’s Diner’s version of a Hot Pastrami Sandwich with a side of crispy potato chips.  It was a tasty and satisfying sandwich.

For my lunch I ordered something that I hadn’t had in years.  An Open Face Hot Roast Beef Sandwich with mashed potatoes and nice thick gravy.  It hit the spot…and I was a happy camper!

Bob’s Diner is located at 2279 Depot Street in Manchester Vermont.  Phone: 802-362-4681.  Bob’s Diner is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bobsdinermanchester/ and their website is at https://bobsdiner.business.site/.

And so went the first half of the day… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave