…continuing
with our exploration of parts of the northeastern United States in August 2018.
After
touring ‘Hildene’, the Lincoln family home near Woodstock Vermont, it was on to
Bennington.
Along the
way south on VT Hwy. 7A, we came to the town of Arlington Vermont, population
ca. 2,300. The town was chartered in
July of 1761. In 1777, Arlington became
the first capital of the “Vermont Republic”.
The photo
is of the Arlington Inn. This Greek
revival mansion was built as a private home in 1847 and was later turned into a
summer hotel. Today this attractive Inn
encompasses 4 different buildings with 16 guest rooms on 4 acres. It’s located at 3904 VT Hwy. 7A. Phone: 802-375-6532. Website: stay@arlington.com.
Note:
· The Vermont Republic refers to the government
of Vermont that existed from 1777 to 1791.
Vermont declared independence from the jurisdictions and land claims of
the British colony of Quebec and the American states of New Hampshire and New
York. They also abolished adult slavery
in Vermont. To learn more about the
history of this little known ‘republic’, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_Republic.
This is
St. James Episcopal Church in Arlington Vermont. The first settlers in the area were Anglicans
who had fled Roxbury Connecticut because of the demanding requirements of the
dominant Congregational church. In 1784,
after the American Revolution, a group of families formed the Episcopal Society
and shortly thereafter the first church was built.
There
were actually 2 Anglican Episcopal churches in Arlington. One was a “Free” church where parishioners
didn’t have to buy their pews. In any
case, this church was completed in 1833 on the site of one of the two original
churches.
The historic
cemetery was founded in the late 1700s.
It is the final resting place of General Ethan Allen’s wife Mary and two
of their children. Noted educational
reformer, social activist and author, Dorothy Canfield Fisher is also interred
here. To learn more about her, you can
go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Canfield_Fisher.
This
handsome brick structure with the striking chimneys is next to the Arlington
Inn. This Federal style Dutch Tradition
house was built in 1829 with the wood frame addition added in the
mid-1900s.
The home
was donated to the Arlington Community Club by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. The deed transferring the property required
that it be used as a meeting house for the town’s citizens and that part of the
building would provide space for the Martha Canfield Free Library. (Martha was
Dorothy’s aunt and former owner of the home) About 16 different groups meet
here regularly.
Tired of
looking at buildings? Just to break
things up, here’s a little scenery we noted along the way.
This
apparently is a former railway depot that has been moved and converted into an
attractive residence. There is a Railway
Express sign on the wall. Arlington,
Shaftsbury Center and other towns along the way were at one time all served by
the Rutland Railroad. Despite all of the
Railroad information on the Internet, I couldn’t find anything regarding this structure…
This is
the Governor Jonas Galusha Homestead. It
was built by Jonas Galusha, Vermont’s fifth governor and an important
politician and military figure in southern Vermont for many years.
During
the American Revolution, Galusha was a captain in the Green Mountain Boys,
fighting in the Battle of Bennington in August of 1777. The following year, he married the daughter
of Thomas Chittenden, Governor of the Independent Republic of Vermont. His brother-in-law both preceded and followed
Jonas as Governor of Vermont. Life for
women was very challenging in those days, with Galusha being preceded in death
by all 4 of his wives…
The
Homestead is now the home of the Shaftsbury Historical Society. To learn about the society, go to http://www.shaftsburyhistoricalsociety.org/.
I thought
that this imposing old Victorian home at 207 West Main Street in Bennington
Vermont was quite attractive. But, other
than the fact that it’s home to D.B. McKenna and Company, Incorporated, a
financial planning company, I couldn’t find any other information.
This
lovely home is located at 213 West Main Street in Bennington. This historic home was constructed in 1867
and it was maintained by the same family from 1890 until 1958. Since 1958, the home has served as a funeral
home. Today it is operated as the Hanson-Walbridge Funeral Home, one of 4 operated by the
Shea Family Funeral Homes in the area.
Over the
years, we have noted many old homes and building that have been saved by
funeral homes, local investment companies and law firms. Keep up the good work!
The
Madison Brewing Company Pub and Restaurant claims to be the most popular place
in Bennington for craft beer and food.
They are ranked #2 for the town in TripAdvisor and more importantly,
they had more reviews than any other establishment…so maybe their claim is
correct. In the early 1990s, the Madison
family converted this building into the area’s first brew pub.
The bar
was busy and it sure reminded us of a typical Wisconsin bar…only this is a bit smaller.
The
dining room décor was a bit industrial as well as bright and colorful. As you can see, the restaurant was also quite
busy.
Laurie
wasn’t very hungry so she started with a bowl of Vermont Cheddar Ale Soup.
($5.50) I did the same. The soup was
very nice…great flavor!
As I
said, Laurie wasn’t too hungry so she followed up the soup with this nice Side
Salad with mixed greens. ($4.25)
I wasn’t
as well behaved as Laurie was. I
followed up that bowl of soup with Madison Brewing Company’s French Dip
Sandwich. ($10.99) My tasty and satisfying house cooked roast beef was served
au jus with horseradish aioli.
Madison
Brewing Co. Pub and Restaurant is located at 428 Main Street in Bennington
Vermont. Phone: 802-442-7397. The company’s website is at https://madisonbrewingco.com/
and they are on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MadisonBrewingCo/.
On day 17
of our trip, I had another major attraction on my list that was a bit different
than many of the places we’d explored.
Before we got to it though, I had plans for breakfast and we passed a
few sights around Bennington along the way.
This is
the W.H. Bradford Hook and Ladder Fire House at 212 Stafford Street. It was completed in 1894 and it remained in
service until 1997. (103 years!) Originally it housed the W.H. Bradford Hook
Company on one side and the F.M. Tiffany Hose Company on the other. Today it’s been converted into artist studios
and living space.
Then we
started seeing colorful cougars along the streets of Bennington! These mountain lions (aka ‘catamounts’) came
into being in 2012 when the Chamber of Commerce sponsored a 2 year community
art project ending with the “Catamount Prowl Street Sculpture Festival”.
This
particular catamount is entitled “Cattitude”.
The artist was Rae Tetlow and the sculpture was sponsored by the
Bennington Banner newspaper.
The ‘pride’
of 37 Vermont catamounts culminated in the Prowl Street Sculpture Festival that
offered events and promotions stretching from May to October in 2013. Catamount Prowl 2013 was a fund raising effort
that would support arts/history education outreach, participating artists and
future promotions of the town.
This
catamount is titled “The Guardian”. It
was completed by Bernadette McMahon and Walt Ruess and it was sponsored by Cat
TV (Catamount Access Television).
The
Catamount project ended with the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Midsummer
Night’s Catamount Prowl and Auction”. The
goal was to sell off the catamount sculptures…with the artists receiving 25% of
the sale price. At the dinner that
night, 28 of the cats were sold to bidders at an average price of $2,100. You can still see them around town drawing
attention to some of the local businesses that bought them…
This
cougar in the Bermuda shorts is titled “Casual Summer”. The artist is Danny O’Connor and the work was
sponsored by the Bennington County Police.
We
thought that we’d seen a lot of colorful 'critter sculptures over the years. We’ve seen roosters, pigs and of course, Chicago’s famous
cows. This was our first experience with
Moose sculptures!
This was
another Bennington art project. In 2005,
several artists were commissioned to paint life-sized moose statues for ‘Moosefest’. Another ‘Moosefest’ took place in 2009. A total of 50 moose were designed and
auctioned off to support local charities.
Apparently, private owners of these sculptures are still showing them
off around town… There wasn’t any way for me to identify this pair.
I did
find an early photo of this 'fast' and colorful moose on-line. The pipe on his side used to connect him to a
side car whose passengers were sculptural sunflowers along for the ride. Note the flames at hoof level. It is on the lawn of The Tuscan Sunflower, a
florist shop at 318 North Street in Bennington.
If you
really want to see the complete moose herd from Bennington Vermont, you can go
to https://www.google.com/search?q=painted+moose+in+bennington+vermont&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS758US758&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=LNGSqoa0qqqTZM%253A%252CU0Vl0Cqv99Lq6M%252C_&usg=AI4_-kQG4JIQnBs7cciU6Y2O0b0VU1IVlg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiyna_ZqeTgAhVIxFQKHfDZDg8Q9QEwA3oECAAQBg#imgrc=LNGSqoa0qqqTZM:.
Our breakfast
destination was a ‘real’ diner. The Blue
Benn is an original Silk City diner. It was
built by the Patterson Vehicle Company in Paterson New Jersey in the
1940s. It was shipped from New Jersey to
Bennington and assembled in this location in 1948.
The
counter is a diner classic but the booths are equipped with jukeboxes with a
wide range of tunes. Love the curved
diner ‘railcar’ ceilings.
Note:
Those blue awnings outside are a nod to practicality.
Winters in Vermont are challenging and those shelters keep the cold
out of the diner.
Look at
this batch of glorious donuts!
Decisions, decisions… Blue Benn knows donuts as well as just about
everything else that you might be able to imagine that you might want to
eat! (Definitely not part of a keto diet...)
There is
a menu but that’s just a fraction of the Blue Benn’s offerings. Do you see all of colored signs hanging from
the wall behind the counter? They are
all specials! How about creamed chipped
beef on toast, turkey hash, Blue Benn Indian pudding, homemade gazpacho, turkey
croquettes, teriyaki chicken sandwich, a tofu scramble, ‘crunchberry’ pancakes,
salmon burger, turkey pot pie or even cold cucumber soup? These items and many more are all in addition
to the basic diner items!
We both went
for Blue Benn’s Eggs Benedict. It was a very
tasty and satisfying version of the classic.
The wait
staff at Blue Benn have apparently all been there forever. They were constantly on the move and of
course, they anticipated many of their regular customer’s needs. The same family has owned and operated this
diner since 1973…a 46 year successful run!
The Blue
Benn is located at 314 North Street in Bennington Vermont. Note: Cash Only! Open daily.
Phone: 802-442-5140. Blue Benn is
on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Diner/Blue-Benn-Diner-Inc-197037143678982/.
On to our
next major stop on my list of attractions…
Just
click on any of the photos to enlarge them.
Thanks
for stopping by for a visit!
Take Care,
Big Daddy Dave
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