Five Things You Must Do While You Are in Brattleboro

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Brattleboro, Vermont (population 13,000), is 83 miles northwest of Boston on the Connecticut River. One of the oldest towns in the Northeast, it was chartered in 1753, and was the site of the first U.S. post office to issue stamps. Brattleboro is known for its scenic beauty and historic sites.

1. Brattleboro Historical Society: The nonprofit maintains a museum in the town’s municipal building, highlighting the area’s rich river and railroad history. A list of historic homes and nearby 18th and 19th century covered bridges is available from the society.

2. The Estey Organ Museum: A new museum is under way dedicated to the history and contributions of the Estey Organ Company of Brattleboro. The company was world-renowned for manufacturing reed, pipe, and electronic organs for nearly a century. Although the facility is incomplete, visitors can now see the reconstruction of a walk-through pipe organ, examine Estey pipe-making tools, and view recently discovered Clemens Kalischer photos of pipe-making in the Estey factory the 1950s.

3. Brigham Young Memorial: Brigham Young, early leader of the Mormon Church, was born in nearby Whitingham in 1801. Young led 70,000 Mormon pioneers across the country to found the city on the Great Salt Lake in Utah in 1847. The memorial white granite monument to Young stands on Town Hill Common, the original site of Whitingham Village. Picnic tables encourage visitors to enjoy a view of the surrounding Green Mountains.

4. Brattleboro Museum and Art Center: The first train arrived in Brattleboro from Boston in 1849 on the tracks of the Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad. In 1966, the Central Vermont and the Boston & Main railroads terminated regular passenger service, and the Brattleboro station was closed. Threatened with demolition, the facility was saved and reopened as the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center in 1972. It now hosts musical performances, classes, and exhibits of paintings, sculpture, works on paper, and performance art.

5. Fort Dummer State Park: Located in the Connecticut River Valley, this historic park has 217 acres of forest just outside of Brattleboro. The park was named after Fort Dummer, the first permanent white settlement in Vermont, built in 1724. Located in the southern foothills of the Green Mountains, the park has Southern tree species such as white, red, and chestnut oaks, dominating the hardwood forest that also includes beech, maple, and yellow and white birch trees. Hikers may spot gray squirrels, turkeys, and deer.