Stratton: Forests, a Fire Tower and a Tiny Population
March 30, 2025

Imagine if Stratton lost its status as an official Vermont town.

In the 1930s, the Vermont Legislature decided that towns with tiny populations, like Glastenbury and Somerset, would no longer be organized towns. Some wondered if Stratton would face the same fate. At the time, Stratton’s population was well below 100 people.

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-A newspaper article from March 26, 1937 about how Glastonbury and Somerset “would cease to exist.”

About 55 people made up Stratton’s population between 1920 and 1930. Fortunately, by 1940, the population had increased to approximately 117 residents.

After dipping again from 1950 to 1960, the population has steadily grown since the opening of Stratton Mountain Resort in 1961. Today, the population is around 300.

“Stratton nearly went the way of Somerset and Glastonbury in the late 1930s. At that point, those towns were disincorporated and their town governments were done away with,” says Town Clerk Kent Young.

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-A view of Stratton Mountain Resort from a dirt road in Stratton during mud season.

Town Lines and National Forest Land

Stratton Mountain Resort is located on the north side of town. Traveling up the access road from Route 30 in Bondville, you don’t cross the Stratton town line until you’re almost at the resort.

The ski resort is about 3,000 acres, while the town makes up 30,000 acres—most of it on national forest land.

“Once you leave the resort area and head south into the other part of town, there’s not much around,” Young says. “Stratton has no gas stations or stores except for a small shop across the road from the town offices. It’s very undeveloped, and 65 percent of the town consists of national forest.”

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-Stratton Mountain Resort opened in 1961. / Courtesy image

Stratton Mountain is notable for being where James P. Taylor conceived the idea for the Long Trail—the oldest continuous footpath in the United States—while sitting in his tent during a rainstorm.

At the summit of Stratton, the tallest mountain in Southern Vermont, stands a 70-foot fire tower first assembled by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1930s.

In 1983, the resort became the first in the area to allow snowboarders on its slopes—thanks to snowboard pioneer Jake Burton, who opened his first workshop in nearby South Londonderry. Stratton is also where Olympic snowboarders Lindsay Jacobellis and Ross Powers trained.

-The town of Stratton borders Winhall, Wardsboro, Somerset, Sunderland and Jamaica. 

Happy Vermont Podcast: Stratton: Forests, a Fire Tower and How the Town Nearly Disappeared

In this podcast episode of Happy Vermont, Young, the author of “The History of Stratton: To the End of the 20th Century,” highlights Stratton’s population, the absence of post offices in town, and a tragic tale from Kelley Stand Road.

Listen to the podcast episode

-Stratton Town Clerk Kent Young and his wife, Siobhan. / Courtesy photo 

Where in Vermont? Test Your Knowledge of Vermont Geography

The answer to last week’s game was Brookfield. Emily Lewis guessed right! I also neglected to name a couple of people who correctly identified Weston in a recent quiz: Stephen D’Agostino and Christina Pujdak.

Can you name the town in the photo below? Share your answer by commenting below (be sure to give your name) or email me at [email protected]. Winners will be mentioned in my next email. Thanks for playing!

You can also play every Wednesday and Sunday on Instagram Stories.