Welcome to Middlesex: Mountains, Rivers, and Resilience
August 29, 2026
In Vermont, the landscape often determines how a town takes shape.
Middlesex is home to rivers, dirt roads, rugged forests, and mountains in the Worcester Range.
“The town is a quirky, resilient, and beautiful place,” says Patricia Wiley, who co-founded the Middlesex Historical Society in the 1990s.
The Winooski River runs along the southern side of the town, while the North Branch follows the eastern side. Because of the rivers, Middlesex has seen its share of floods.
”It has always been a matter of flooding and then having to rebuild, and flooding and then having to rebuild again,” she says.
Wiley says that there have been over 15 recorded floods in Middlesex since the 1780s.
“People are independent but also really supportive of each other,” Wiley says. “There’s this sense here that you help your neighbors, because you know someday you might be the one needing help.”
-Wrightsville was once a village in Middlesex. At the northern end of Wrightsville Reservoir (shown here from the dam side) is a public beach, along with kayaking, paddle boarding and canoeing access.
A Reservoir and Interstate
The 1927 flood had a damaging effect on the historic buildings in Middlesex and on the smaller villages such as Wrightsville.
The town suffered severe damage during the flood, especially in places such as Wrightsville. The floodwaters altered the town’s landscape and eventually resulted in the building of the Wrightsville Dam in the 1930s by the Conservation Civilian Corps.
“The flood washed away a lot of the old village centers,” Wiley says.
-Interstate 89 construction in the 1950s in Middlesex. Courtesy of the UVM Landscape Change Program.
In Middlesex Village along Route 2, the area never returned to what it once was before the flood. After Interstate 89 was built, the town became further fragmented.
“When the interstate came through, it bypassed the village, and all the traffic went on I-89 instead of along Route 2,” Wiley explains. “It definitely changed the way people move through town and how much activity there was in the village.”
A mountain still lies between the elementary school and the town clerk’s office, and the town’s post office was closed in the 1960s.
Unlike many other Vermont towns, Middlesex doesn’t have a traditional village center. According to Wiley, most of the old buildings in Middlesex are houses. Over the years, churches, general stores and other town buildings were destroyed by floods or fires.
“The town is a quirky, resilient, and beautiful place,” -Patricia Wiley
But that hasn’t stopped locals from finding ways to connect as a community.
“People here are independent but also really supportive of each other,” Wiley says. “There’s a strong sense of history here, too.”
-Summer music concerts at Camp Meade are a popular draw. Main photo and above photo courtesy of Camp Meade.
A Gathering Space at Camp Meade
One example of that reinvention is Camp Meade, which sits along Route 2 near the Winooski River. It began as a CCC camp.
CCC workers took part in major regional projects, such as the building of the Wrightsville and Waterbury flood-control dams and reservoirs.
“Camp Meade was a CCC camp in the 1930s, and the name has really stuck,” Wiley says. “People in Middlesex still know it as Camp Meade, even though it’s gone through a lot of changes.”
Camp Meade became a motor court in the 1950s with a pool, and eventually a World War II museum featuring planes and old weapons.
Today, Camp Meade is where people go for outdoor concerts, food, and community events.
Since June 2018, Camp Meade has hosted free live music on Friday and Sunday nights during the summer. The property also includes a pizza shop and a handful of other local businesses.
“Camp Meade has become a center for the community again. That’s great because for a long time there wasn’t much of a place for people to gather in town. We’re really starting to have that now.” Wiley says.
A sign for Shady Rill Road along Route 12 in Middlesex. Shady Rill is one of many place names in Middlesex.
Middlesex at a Glance
Population: About 1,800
Dirt roads: Middlesex has 51 miles of dirt roads, according to the state of Vermont.
Place Names: Putnamville, Shady Rill, Tangletown, Wrightsville, and Bear Swamp.
Ski dreams dashed: Middlesex doesn’t have a ski area, but in the 1960s, there was a plan to develop the Mount Hunger Ski Area. It never happened.
The haunted house of Middlesex: Back in the early 1980s, an abandoned farmhouse in the middle of town turned into the community’s haunted house for a few days each year. Eventually, the building got too rickety for comfort, and the tradition ended. The house finally came down in 2021. There’s more about this former tradition in a Vermont Public story from 2013.
Places in Middlesex you can visit: The Roots Farm Market, Woodbelly Pizza and Cafe, The Local, Bent Nails Road House, Camp Meade, Ananda Gardens, Putnam State Forest, Wrightsville Reservoir, and the Middlesex Notch Wildlife Management Area.
Hiking: Chase’s Mountain, White Rocks, Owl’s Head Mountain, and Mount Hunger (the summit is technically in the neighboring town of Worcester, but you can access a trailhead from Middlesex).
Upcoming Events at Camp Meade: You can still catch a few more summer shows at Camp Meade: Avi Salloway & Friends on Sunday, Aug. 30; KeruBo on Friday, Sept. 4; and Steady Betty on Sunday, Sept. 6.
-There’s no shortage of beauty in Middlesex.