It’s hard to believe that the Rockingham Meeting House once sat unused and unappreciated. The meeting house is the oldest unchanged public building in Vermont. It was built as a combination church and town hall between 1787 and 1801 to meet the needs of anticipated population...
The Strafford Town House is one of those iconic Vermont buildings that looks very familiar. You’ve probably seen photos of the white clapboard building in guidebooks, magazines, or coffee table books. But photos don’t do it justice. The Town House is one of those places...
Ascutney Mountain may not be a lost ski area for long. The West Windsor ski area, which went bankrupt and closed in 2010, could be turned into a community recreation area offering backcountry skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The town just needs to raise...
What’s your favorite Vermont town along Route 100? For me, it’s a toss-up between Weston (where I was married) and Warren (where I used to live). Route 100 stretches 216 miles along the spine of the Green Mountains through 33 classic villages and towns, from Jacksonville...
Need to get into the holiday spirit? Travel to a hilltop in South Royalton, where 200,000 holiday lights twinkle in the snow. The Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial showcases one of the most festive holiday displays in Vermont, with trees, bushes, and buildings illuminated in red, green,...
Ever come across an abandoned building and find yourself mesmerized? I find it difficult to take my eyes off the ruins of old structures like the red school house in Dover or the dilapidated church in Bloomfield. What is it about these buildings that we find...
**My story about the SculptFest Vermont marble exhibit was originally published in the Rutland Herald. Kate Katomski’s family heritage lives deep in the historic marble quarries of West Rutland. Both her father and grandfather worked in West Rutland back in the thriving stone industry, when Vermont marble...
On Huckle Hill in Vernon sits a lost Vermont ski area that closed 50 years ago. Pine Top ski area operated between the 1940s and 1960s with three rope tows and four trails. With a vertical drop of 400 feet, Pine Top offered terrain for novice,...
It’s difficult to imagine Dorset Hollow as anything other than a six-mile, scenic road with beautiful mountain views, forestland, open fields, and gorgeous homes. But nearly 50 years ago, the Dorset Associates investment group planned a massive, four-season resort in Dorset Hollow, complete with an 18-hole...
Scent can be such a powerful memory trigger. For me, the smell of hay instantly takes me back to childhood when I had a horse named Banjo. While recently visiting the main barn at the University of Vermont Morgan Horse Farm in Weybridge, a flood of...
