Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Windham County, Vermont
Windham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,905. The shire town (county seat) is Newfane, and the largest municipality is the town of Brattleboro.
History
Fort Bridgman, Vern ...
, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
, which is the
Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about north of the
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
state line, at the confluence of Vermont's
West River West River may refer to:
Rivers
Canada
*West River (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia
* West River (Pictou, Nova Scotia) in Pictou County, Nova Scotia
* West River (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia
* West ...
and the
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 12,184.
There are satellite campuses of two colleges in Brattleboro:
Community College of Vermont
The Community College of Vermont (CCV) is a community college in Vermont. It is Vermont's second largest college, serving 7,000 students each semester and is part of the Vermont State Colleges System. The college has 12 locations throughout Vermo ...
, and
Vermont Technical College
Vermont Technical College, commonly shortened to Vermont Tech, is a public technical college in Vermont with its main campuses in Randolph Center, Williston and Norwich. In addition, there are regional campuses in Brattleboro and Bennington, ...
. Located in Brattleboro are the
New England Center for Circus Arts The New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) is a non-profit circus school based in Brattleboro, Vermont. As of 2016, the School reported 6,000 students.
Originally in the Old Cotton Mill, in Brattleboro, the school moved into a new custom-built ...
,
Vermont Jazz Center, and the
Brattleboro Retreat, a mental health and addictions hospital.
History
Indigenous people
This place was called "Wantastiquet" by the
Abenaki
The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...
people, which meant "lost river", "river that leads to the west", or "river of the lonely way". The Abenaki would transit this area annually between their summer hunting grounds near
Swanton, and their winter settlement near
Northfield, Massachusetts
Northfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Northfield was first settled in 1673. The population was 2,866 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Connecticut R ...
. The specific Abenaki band who lived here and traversed this place were called "Sokoki", meaning "people who go their own way" or "people of the lonely way".
Frontier fort
![Brattleboro, Vt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Brattleboro%2C_Vt._%282675062385%29.jpg)
To defend the
Massachusetts Bay Colony against
Chief Gray Lock
Gray Lock (or Greylock, born Wawanotewat, Wawanolet, or Wawanolewat), was a Western Abenaki warrior chieftain of Woronoco/Pocumtuck ancestry who came to lead the Missisquoi Abenaki band, and whose direct descendants have led the Missisquoi Aben ...
and others during
Dummer's War
Dummer's War (1722–1725) is also known as Father Rale's War, Lovewell's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the Wabanaki-New England War, or the Fourth Anglo-Abenaki War. It was a series of battles between the New England Colonies and the ...
, the
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from th ...
voted on December 27, 1723, to build a
blockhouse and
stockade on the Connecticut River near the site of what would later become known as Brattleboro. Lieutenant-governor
William Dummer
William Dummer (bapt. September 29, 1677 (O.S.) October 10, 1677 (N.S.)/small> – October 10, 1761) was a politician in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. He served as its lieutenant governor for fourteen years (1716–1730), including an e ...
signed the measure, and construction of
Fort Dummer
Fort Dummer was built in the winter of 1724 in what is now the Town of Brattleboro in southeastern Vermont. Today, it is notable as the first permanent European settlement in Vermont. The original site of the fort is now lost below the waters of ...
began on February 3, 1724. It was completed before summer. On October 11 of that year, the French attacked the fort and killed some soldiers.
[A. J. Coolidge & J. B. Mansfield, ''A History and Description of New England;'' Boston, Massachusetts 1859](_blank)
Books.google.com. In 1725, Dummer's War ended.
By 1728, and in subsequent peaceful periods, the fort served as a trading post for commerce among the colonial settlers and the
Indians. But violence flared up from time to time throughout the first half of the 18th century. In 1744, what became known as
King George's War broke out, lasting until 1748. During this period a small body of British colonial troops were posted at the fort, but after 1750 this was considered unnecessary.
Although the area was originally part of the
Equivalent Lands
The Equivalent Lands were several large tracts of land that the Province of Massachusetts Bay made available to settlers from the Connecticut Colony after April 1716. This was done as compensation for an equivalent area of territory that was under ...
, the township became one of the
New Hampshire grants
The New Hampshire Grants or Benning Wentworth Grants were land grants made between 1749 and 1764 by the colonial governor of the Province of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. The land grants, totaling about 135 (including 131 towns), were made o ...
, and was chartered (founded) as such on December 26, 1753, by Governor
Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. While serving as governor, Wentworth is best known for issuing several l ...
. It was named Brattleborough, after Colonel
William Brattle
Major-General William Brattle (April 18, 1706 – October 25, 1776) was an American politician, lawyer, cleric, physician and military officer who served as the Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1736 to 1738. Brattle is best known for h ...
, Jr. of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, a military officer, cleric, slaveholder as well as a principal proprietor. Ironically there is no record that Brattle ever visited the locality, and settlement activities remained tentative until after the 1763
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
, when
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
abandoned their claims to Vermont, part of the region which they had called
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
.
Hostilities having ceased, Brattleboro developed quickly in peacetime, and soon was second to no other settlement in the state for business and wealth. In 1771, Stephen Greenleaf opened Vermont's first store in the east village, and in 1784, a post office was established. A bridge was built across the Connecticut River to
Hinsdale, New Hampshire, in 1804.
In 1834, the Brattleboro Retreat, then called the Vermont Asylum for the Insane, was established through a generous bequest by
Anna Marsh of
Hinsdale, New Hampshire. In 1844, the Brattleboro Hydropathic Establishment was opened by Robert Wesselhoeft; this was the third "
water cure" establishment in the country, utilizing waters from a
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
near the current downtown fire station. Until the water cure closed in 1871, the town was widely known as a curative health resort.
[ Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org).]
Other industries began to appear in the town under the initiation of the businessman
John Holbrook, who initiated firms like the
Brattleboro Typographic Company The Brattleboro Typographic Company was a printing company in Brattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border w ...
.
These businesses initiated a decade of very successful printing industry in the town.
Mill town
Whetstone Falls, very close to where Brattleboro's
Whetstone Brook flows into the Connecticut River, was a handy source of water power for
watermill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
s, initially a
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
and a
gristmill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
. By 1859, when the population had reached 3,816, Brattleboro had a woolen textile mill, a paper mill, a manufacturer of papermaking machinery, a factory making
melodeon
Melodeon may refer to:
* Melodeon (accordion), a type of button accordion
*Melodeon (organ), a type of 19th-century reed organ
*Melodeon (Boston, Massachusetts), a concert hall in 19th-century Boston
* Melodeon Records, a U.S. record label in the ...
s, two machine shops, a flour mill, a carriage factory, and four printing establishments.
Connected by the
Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad and the
Vermont Valley Railroad
The Vermont Valley Railroad was a line in Vermont and New Hampshire, running from Brattleboro to the Vermont-New Hampshire line at Windsor, now part of the Connecticut River Line. Hugh H. Henry (1814-1869) of Chester, Vermont was an original in ...
, the town prospered as a regional center for trade in commodities including grain, lumber,
turpentine
Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a spec ...
,
tallow
Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides.
In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, includ ...
and pork. In 1888, the spelling of the town's name was shortened to Brattleboro.
[Brattleboro]
Virtual Vermont.
The
Estey Organ
Estey Organ Company was an organ manufacturer based in Brattleboro, Vermont. The company was founded in 1852 by Jacob Estey, who bought out another Brattleboro manufacturing business. At its peak, the company was one of the world's largest organ ...
company, the largest organ manufacturer in the United States, operated in Brattleboro for about a century beginning in 1852. The company's main factory was located southwest of downtown Brattleboro, on the south side of Whetstone Brook between Birge and Organ Streets. At its height, the complex had more than 20 buildings, many of which were interconnected by raised walkways and covered bridges. One of the buildings now houses the Estey Organ Museum. The entire surviving complex was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1980, both for its architecture, and for having been a major economic force in Brattleboro for many years.
In 1871, T. P. James, "The Spirit Pen of Dickens", a printer by trade, moved to Brattleboro, where he took a job at The Vermont Farmer and Record. James claimed that the departed spirit of Charles Dickens had given him a communication during at a seance on Oak Street. According to James, Dickens' spirit conveyed that he had chosen James to write down the end of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", which Dickens had not completed before he died. Dickens' spirit also supposedly told James that it was fine if James made a profit from the book. The book was printed by the same company that owned the Springfield Union, which was the paper that published the first news about James' claims, as well as excerpts from the new chapters of the novel. Newspaper editors from papers around New England who had employed James denounced the entire affair as a well-planned advertising hoax. The book became a sensation, being reviewed in the New York Times and widely promoted in spiritualist magazines of the day. James published the novel on October 31, 1873, and reported that he sold 30,000 copies of it. James left Brattleboro in 1879, abandoning his third wife and moving to Watertown, Massachusetts, with Lizzie Plummer, a member of the wealthy Salisbury family with ties to Brattleboro's printing and paper making industries.
British author
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
settled in Brattleboro after marrying a young Brattleboro woman, Carrie Balestier, in 1892. The couple built a home called
Naulakha, just over the town line to the north in neighboring
Dummerston
Dummerston is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,865 at the 2020 census. It is home to the longest covered bridge still in use in Vermont. Its borders include three main villages: Dummerston Center, West Dumme ...
. Kipling wrote ''
The Jungle Book
''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, w ...
'' and other works there. He also wrote about local life in the early 1890s: heavy snowfalls, ox-teams drawing sledges, and people in the small towns beset with what he called a "terrifying intimacy" about each other's lives. He recorded the death of men who had left, going to seek their fortunes in the cities or out west, and the consequent loneliness and depression in the lives of local women; the long length of the workday for farmers, even in winter, often for lack of help; and the abandonment of farms.
The first person ever to receive a U.S.
Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
benefit check, issued on January 31, 1940, was
Ida May Fuller
Ida May Fuller (September 6, 1874 – January 27, 1975) was a Vermont schoolteacher and legal secretary. She was most notable as the first beneficiary of recurring monthly Social Security payments.
Early life
Fuller was born at her family's Jewe ...
from Brattleboro.
On May 12, 1950, auctioneer
Emma Bailey
Emma Bailey ( née Parascandola; March 6, 1910 – September 3, 1999) was an American auctioneer and author, credited with being the first American woman auctioneer. She held her first auction in Brattleboro, Vermont, on May 12, 1950 as a way to s ...
held her first auction in Brattleboro, selling a rocking chair for $2.50. She was the first American woman auctioneer, and later became the first woman admitted to the
National Auctioneers Association The National Auctioneers Association (NAA), founded in 1949, is an advocacy group representing auctioneers, auction
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then se ...
.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the town has a total area of 32.5 square miles (84.0 km
2), of which 32.0 square miles (82.9 km
2) is land and 0.5 square mile (1.2 km
2, 1.42%) is water. Brattleboro is drained by the
West River West River may refer to:
Rivers
Canada
*West River (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia
* West River (Pictou, Nova Scotia) in Pictou County, Nova Scotia
* West River (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia
* West ...
, Ames Hill Brook and Whetstone Brook. The town is in the
Connecticut River Valley
The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...
, and its eastern boundary (and the Vermont state line) is the western bank of the
Connecticut River. Hills and mountains surround the town.
Climate
Brattleboro experiences a humid continental climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Dfa'') with cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers. The town can experience snowfall as early as November and as late as April, and in the adjacent mountains and high country as late as May. Nor'easters often come with the potential of dumping a foot or more of snow on Brattleboro when they move through; such storms are not uncommon during the winter months. Summers are warm to hot and generally humid, with abundant sunshine and heavy showers and
thunderstorms
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are somet ...
associated with passing
cold front
A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Northern ...
s.
Tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
es are rare.
The record high is , set in 1955, and the record low is , set in 1958. In terms of average annual
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
, May is typically the wettest month, and February is the driest. Brattleboro averages of snow annually.
Brattleboro lies in
USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
plant hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
5a.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were 12,046 people, 5,364 households, and 2,880 families residing in the town. Almost all of the population is concentrated in two
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
s identified in the town:
Brattleboro
Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about no ...
and
West Brattleboro
West Brattleboro is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,222 at the 2000 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 25.9 km ...
. The results of recent censuses indicate very little change in the overall number of people living in the town. Despite this, Brattleboro remains the most populous town along Vermont's eastern border.
The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
of the town was 375.3 people per square mile (144.9/km
2). There were 5,686 housing units at an average density of 177.7 per square mile (68.6/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 92.1%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 1.9%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.3%
Native American, 2.2%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.04%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.6% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.8% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 2.7% of the population.
There were 5,364 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.8% were
married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.3% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $31,997, and the median income for a family was $44,267. Males had a median income of $31,001 versus $25,329 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $19,554. About 9.2% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
![Brooks House from up Main Street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Brooks_House_from_up_Main_Street.jpg)
Both a commercial and touristic gateway for the state of Vermont, Brattleboro is the first major town one encounters crossing northward by automobile from Massachusetts on
Interstate 91
Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Conne ...
, and is accessed via Vermont exits 1, 2, and 3 from that thoroughfare. It offers a mix of a rural atmosphere and urban amenities including a number of lodging establishments. Brattleboro also hosts art galleries, stores, and performance spaces, mostly located in the downtown area.
In 2007, after meeting qualifying criteria, the local Selectboard passed a resolution designating Brattleboro a Fair Trade Town, becoming the second
Fair Trade certified town in the nation after
Media, Pennsylvania
Media is a borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located about west of Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation with 1.6 million residents as 2020. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolita ...
.
C&S Wholesale Grocers
C&S Wholesale Grocers is a national wholesale grocery supply company in the United States, based in Keene, New Hampshire. In 2021 it was the eighth-largest privately held company in the United States, as listed by Forbes. C&S owns the Piggly W ...
, the northeast's largest regional food distributor, made its headquarters here until 2005, when they moved their administrative offices to
Keene, New Hampshire
Keene is a city in, and the seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 census.
Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England. I ...
; however, because of close proximity to
Interstate 91
Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Conne ...
, C&S still operates a large shipping and warehouse facility in Brattleboro near I-91's Exit 3.
Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy is headquartered in Brattleboro and operates a dairy processing facility in the town that opened in 2011.
New Chapter, an organic vitamin and supplement maker is headquartered in Brattleboro.
Development
The town's
densely populated center is located near Vermont's lowest elevation point in the Connecticut river valley. Because of the surrounding steep hills there is very little flat land, and many of its buildings and houses are situated on steep hillsides, necessarily closely bunched together. This concentrated topography and population density have helped to create a semi-urban, cosmopolitan atmosphere in the downtown.
Since the 1950s, additional construction and development have expanded outside the concentrated downtown area; in the west, south, and north of the township. The southeast quarter of the town, near to and abutting the riverbank, is where its population has historically been the densest, and is composed largely of one- or two-family houses, with apartment buildings such as "
triple deckers" interspersed among them. Commercial and industrial operations are concentrated along the north-south
Canal Street (Route 5) artery. The town's high school and the Regional Career Center are also located in this section, as is Fort Dummer State Park, which is named after the first European settlers' 1724 stockade. The original Fort's site, however, was flooded in the early 20th century by a flood-control and hydro-electric dam built just downstream in
Vernon, Vermont
Vernon is a town in Windham County, Vermont, in the United States. The population was 2,192 at the 2020 census. Vernon is the site of the now-defunct Vermont Yankee, the state of Vermont's only nuclear power plant, which closed in December 2014. ...
. An historical marker is located near the Fort's now-underwater site, on the west bank of the Connecticut River on Vernon Road (VT Route 142), at the corner of Cotton Mill Hill.
The western section of town, built up around Vermont's east-west
Route 9, was formally designated a village in 2005. It is mostly lower-density residential in character, and features the state's largest mobile home park and several planned housing developments and subdivisions. Away from the Route 9 conduit, other parts of western Brattleboro and some areas north of the West River have a decidedly rural character, with dirt roads, sparse housing, wooded
Green Mountains
The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Quebec, Canada. The part of the same range that is i ...
foothills, and the last few farms left in the town following the 1970s' decline of the dairy industry. At its peak, the immediate Brattleboro area had over 170 farms; there are now less than a dozen remaining.
The section of Brattleboro north of the
West River West River may refer to:
Rivers
Canada
*West River (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia
* West River (Pictou, Nova Scotia) in Pictou County, Nova Scotia
* West River (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia
* West ...
, formerly farmland, was mostly subdivided and developed during the 1960s and 1970s following the construction of Interstate 91, which runs north-south through the town. The area has little residential development and is dominated by larger commercial and industrial establishments and suburban-style shopping areas along
Putney Road, including seven chain hotels and motels located within a short distance of each other.
Brattleboro is also the headquarters of the
Holstein/Friesian Cattle Association, which houses and maintains the worldwide registries for those two breeds.
Arts and culture
Brooks Memorial Library
Brooks Memorial Library is a public library in the municipality of Brattleboro, Vermont. The library was founded in 1887. The current head librarian is Starr LaTronica who joined the library in December 2015. The library is part of the Catamount ...
houses a town historical archive, fine art paintings, and sculptures.
Brattleboro has a thriving arts community. It was listed in John Villani's book ''The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America'', in which it was ranked #9 among 'arts towns' with a population of 30,000 or less.
On the first Friday of every month, an event known as "Gallery Walk" is held, during which galleries, artists, arts organizations, and stores display new art works or hold performances. Included in the organizations that participate are the
Brattleboro Museum and Art Center
The Brattleboro Museum and Art Center (BMAC), a non-collecting museum, was founded in 1972 and is located in the former Central Vermont & Boston & Maine Union Station building in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont.
New exhibits by regional and interna ...
, the
Hooker-Dunham Theater and Gallery, the
In-Sight Photography Project,
River Gallery School, Through the Music, and the
Windham Art Gallery. Gallery Walk is a mid-1990s creation of, and continues to be sponsored by, the
Arts Council of Windham County.
Other arts organizations in Brattleboro include the
Brattleboro Music Center, the
Vermont Theatre Company, the
New England Youth Theater, the Brattleboro Women's Chorus, the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA), the
Vermont Performance Lab, and the
Vermont Jazz Center.
Annual events
* February's annual Winter Carnival
* Alpine Ski Jumping's Fred Harris Memorial Tournament, each February at the
Harris Hill Ski Jump
* Brattleboro Women's Film Festival, each March
* Maple Open House Weekend, each March
* Annual Benefit Auction for River Gallery School each March
* Winston Prouty Center's Taste of the Town fund raiser each May
* Annual Slow Living Summit in May or June
* Vermont Theatre Company's Shakespeare-in-the-Park in June and July
*
Brattleboro Free Folk Festival, founded in 2003
* Brattleboro Literary Festival in October
* Brattleboro Film Festival first two weeks of November
Parks and recreation
![Harris Hill Brattleboro 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Harris_Hill_Brattleboro_2.jpg)
The town operates and maintains the Gibson-Aiken Center, a large recreation and community activities facility, located downtown on Main Street, along with a number of parks and outdoor recreation centers, including
Living Memorial Park, whose features include an outdoor swimming pool and a municipal skiing facility. There are bicycle lanes on
Putney Road in the northern portion of town, on Guilford Street near Living Memorial Park, and on a short segment of
Western Avenue in West Brattleboro. Open during the summer months,
Fort Dummer State Park is named for, and located near, the original site of a
Dummer's War
Dummer's War (1722–1725) is also known as Father Rale's War, Lovewell's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the Wabanaki-New England War, or the Fourth Anglo-Abenaki War. It was a series of battles between the New England Colonies and the ...
-era stockade. The state park consists of 218 acres of protected forest, featuring hiking trails and a State campground, just south of the population center on wooded hills overlooking the Connecticut River.
Brattleboro sees a substantial seasonal influx of recreational skiers and snowboarders, many of them bound for the resorts at nearby
Mount Snow
Mount Snow (previously known as Mount Pisgah) is a mountain and ski resort in southern Vermont located in the Green Mountains. It is Vermont's southernmost big mountain, and therefore, closest to many Northeast metropolitan areas.
In Septemb ...
and
Stratton, but it is also a winter sports destination in and of itself. The town played an important role in the development and popularization of the skiing industry as a winter sport, with pioneering Brattleboro native and
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
alumnus Fred Harris, founder of the
Dartmouth Outing Club
The Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) is the oldest and largest collegiate outing club in the United States. Proposed in 1909 by Dartmouth College student Fred Harris to "stimulate interest in out-of-door winter sports", the club soon grew to encompas ...
(1909–1910), also establishing the Brattleboro Outing Club (in 1922), contributing to the first North American use of motor-driven ski lifts, and building the
Harris Hill olympic-scale ski jumping facility, the site of international competitions every February that still attract daring ski-jumping athletes from all over the world.
Government
Brattleboro employs a
representative town meeting
A representative town meeting, also called "limited town meeting", is a form of municipal legislature particularly common in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and permitted in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire.
Representative town meetings function ...
local government, wherein its citizens are represented at-large by a Selectboard of five members, and by several dozen town representatives elected from three municipal districts. The Selectboard, meeting on average every week or two, is considered part of the 'executive branch' of town government; its five members being elected to fill three one-year positions and two three-year positions. In turn, the Selectboard hires and supervises a full-time town manager. The town's three districts also each elect a representative to the Vermont State Legislature.
State and federal representation
Brattleboro is represented at the national level by U.S. senators
Bernie Sanders and
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
, and by Congressman
Peter Welch
Peter Francis Welch (born May 2, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who is a United States senator-elect from Vermont, and the current U.S. representative for since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been a major figure i ...
, who also represents Vermont's entire at-large federal congressional district.
At the state level in
Montpelier:
*Sen.
Becca Balint
Rebecca A. "Becca" Balint (born May 4, 1968) is an American politician who is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's at-large congressional district as a member of the Democratic Party. She served as a member of ...
(
D)
*Sen. Jeannette White (D)
*Rep. Mollie Burke (P/D)
*Rep.
Emilie Kornheiser (D)
*Rep. Tristan Toleno (D)
Ballot initiatives
*Brattleboro voted in support of a measure calling on the town's police force to arrest and indict President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and Vice President
Dick Cheney in March 2008. The vote was 2012–1795.
*In March 2017, Brattleboro voted in support of a ban on grocery store plastic bags by a 3 to 1 margin.
Education
Brattleboro has a diverse mix of public and private primary, secondary and post-secondary schools and career centers. Sub-campuses of the
Community College of Vermont
The Community College of Vermont (CCV) is a community college in Vermont. It is Vermont's second largest college, serving 7,000 students each semester and is part of the Vermont State Colleges System. The college has 12 locations throughout Vermo ...
and
Vermont Technical College
Vermont Technical College, commonly shortened to Vermont Tech, is a public technical college in Vermont with its main campuses in Randolph Center, Williston and Norwich. In addition, there are regional campuses in Brattleboro and Bennington, ...
are located in Brattleboro; in the downtown's newly renovated Brooks House. Brattleboro is also home to the New England Academic Center of
Union Institute and University, housed in the
Marlboro College Graduate Center
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Marl ...
building.
SIT Graduate Institute
The School for International Training, widely known by its initials SIT, is a private non-profit regionally-accredited institution headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The institution has two main divisions. SIT Graduate Instit ...
, formerly known as the
School for International Training
The School for International Training, widely known by its initials SIT, is a private non-profit regionally-accredited institution headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The institution has two main divisions. SIT Graduate Instit ...
, is a private higher education institution in northern Brattleboro. An outgrowth of
The Experiment in International Living, which was founded in 1932 in nearby
Putney, Vermont
Putney is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,617 at the 2020 census.
The town's historic core makes up the Putney Village Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Histo ...
, the
Graduate Institute offers
master's
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. degrees in several internationally-oriented concentrations. Its students and faculty hail from all regions of the globe, giving Brattleboro a decidedly eclectic and international flair, and its notable alumni include native Vermonter and 1997
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...
laureate
Jody Williams
Jody Williams (born October 9, 1950) is an American political activist known for her work in banning anti-personnel landmines, her defense of human rights (especially those of women), and her efforts to promote new understandings of security i ...
.
Brattleboro currently has three public K–6 elementary schools. They are:
*Green Street School
*Oak Grove School
*Academy School
There is one public middle school, the Brattleboro Area Middle School (BAMS), and one public high school, the
Brattleboro Union High School
Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) is a public school in Vermont that serves the towns of Brattleboro, Vernon, Guilford, Dummerston, and Putney. The Brattleboro Union High School is connected with the middle school, Brattleboro Area Middle Sc ...
(BUHS). The Windham Southeast Supervisory Union, which oversees the public school system in the southeastern corner of
Windham County, also administers a dedicated vocational education unit, the Windham Regional Career Center
Oak Meadow a K–12
homeschool
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
curriculum provider and distance learning school is also based out of downtown Brattleboro.
Media
Print
The town is home to the ''
Brattleboro Reformer
The ''Brattleboro Reformer'' is the third-largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Vermont. With a weekday circulation of just over 10,000, it is behind the ''Burlington Free Press'' and the ''Rutland Herald'', respectively. It publishes six ...
'' (est. 1876 as the 'Windham County Democrat'), a daily newspaper with a weekday circulation of just over 10,000, and ''The Commons'', a non-profit community weekly newspaper. The ''Parent Express'', a community newspaper, circulates in Brattleboro;
Keene, New Hampshire
Keene is a city in, and the seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 census.
Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England. I ...
; and throughout
Windham County, Vermont
Windham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,905. The shire town (county seat) is Newfane, and the largest municipality is the town of Brattleboro.
History
Fort Bridgman, Vern ...
, and
Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Cheshire County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 76,458. Its county seat is the city of Keene, New Hampshire, ...
. Local news is also carried in the ''
Keene Sentinel'' and ''
Rutland Herald
The ''Rutland Herald'' is the second largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Vermont (after ''The Burlington Free Press''). It is published in Rutland. With a daily circulation of about 12,000, it is the main source of news geared towards ...
''.
Radio
There are several radio stations which broadcast from Brattleboro.
FM
*
WVBA 88.9 FM,
Vermont Public Radio
Vermont Public Co. is the public broadcaster serving the U.S. state of Vermont. Its headquarters, newsroom, and radio studios are located in Colchester, with television studios in Winooski. It operates two statewide radio services aligned with ...
outlet
*
WKVT-FM
WKVT-FM (92.7 FM, "Rewind 92.7 & 102.3") is a radio station licensed to serve Brattleboro, Vermont. The station is owned by the Monadnock Broadcasting Group subsidiary of Saga Communications and licensed to Saga Communications of New England, LLC ...
92.7 (
classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980 ...
)
[WKVT radio station](_blank)
Wkvt.com.
*
WTSA-FM 96.7 (
hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
)
[WTSA radio station](_blank)
Wtsa.net (April 21, 2009).
*
WVEW-LP
WVEW-LP (107.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to Brattleboro, Vermont. The license to operate the station is held by Vermont Earth Works. The broadcast radius is from . There are 56 volunteers on the staff.
History
In July 1998, a group of lo ...
107.7 (community-supported low power station)
AM
*
WINQ 1490
*
WTSA 1450
Television
Brattleboro is not reached by terrestrial broadcast television due to the surrounding mountains, in addition to being just far enough away from major cities like Boston, Springfield, and Albany. However, it is considered part of the
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
television market.
Comcast is the major supplier of cable television programming for Brattleboro. Local stations offered on Comcast include most major
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
-area stations, as well as
WMUR-TV
WMUR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Manchester, New Hampshire, United States, broadcasting ABC programming to most of New Hampshire. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on South Commercial Street in do ...
(
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
) and WEKW-TV (
NHPTV) from
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
;
WCAX-TV
WCAX-TV (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Burlington, Vermont, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York market. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Saranac Lake, New Yo ...
(
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
),
WNNE
WNNE (channel 31), branded on air as The Valley CW, is a television station licensed to Montpelier, Vermont, United States, serving the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York market as an affiliate of The CW Plus. It is owned by Hearst Tel ...
(
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
) and WVTA (
Vermont PBS
Vermont Public Co. is the public broadcaster serving the U.S. state of Vermont. Its headquarters, newsroom, and radio studios are located in Colchester, with television studios in Winooski. It operates two statewide radio services aligned with ...
) from the
Burlington / Plattsburgh market, and
WGBY-TV
WGBY-TV (channel 57) is a PBS member television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Owned by the Boston-based WGBH Educational Foundation, it is a sister station to that organization's flagship and namesake, WGBH-TV (channel ...
from
Springfield, Massachusetts.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Roads and highways
![229 33 United States Navy Seabees Bridges](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/229_33_United_States_Navy_Seabees_Bridges.jpg)
Brattleboro is crossed by six highways, including one Interstate highway. They are:
*
Interstate 91
Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Conne ...
*
U.S. Route 5
U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Spring ...
("Connecticut River Byway")
*
Vermont Route 9
Vermont Route 9 (VT 9) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. The highway runs from the New York state line in Bennington, where it continues west as New York State Route 7 (NY 7), to the New Hampshire state line at the Connecticut ...
("Molly Stark Trail")
*
Vermont Route 30
Vermont Route 30 (VT 30) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. VT 30 runs from U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and VT 9 in Brattleboro to US 7 and VT 125 in Middlebury. The northern portion, from P ...
*
Vermont Route 119
*
Vermont Route 142
Vermont Route 142 (VT 142) is a north–south state highway in Vermont, United States. It runs from the state border with Massachusetts as a continuation of Massachusetts Route 142 northward through the town of Vernon, Vermont, Vernon to the ...
Vermont Route 9
Vermont Route 9 (VT 9) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. The highway runs from the New York state line in Bennington, where it continues west as New York State Route 7 (NY 7), to the New Hampshire state line at the Connecticut ...
runs from the New York border with Vermont, west of
Bennington, traverses the southern backbone of the Green Mountains well west of Brattleboro, and eventually arrives in the heart of Brattleboro's downtown as High Street. Its other local names are The
Molly Stark
Molly Stark, née Elizabeth Page (February 16, 1737 – June 29, 1814) was the wife of General John Stark, made famous by his battle cry during the American Revolutionary War. Described as "mother of 11 children, homemaker, patriot, and de ...
Trail, ''Marlboro Road'', ''Western Avenue'', ''Main Street'', and ''Putney Road''. It meets I-91 at a partial cloverleaf interchange (from where it is Exit 2 from the Interstate), then as it advances eastward into downtown, it overlaps
U.S. Route 5
U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Spring ...
at the intersection of Main and High Streets. The road then runs north with ''Main Street'' into ''Putney Road'' then to the traffic circle at
Interstate 91
Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Conne ...
's Exit 3 (connected to that highway via a trumpet interchange westward from this roundabout), where it diverges from Route 5 and runs eastward into New Hampshire, becoming
New Hampshire Route 9
New Hampshire Route 9 (abbreviated NH 9 and also known as the Franklin Pierce Highwayhttp://franklinpierce.ws/highway.pdf ) is a state highway located in southern New Hampshire. It runs across the state from west to east and is a multi-state rout ...
.
U.S. Route 5
U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Spring ...
enters Brattleboro at its border with the town of
Guilford and runs north-south, through downtown, eventually exiting Brattleboro at its northern border with the town of
Dummerston
Dummerston is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,865 at the 2020 census. It is home to the longest covered bridge still in use in Vermont. Its borders include three main villages: Dummerston Center, West Dumme ...
. Route 5's local names are ''Canal Street'', ''Main Street'', and ''Putney Road''. Southbound, Route 5 detours along Park Place and part of Linden Street, as part of a one-way 'traffic triangle' at the north end of Main Street. Route 5, designated throughout Vermont as the Connecticut River Byway, is the only scenic byway in Vermont to receive national byway status.
Scenic
Vermont Route 30
Vermont Route 30 (VT 30) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. VT 30 runs from U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and VT 9 in Brattleboro to US 7 and VT 125 in Middlebury. The northern portion, from P ...
has its southern terminus in Brattleboro at the intersection of Park Place and Linden Street. From this point, it runs for about 12 miles on a very gently graded roadbed along the West River's southern bank, affording a stunning vista and connecting Brattleboro with picturesque New England towns and recreational areas elsewhere in Windham County and Vermont. Its wide riverside paved shoulder makes it a favorite cycling route. Route 30 exits Brattleboro at its border with Dummerston and continues northwest along the West River. Its local names within Brattleboro are ''Linden Street'' and ''West River Road''.
Interstate 91
Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Conne ...
, originating in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
and terminating at the
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
–U.S. border, runs north-south through town, arcing westward around the town center. Its first three Vermont exits are in Brattleboro: Exit 1 serves the southern part of town, Exit 2 serves the western section of town connecting to local ski areas via Route 9, and Exit 3 serves the northern section of town and neighboring southwest New Hampshire. I-91's majestic twin-structure
West River Bridge
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
is, as of 2015, being rebuilt with a completely new design.
Vermont Route 119 begins at a 5-way intersection, four road directions and one parking lot entrance, with U.S. Route 5 and VT Route 142. Route 119's local name within Brattleboro is ''Bridge Street''. It continues east with an at-grade crossing of the
New England Central Railroad
The New England Central Railroad is a regional railroad in the New England region of the United States. It began operations in 1995, as the successor of the Central Vermont Railway (CV). The company was originally a subsidiary of holding comp ...
just before crossing into
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
over the
Connecticut River, whose border lies just from the road's western end.
Vermont Route 142
Vermont Route 142 (VT 142) is a north–south state highway in Vermont, United States. It runs from the state border with Massachusetts as a continuation of Massachusetts Route 142 northward through the town of Vernon, Vermont, Vernon to the ...
begins at the same junction with Route 5 and Route 119 mentioned above, continuing southward, closely paralleling the New England Central Railroad for much of its length within town. Its local names are ''Vernon Street'' and ''Vernon Road'', as it continues southward into the town of
Vernon and eventually into
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
.
Rail
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
, the national passenger rail system, operates its ''
Vermonter'' service daily through Brattleboro, connecting the town by rail with
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and
St. Albans, Vermont, and many stations in between. Brattleboro was recently part of a $70 million re-alignment of the ''Vermonters route to the old ''
Montrealer'' route, restoring passenger rail service between Brattleboro and the western Massachusetts cities of
Northampton and
Greenfield. Recent upgrades to railroad tracks in Massachusetts and Connecticut, to the south, have significantly reduced rail travel time to New York and points south.
Bus
Southeast Vermont Transit, doing business as the MOOver and consisting of the former Current and Brattleboro BeeLine bus operations, operates 3 local bus routes around Brattleboro that also serve
Guilford and
Hinsdale, New Hampshire on weekdays and Saturday non-holidays. They also operated commuter bus routes between Brattleboro,
Bellows Falls (weekdays) and
Wilmington (everyday).
Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...
also stops in Brattleboro.
Air
The closest small-craft airports to Brattleboro are the
Deerfield Valley Regional Airport in
West Dover to the west, and
Dillant-Hopkins Airport in
Keene, New Hampshire
Keene is a city in, and the seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 census.
Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England. I ...
, to the east. The closest airports (both within north of the town) offering regularly-scheduled domestic commercial flights include
Lebanon Municipal Airport in
West Lebanon, New Hampshire
West Lebanon is a section (pop. approx 4,100) of the city of Lebanon, New Hampshire, on the Connecticut River. The area contains a major shopping plaza strip along New Hampshire Route 12A, serving the Upper Valley
The Connecticut River is th ...
, and the
Rutland – Southern Vermont Regional Airport, close to
Rutland. Both airports feature daily
Cape Air
Hyannis Air Service Inc., operating as Cape Air, is an airline headquartered at Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States. It operates scheduled passenger services in the Northeast, the Caribbean, Midwest, and Eas ...
flights to and from
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and
White Plains, New York
(Always Faithful)
, image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png
, seal_link =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State
, su ...
. The closest airports with regularly-scheduled domestic and international flights are
Bradley International Airport
Bradley International Airport is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, it is the second-largest airport in New England.
The airport is about hal ...
to the south,
Manchester-Boston Regional Airport to the east, and
Albany International Airport to the west, all of them less than two hours' driving distance from the town.
Fire department
The town of Brattleboro is protected by the Brattleboro Fire Department, founded in 1831 and located on Elliot Street in the downtown business district. There is also a sub-station in West Brattleboro. The Department's current Chief is Michael Bucossi.
Police
Brattleboro and
West Brattleboro
West Brattleboro is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,222 at the 2000 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 25.9 km ...
are serviced by the Brattleboro Police Department.
The
Windham County Sheriff's Department Windham is an English surname and may refer to:
People Surname
*de Wymondham (Windham), lords of Wymondham, later of Felbrigg Hall
**Ailward de Wymondham (''fl.'' 12th century), a person of some consideration in the time of Henry the First
**Will ...
provides prisoner transport and serves civil documents across Brattleboro and the rest of Windham County.
The
Vermont State Police
The Vermont State Police (VSP) is the state police agency for the US state of Vermont. The force has jurisdiction throughout the entire state. The Vermont Public Safety Commission directs policy and selects the commander. The commander is Colone ...
have a substation in
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
and also serve the town.
Health care
*Brattleboro is home to the
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, is a hospital in Brattleboro, Vermont.
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is a community hospital A community hospital can be purely a nominal designation or have a more specific meaning. When specific, it refers to a ho ...
, a 61-bed community hospital serving southeastern Vermont since 1904. As of 2014, the hospital has 137 primary care and specialist physicians on its staff.
*Golden Cross Ambulance provides EMT and ambulance service for Brattleboro, as well as
Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Cheshire County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 76,458. Its county seat is the city of Keene, New Hampshire, ...
.
*Brattleboro is also home to the
Brattleboro Retreat, a large private, non-profit psychiatric hospital founded in 1834. The Retreat, as it is known locally, was one of the first acute mental health care facilities founded in the United States. It is the third largest employer in the town, and 45th largest in Vermont, with a workforce of about 400 as of 2013.
*Health Care and Rehabilitation Services of Vermont (HCRS) provides Brattleboro, and the rest of Windham and Windsor counties in Vermont, with outpatient services for mental health, substance abuse and developmental disabilities. The agency is headquartered in
Springfield and also has other satellite offices elsewhere in Vermont in
Bellows Falls,
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
and
White River Junction
White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2020 census, up from 2,286 in 2010, making it the largest co ...
.
Utilities
Brattleboro's electricity is supplied by
Green Mountain Power. Brattleboro's surface water supply is the Pleasant Valley Reservoir, which the Pleasant Valley Water Plant siphons through Brattleboro at a daily average of 1.0 to 1.5 million gallons per day. Also, backup water pumps are adjacent to
West River Road just north of the
Brattleboro Retreat.
Cable television in Brattleboro is provided by Comcast. Comcast and
Consolidated Communications
Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc., doing business as Consolidated Communications, is an American broadband and business communications provider headquartered in Mattoon, Illinois. The company provides data, internet, voice, managed an ...
also provide the town with landline
phone and high speed
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
service.
Notable people
In popular culture
* Brattleboro is the setting for much of
H. P. Lovecraft's story ''
The Whisperer in Darkness
''The Whisperer in Darkness'' is a 26,000-word novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in ''Weird Tales'', August 1931. Similar to '' The Colour Out of Space'' (1927), it is a blen ...
''.
* Brattleboro is mentioned once in
David Foster Wallace
David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel '' Infinite Jest'', whi ...
's novel ''
Infinite Jest
''Infinite Jest'' is a 1996 novel by American writer David Foster Wallace. Categorized as an encyclopedic novel, ''Infinite Jest'' is featured in ''TIME'' magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.
...
''.
* The popular ''
Joe Gunther
Joe Gunther is the hero of Archer Mayor's long-running mystery novel series largely set in Vermont and particularly in the city of Brattleboro.
Gunther was born around 1933 on a farm near Thetford, Vermont. He fought in the Korean War, then we ...
'' mystery series written by
Archer Mayor
Archer Mayor is an American author. He wrote the Joe Gunther detective series. Mayor is a Yale graduate and lives in Newfane, Vermont
Newfane is the shire town (county seat) of Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,645 ...
is largely set in Brattleboro.
* The psychiatric hospital in the 2011 action movie ''
Sucker Punch
A sucker punch (American English), also known as a dog shot, coward punch, king hit or one-punch attack
( Australian and New Zealand English) or cold-cock (American English), is a punch made without warning or while the recipient is distracted ...
'' is located in Brattleboro.
* Brattleboro placed 11th on "The 20 Best Small Towns in America of 2012" list by Smithsonian Magazine in May 2012.
The 20 Best Small Towns in America of 2012"
Susan Spano and Aviva Shen, Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
See also
*
* Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
The Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a non-profit organization, was the primary educational and support services resource for Deaf and Hard of Hearing residents in Vermont and surrounding areas. The Vermont Center, headquartered a ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
Town of Brattleboro official website
Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control
Artist colonies
Vermont populated places on the Connecticut River
Towns in Vermont
Towns in Windham County, Vermont