The Dickinson Estate Historic District encompasses the core holding of an early 20th century country estate in rural northern

Brattleboro, Vermont 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 ...

. It includes a sophisticated Colonial Revival mansion house, built in 1900, and a variety of agricultural outbuildings dating to the same period. The estate, and in particular its barnyard complex, are well-preserved remnants of this era. The property is also notable for its association with

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. ...

, who owned the estate for several years. It 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 v ...

in 2005. The district covers of what is now the main campus of the

World Learning World Learning is a 501(c)(3) international nonprofit organization that focuses on international development, education, and exchange programs. Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, World Learning "unlocks the potential of people to address critical gl ...

organization, a larger subset of the original Dickinson Estate.

Description and history

The former Dickinson Estate is located in rural northern Brattleboro, near its border with

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 ...

, on the west side of Kipling Road. The World Learning campus occupies more than of a large farm property that was known in the 19th century as the Bliss Farm. In 1899 the Bliss Farm was purchased by Frederick and Harriet Dickinson; he was a prominent local businessman, she the daughter of a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

millionaire. The farm became the core of a

gentleman's farm In the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, a gentleman farmer is a landowner who has a farm (gentleman's farm) as part of his estate and who farms mainly for pleasure rather than for profit or sustenance. The Collins English Diction ...

country estate that reached at its greatest extent. The Dickinsons built a 20-room Colonial Revival mansion house (to a design by Belgian architect Maurice Fornachon), and constructed a number of agricultural outbuildings to support farm operations on the property, demolishing most of the older buildings on the farm in the process. The only older building to survive on the property is an 1860s Greek Revival cottage, in which the Kiplings gave birth to their daughter while construction of nearby Naulakha was underway. The central portion of the Dickinson estate was purchased in 1937 by Thomas Bibby, who continued to operate the farm. His widow remarried, to Henry Persons, a principal in the Experiment in International Living, now

. That organization bought a subset of the estate (excluding the main complex of farm buildings) in 1962, and gradually expanded its holdings to more than . The property is historically significant as having one of the few surviving country estate houses left in Brattleboro, and for its remarkably well-preserved early-20th century farmyard, which was also designed by the architect Fornachon. The elaborate and deliberate arrangement of the buildings in the farm complex is particularly unique in the state.

References

External links

* {{NRHP in Windham County, Vermont Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Greek Revival architecture in Vermont Colonial Revival architecture in Vermont Buildings and structures completed in 1900 Brattleboro, Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Vermont Historic districts in Windham County, Vermont

Description and history

See also

References

External links