East Calais is an
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to:
* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality
* Unincorporated entity, a type of organization
* Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
village in the town of
Calais,
Washington County,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, United States. The community is located along
Vermont Route 14, northeast of
Montpelier. East Calais has a
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...
with
ZIP code 05650, which opened on April 12, 1830.
The heart of the village forms the East Calais Historic District, 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 2020.
Location
East Calais is located in the eastern part of the town of Calais, on
Vermont Route 14. The village is set on either side of Kingsbury Brook, which is paralleled by the highway in a relatively narrow valley. The traditional industrial and commercial heart of the village on the east side of the brook, lining the highway, with a general store and 19th-century Greek Revival church. There is a 19th-century dam spanning the brook and a former
grist mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
standing nearby. Most of the residential architecture is 19th century, reflecting the area's importance in that period as a small-scale manufacturing center.
History
The town of Calais was incorporated in 1786, and grew in the early 19th century as a collection of independent villages. The first sawmill in East Calais was built about 1800 by John Lilley, a settler originally from
Charlton, Massachusetts
Charlton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,315 at the 2020 census.
History
Charlton was first settled in 1735. It was established as a District separated from Oxford on January 10, 1755, and b ...
. By 1840, the mill complex included saw and grist mills, a trip hammer, forge, and other industries. The village also served as a major stop on a north-south stagecoach route. A major fire in 1873 destroyed ten buildings at the heart of the village, including its only hotel, the Moscow House. A small park now marks the site where those buildings stood. The mills operated until 1943; the gristmill was the last to operate in the town.
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See also
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References
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Unincorporated communities in Washington County, Vermont
Unincorporated communities in Vermont
Calais, Vermont
Historic districts in Vermont
National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Vermont