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Middlebury, Vermont Guide | |
| Middlebury, Vermont is replete with beautiful old Georgian and 19th-century buildings, a renowned college of high quality, a powerful creek roaring right beneath Main Street, and a pretty town green. | ||
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In a state of beautiful towns, Middlebury stands out as one of the prettiest. Not a village, not a city, it is of a size to offer a comfortable variety of beautiful churches, houses and civic buildings, art and crafts shops and galleries, historic inns and modern motels, restaurants and riverside cafes, all set in an area of exceptional natural beauty. Otter Creek—most of us would call it a river—flows right through the center of Middlebury, cascading over a natural break in the bedrock right below the Main St bridge. For over a century and a half it provided the water power and electricity that helped Middlebury thrive. Middlebury has highly-regarded Middlebury College as well as the University of Vermont's Morgan Horse Farm. Poet Robert Frost's participation in the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference (held in Middlebury's mountain campus close to nearby Ripton) spread the college's reputation even further. Robert Frost wasn't the only person of renown to tramp the streets of Middlebury. A man named John Deere was an apprentice here from 1821 to 1825, after which he moved to Illinois and invented the world's first steel moldboard plow, "The plow that broke the plains," making his name a household word in farms across the nation. Today, in the same location, you can shop for beautiful Vermont art and craft items in the Vermont State Craft Center at Frog Hollow. More... Although Middlebury has several charming inns, at significant times in the Middlebury College year they may all be fully booked, so make your hotel reservations well in advance. More... Several highways converge at Middlebury, including US Route 7, and Vermont routes 23, 30 and 125, and there is bus service if you don't have your own vehicle. More... —by Tom Brosnahan
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Main Street, Middlebury VT. |
