Brattleboro, Vermont, on the Connecticut River at the confluence of the West River, 105 miles (169 km) northwest of Boston and 58 miles (93 km) north of Springfield MA (map), is one of Vermont's larger towns, with a population around 12,000 occupied in printing and manufacture of books, furniture and optical products.

Brattleboro has a substantial arts colony: painters, sculptors, weavers, photographers, musicians, even circus arts.

Stroll along Main Street for a look at the craft boutiques, studios, and antique arts and clothing shops.

Then wander down to the south end of Main Street, past the historic Latchis Theater, to the former railroad station, now the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center.

Brattleboro History

In 1724 a small fort was built at the spot now marked by a granite commemoration stone, and named Fort Dummer.

There had been European settlers in the area before that, but the fort became the focal point of a community as well as its principal defense against the indigenous Abenaki Sokoki peoples, who did not welcome the settlers moving into their land.

As for famous sons, the great Mormon leader Brigham Young was born (1801) nearby in Windham County, and Rudyard Kipling married a Brattleboro woman in 1892, and they lived near the town for some time.

And a bit of family history: my great aunt once operated a dry goods store in Brattleboro, and lived on a farm nearby.

—by Tom Brosnahan

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