The Brattleboro Historical Society Podcast

Public School District Consolidation is a current issue. The Vermont Legislature has debated school consolidation for more than 150 years. Brattleboro's Vermont Governor Levi Fuller weighed in on the issue back in 1892...here's the story...

WTSA has recently changed hands, Dan Taylor began working for the local radio station more than 50 years ago. He recently retired...this is his story...

Vermont's roadside billboards were banned in the 1960's. It took 8 years to clear the Green Mountains of the advertising eyesores. We have a photo collection of local World War II billboards that were taken by Lewis R. Brown. Here's the story...

In the 1950's Florence Switzer was featured in two national publications as the taxi driver who was also a great-grandmother! Florence was born in Brattleboro in 1877 and retired from taxi service in 1951. She began her business in 1925. This is her story...

Brattleboro's New Year's Eve story is given a bit more context in this episode. Washington, D.C., Abraham Lincoln, Larkin Mead, Wells Fountain, Brooks Memorial Library, Westminster's Old Cemetery, and Sarah and Henry Willard are featured in the podcast. Happy New Year!

Zephyr Designs and the Clements family celebrate their 50th anniversary this year. Zephyr Renaud began the business in 1971...Robert Clement bought the business in 1975, when it was in the Van Doorn building on the southern end of Main Street. Twenty five years ago, the business moved to its present location in the Ryther Building, former home of Capt'n Bullfrog's Music Store. This is their story....

Before there were cars and trucks there were carriages and wagons. Brattleboro has a robust history featuring many manufacturers of these means of transportation. In fact, in the mid-1800's the largest maker of these items in the state of Vermont was located in Brattleboro.

The Creamery Bridge was built in 1879. There had been a bridge over Whetstone Brook in that location since 1810, and maybe even earlier. This episode shares some of the history of the bridge through the years.

Daniel Chester French created the bronze statue "Spirit of Life" in 1914. Ten years later, one of six or eight copies made by French was placed upon a Dummerston granite fountain at the southern end of Main Street, in the newly created Plaza Park. 100 years later the statue can be found in the Main Room of Brooks Memorial Library. Here's the complicated story of how the statue traveled from the so...

The history of local florist shop Taylor for Flowers goes back to the 1890's. This story traces the shop's history and shares some of the changes that have taken place over the past 130 years. The Unwin's have operated the shop since 1976.

In 1909 Harry Clark signed a contract with AG Spalding to provide ash stock to the sporting goods company. For more than 50 years Clark supplied the wood needed to make Spalding tennis rackets. He was also a community leader who convinced other businesses to settle in town. This is his story...

As Veterans Day approaches we focus on a story of family sacrifice and patriotism. Six brothers who volunteered to serve during World War II.

For more than 20 years, Hilltop Montessori middle school students have been investigating local stories of the past. Visits to the Brattleboro Historical Society and Brooks Memorial Library are part of the project. Students pursue their interests in real-world settings and create imaginative products that represent their learning and creativity. We are pleased to be part of their adventure!

In 1876 Brattleboro celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with 22 1/2 hours of various events. Most of the activity took place downtown and on the Common. Here's the story...

Mollie was on the Brattleboro Reformer editorial staff and wrote two columns for the paper that were often shared by the Bennington Banner and the Rutland Herald. Upon her retirement in 1938 it was said she had a regular southern Vermont readership of almost 50,000 followers. Here's her story...

Jacob Estey and John Carnahan were two Brattleboro leaders separated by more than 100 years, but with many qualities in common. Both worked to improve the social and civic life of the community. Here is a bit of their stories...

James Offutt was a World War 1 veteran who worked at the Vermont Wheel Club. His story, and many others, will be shared when we tour the Locust Ridge Cemetery and Morningside Cemetery during the next few weeks.

In the 1860's the highest paid newspaper columnist in the United States spent her summer vacations in Brattleboro. She worked for a New York City paper but, during the summer months, telegraphed her columns to the paper from Main Street's American House. Her pen name was Fanny Fern and she appreciated the natural beauty of this area. Here's the story...

Nighttime raids by government officials...neighbors unable to trust neighbors...residents split into opposing factions that result in shooting deaths on both sides...it's 1784 in southeastern Vermont and these are the Great Cow Wars!

This week's recording tells the story of hillside farming in the 1870's through the 1930's and reminds folks of the Hillside Farmers Club; a group that promoted NEIGHBORLINESS and worked to support its members.

Approximately 150 years ago the Dummerston Hill neighborhood, in northwest Brattleboro, consisted of hill farms and families who looked out for one another during challenging times. This is their story...

Electric Trolley Cars were a technological innovation that came to Brattleboro in 1895...by 1923 another technological innovation forced trolleys off the town's public roads; the automobile...here's the story

Controversy surrounded the arrival of the trolley. Vt. Governor, US House of Representatives member and famous author opposed the electric railroad; working class appreciated the convenience, cost and accessibility of the new technology...

This week we tell the story of Brattleboro's connection with the Battle of Bennington. Most soldiers from the area joined the local militia and the militia didn't arrive in Bennington until the battle was over. However, six Brattleboro soldiers joined Seth Warner's Battalion and five of them found themselves in the middle of the conflict with the British Empire on August 16, 1777.

Joel Bullard built this bridge in 1857. The wooden, covered bridge remained until 1895, when the selectmen voted to replace it with an iron bridge. The span was located where the concrete bridge near the intersection of Melrose St. and Western Avenue is now.