The Brattleboro Historical Society Podcast

Josh is the creator of the Instagram page "Landmarks of Brattleboro". It is an excellent source for images, and the history, of various locations in the area. This episode explores Josh's connections with Brattleboro...

Estey Organ Co. made over half a million reed organs and more than 3,000 pipe organs. The "made to order" pipe organs are featured in churches, clubs and mansions throughout the world. Each unique set of design plans has been preserved for reference. Recently these records were shipped to the Organ Historical Society in Pennsylvania. Here's the story...

In March, 1933 Ulric Rolin was the head bookkeeper at Manley Brothers Company, an automobile dealer in Brattleboro. Auditors arrived to check the books and Ulric Rolins disappeared. This is the strange story that unfolded...

Edward Heights became a public road in 1947. This was part of the building boom after World War II. Developer Edward Gagnon established 5 houses on the road and there were plans for 5 more. Fuller Drive was another section of town opened up at the same time. This is the story of Edward Heights...

102 years ago the current bridge between Brattleboro and Hinsdale was put into place. Now a replacement bridge is in the process of construction. This will be the 8th bridge that has spanned the Connecticut River between Brattleboro and Hinsdale. Here's the story...

Prospect Hill Cemetery was once known as the East Village Burying Ground. It began in 1796 with the burial of Freedom Clark, a woman who died during childbirth. Her daughter, also named Freedom, survived. This story, and others about the beginning of the cemetery, are shared in this podcast...

Carol Lolatte has been the Recreation Director for 33 years. Here is her story...

“My life is recreation. I do it, I live it, I love it and I’ll continue to do it,” said Frank Dearborn on the day he retired as longtime Superintendent of Parks and Recreation for the town of Brattleboro on May 25, 1990, a day that was declared “Frank H. Dearborn Day.” Here's his story...

In 1961 a local cable company built a tower on Wantastiquet for better reception. In the '80's the tower was replaced, and last month it was taken down...here's the story

Recently the United States government came to an agreement that averted a federal default on its debt payment. There is a history to this, and we will turn the clock back to the early 1970s when America’s debt was growing, and dissatisfaction was being expressed...

There was a time when the local fire department would host a banquet for the BUHS football team. These banquets honored the efforts of the local athletes and also served as a recruiting tool for the fire department. Here's the story...

The very first organized fire fighting force in Brattleboro dates back to December 1831, when the Brattleboro Fire Society was formed on Main Street. The organization operated out of the old Chase's Stage House, which stood where Vermont Artisan Designs is today. There have been a few changes since then...

In the 1960’s Denny and Don Robinson, twin brothers from Dummerston Elementary School, joined with Phil Natowich of Brattleboro to form a powerful athletic threesome at Brattleboro Union High School. They would play baseball and football together, winning a state football Division I championship on the heels of bringing the Brattleboro American Legion program its first ever state championship, bot...

In 1951 Junior High Science teacher Ruth Atkinson wrote about the history of Brattleboro's trees for a local history and folklore publication. We share that story in this week's podcast...

The Interstate highway system in Vermont linking Massachusetts to Canada was completed in 1978, a full 20 years after the first section of Vermont Interstate was constructed. The destination of that first stretch of Interstate was Brattleboro...

In 1954 Marshall Frizzell and the FFA planted European Larch trees at the Clark farm on Guilford Street. Frizzell would later die while serving in Vietnam. The trees would become part of Living Memorial Park and, in 1980, they were designated as a living memorial to those who served in the Korean War. Here's the story...

In 1965 the Melsur Corporation purchased land in northeastern Brattleboro on Old Ferry Road from Robert and Ruth Allard. Financing was arranged with the help of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation. A 2 ½ story, 15,000 foot manufacturing plant was built on the old Allard property by Loney Construction. For the next 25 years school furniture was made in the factory...

Joe Shield grew up in town and went on to play for the Green Bay Packers. Here we read part of the speech he gave at the BUHS Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2020. He will be inducted into the Vermont Principal's Association Athletic Hall of Fame this weekend...

During World War I almost 700 Vermont soldiers were transported to France on the largest troopship in the world, the Leviathan. About 30% died as a result of contracting influenza while on board. Brattleboro's Ernest Gibson wrote about the tragedy and we share the story...

Deidrich (DeDe) Stolte contributed a great deal to the athletic and moral upbringing of Brattleboro's young people 100 years ago. The current high school sports complex is dedicated to his memory. This is his story...

Florence Anderson was a 1951 BHS graduate. She wrote an essay about a local hero of hers..Mary Howe. The essay was featured at the BHS commencement ceremony. Mary Howe was an international opera star who grew up in Brattleboro in the late 1800's...here's the story, read by historical society trustees...musical interlude by Phillip Chapman

In Brooks Memorial Library you will find a few sculptures by local artist Larkin Mead. He made them while living in Italy but they both made their way to Brattleboro. Here's the story... musical interludes by Phillip Chapman

In 1901, 53 year old Annie Grout passed away. Many people remembered her contributions as an educator, her commitment to social justice, and her love of the natural world. She was born at a South African mission, she taught at one of the original HBCU schools after the Civil War, and pursued botanical and wildlife preservation hobbies while living in Brattleboro. Here's her story...

In 1967 a book compiled and edited by T.D. Seymour Bassett was published by the local Stephen Greene Press. It was called “Outsiders Inside Vermont” and featured thirty writers commenting on life in Vermont over a period of more than 350 years. Rudyard Kipling was one of the authors who had writings published in the book. Here's what he had to say...

Brattleboro sugar makers were at the forefront of establishing, maintaining, and marketing the purity and quality of Vermont Maple products. It all began in the 1880's...