Dr. Grace Burnett (1886-1963)
This week in Brattleboro History we are going to focus on the first female doctor in Brattleboro, Grace Burnett. Miss Burnett was born in West Dummerston in 1886. She grew up around animals and loved horses. She always wanted to be a doctor and was determined to find...
Dorothy Lamour and War Bond Rally (1942)
In 1942 the world was at war. In December of 1941 the U.S. had been attacked by Japan and the fear of an enemy invasion meant that most Americans were ready to sacrifice at home in order to help the war effort. During the spring of 1942 a ration system was begun that...
Clarina Nichols and Women’s Suffrage (1840’s-1920)
In August, 1920 the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution granted women the right to vote in state and national elections. In the 1800’s, here in Vermont, women’s rights were very limited. Property, personal and voting rights did not exist for women in the...
Clarina Howard and Women’s Rights (1810-1885)
Clarina Howard was born January 25, 1810 in West Townshend, Vermont. Her parents enrolled her in the local school and she had a great deal of success, performing well, and graduating high school as the valedictorian. All of the other graduates were boys. After...
Clara Antonetti, Radio and Welcome Center
In 1950 Brattleboro’s first broadcasting station, WTSA, began. The station appeared at frequency 1,450 kilocycles on your radio dial, (AM 1450). It went on the air April 20th and was the eighth radio station established in Vermont. The 170-foot radio tower was built...
Carrie Hamilton, Crystal Ice and Women’s Suffrage (1890’s -1930’s)
On August 18, 1920 the Tennessee state government voted in favor of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This caused the ratification of the amendment and meant that female citizens could now vote in U.S. and state elections. The leader of the local chapter of...
Audrey Hilley, Wanted By The FBI (1983)
On January 12, 1983 an employee of Putney Road’s Book Press was found to be a fugitive wanted by the FBI for murder. 49 year old Teri Martin, an executive secretary, had been working at the Book Press for two months. She lived just north of Keene, NH and her Book...
Antoinette Sherri (1920’s-1970’s)
In the summer of 2021 the stone staircase at the ruins of Madame Sherri’s “Castle” on the east side of Mount Wantastiquet partially collapsed. Antoinette Sherri, a Paris-born music hall singer, came to America in 1911. With her husband she opened a theatrical...
Annie Grout and the AMA (Civil War and Reconstruction)
On October 8, 1846 Lewis Grout was ordained a Congregational minister. On the same day he married Lydia Bates in Springfield, Vermont and the newly married couple traveled to Boston that evening. Two days later they boarded a ship bound for South Africa. Lewis was 31...
Annals and Mary Cabot- (1921-1922)
The “Annals of Brattleboro” was printed by the local company, E. L. Hildreth and Company. The Vermont Phoenix said the publication was “by far, the most important history of Brattleboro ever published”. The “Annals of Brattleboro” is a two volume-1100 page-set of...