Brattleboro’s burgeoning ski industry
Brattleboro's Burgeoning Ski IndustryIn 1935 Brattleboro was well-known in the burgeoning New England skiing community. The annual Brattleboro Outing Club ski jump attracted thousands of people to the area every year. New Englanders came to Brattleboro all winter to...
New Bridge!
Intro Excerpts from local newspapers concerning the replacement of the covered bridge connecting Brattleboro with Hinsdale.March 7, 1902 The old Connecticut River Bridge in Brattleboro, known as the old toll bridge, had the closest call in its history and it is now in...
George Bemis and the Phone Message
Intro In the General Store...In 1954 George Bemis became the owner and manager of Hotel Brooks. In 1976 he was honored as the Chamber of Commerce's Man of the Year. During his time in town he was a big supporter of the Brattleboro Outing Club. At the dinner, held at...
Brooks House
In November 1869 the St. Albans Weekly Messenger reported on the status of Brattleboro, a town that was about as far away from St. Albans as you could get and still be in Vermont. The paper was commenting on Brattleboro’s recent hard times. In October, a Whetstone Brook freshet had wiped out many of the businesses along the brook and in early November a fire had destroyed all of the businesses on the west side of Main Street between Elliot and High Streets.
Breweries
C2H5OH: BANNED!
Prohibition came to New England much earlier than it did to much of the rest of the country. In 1851 Maine passed a law banning the sale of alcoholic beverages. By 1855 all New England states had adopted a version of the Maine law, including Vermont.
Torger Tokle
Intro The Babe Ruth of Ski JumpingIn February 1942 Torger Tokle retired the famed Harris Hill Winged Trophy for the first time by winning the Harris Hill ski jump three years in a row. Torger Tokle was a Ski Jumper originally from Norway who had emigrated to the...
John & Mary Carnahan
On Wednesday, January 19, 2022, on the steps of the Vermont Capitol, John & Mary Carnahan were recognized by the Vermont Senate & House of Representatives for their many civic contributions to the Brattleboro community. MembershipJoin UsBrattleboro Historical...
West River Photo Gallery
Gallery The West River
Wesselhoeft Water Cure
Dr. WesselhoeftIn the 1840’s one in five children born alive did not live to see their 1st birthday. The average life expectancy was less than 40 years. Many doctors bled their patients when they didn’t feel well and prescribed medicines that contained mercury and...
Group looks ahead at fresh ways to look back: Brattleboro Historical Society, about to turn 40 years old, seeks ideas and volunteers
On a Saturday morning, on the third floor of the Municipal Center, where Brattleboro High School students used to roam the hallways, Barbara George is seated in a circle, socially distanced and masked, with seven members of the Brattleboro Historical Society board of...