Exhibits
People
The Best Musical Performance Ever Heard in Brattleboro (1898)
In 1898 Brattleboro hosted a concert in the town hall auditorium on Main Street. The concert was organized to raise funds for the Brattleboro Soldiers Aid Society. This organization existed to support the soldiers serving in the Spanish American War and planned to raise $1000 at the event.
Sallie Joy White (1847-1909)
On March 2, 1870 the Boston Post reporter Sallie Joy visited town and wrote “Brattleboro has had a fire and a flood, and now it has a Woman Suffrage Convention. I saw an old farmer yesterday with the inevitable blue woolen frock and cart whip snugly stowed under his...
Ruth Atkinson and the Trees BHS (1950’s)
A little over seventy years ago, UVM Professor Leon Dean offered a course in “Vermont History and Folklore”. The course was designed for local teachers and met for fifteen weeks. It was offered through the University of Vermont Extension Service. Teachers could earn...
Mary Wilkins, famous author
In 1867, shortly after the Civil War, Mary Wilkins’ family moved to Brattleboro. She was 15 years old. Her family had left Randolph, Massachusetts because her father was in the building trades and New England was suffering through a recession after the war. Many of...
Mary Wilkins and Mt. Wantastiquet (1925)
This week in Brattleboro history we will speak about the power of childhood memories and how they can have a lasting impact on people for the rest of their lives. In December, 1925 the famous author Mary Wilkins Freeman wrote to our local newspaper about her memories...
Mary Shiminski and the MacArthurs (1974)
As the MacArthur family song says, in the summer of 1974 someone painted “Mary Shiminsky I Love You!” on the railroad overpass off from Putney Road heading to Chesterfield. The graffiti on the Boston and Maine railroad bridge inspired this song, a book of poetry, a...
Mary Rogers, Vt. execution and “Fake News” (1905)
Wednesday, June 21, 1905 was a bustling day in Brattleboro. Rumors were flying that a convicted killer would arrive by train for a federal hearing to determine whether the murderer should be executed on Friday, or allowed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. There...
Mary Palmer Tyler, Vt. resident 1796-1866, Trailblazer
Mary Palmer Tyler was a trailblazer. In 1801 she moved with her young family to a farm on Meeting House Hill. Royall Tyler, her husband, had just inherited $3,000 and they chose to invest the money in a 150-acre farm owned by Micah Townsend. Prior to the monetary...
Mary Howe and Florence Anderson 1880’s – 1950’s
For many years there was a tradition at Brattleboro High School which included the reading of student essays during commencement ceremonies. All twelfth graders were expected to research and write an essay as part of their senior program. Top essays were chosen by...
Marion McCune Rice and World War I (1914-1919)
Marion McCune Rice grew up in Brattleboro and attended the town’s public schools. After graduating from Brattleboro High School in 1900, she attended and graduated from Smith College. She then went on to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend Nursing School. In the...
Lucy Terry Prince – Luce Bijah and justice (1724-1821)
This week in Brattleboro history we are going to tell you about Lucy Terry Prince, or Luce Bijah, as she called herself. She lived from 1724 to 1821. In a book called The Music of Black Americans it says Lucy Terry Prince was a significant contributor in the efforts...
Jessie Tarbox Beals photojournalist
Photojournalism is the effort to communicate news through the use of photographs. Photojournalism first began in the United States during the Civil War. Matthew Brady worked for Harpers Weekly magazine and photographed soldiers and battlefields for the publication. In...
Jennie Powers (1864-1936)
Jennie Powers spent almost forty years of her life as a righteous humanitarian. At a time when politics, personal ambitions, and private interests are occupying so much of our public conversation it is important to remember a person whose life was spent compelling...
Helen Dorr and the Carnegie Hero Medal (1915-1922)
In 1915 a little seven year old girl named Helen Dorr was recovering from a traumatic few months. In mid-November her father, Arthur Dorr, died from complications resulting from severe diabetes. He was thirty two years old and operated a machine that made stationary...
Harriet Howard and St. Patrick’s Day (1910)
In 1910 the luck of the Irish visited Brattleboro’s Harriet Howard. Twenty two years earlier she had moved to town with her husband. He was a dairy farmer and she was a seamstress. According to a local newspaper article, Harriet surprisingly received a letter from a...
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Brattleboro Historical Society was founded in 1982 as a non-profit organization by a group of local historians and civic leaders interested in Brattleboro’s past. The Society’s mission is the telling of Brattleboro's story. Join us!