Elliot Street - Brattleboro Historical Society

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 had not been an execution in Vermont for thirteen years. Convicted criminals had been sentenced to death during those years, but the Vermont Legislature voted to commute their sentences. This case seemed to be different. For one thing, the convicted murderer was a young woman, Mary Rogers. She was originally from Hoosick Falls, New York and had married a twenty five year old man when she was fifteen. Four years later Mary left her husband and moved to Bennington. At nineteen, Mary separated from her husband and publicly dated many men. One of her boyfriends was Morris Knapp and she seemed to fall in love with him. Her husband had […]

Florence Estey and the DAR Forest (1930’s)

On August 24, 1934 the Vermont Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) dedicated an Addison County land preserve to the memory of Brattleboro’s Florence Gray Estey. Mrs. Estey had died the previous year and the DAR chose her birthday for the ceremony. The DAR purchased the 160 acres nestled against the shore of Lake Champlain in order to protect the land and buildings. According to the Vermont State Parks website, this area was one of the earliest and most intensely settled sections of what would later become Vermont. There is evidence of human habitation that dates back over 7,500 years. Native Americans hunted, fished, and settled this land. In the early 1700’s a French village was constructed in the area and flourished until the English burned them out during the French and Indian War. In 1765 John Strong, from Connecticut, was one of the first English-speaking settlers to move into the region. He was 27 […]

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 a way to make this happen. As a young girl she practiced on her pets and farm animals, making medicines and dressing their wounds. She attended a one room schoolhouse, about a half mile from her home, for grades 1 through 9. After 9th grade she then traveled to Brattleboro High School, on Main Street, where she graduated in 1905. In order to pay for medical school she began teaching and performing janitorial duties in the one room school house she had attended in West Dummerston. To make more money, she also worked at the Overall Factory in Brattleboro producing double stitched overalls very popular with the […]