Brattleboro’s old Town Hall auditorium, where Frederick Douglass spoke on Jan. 4 1866.
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.
The concert was an immediate sell-out and featured two singing sensations who were famous here in the United States, and also in Europe.
Town Hall was situated where the building featuring the furniture store, “A Candle in the Night” is now located. Town Hall had two large rooms, Festival Hall and the Auditorium. For the event, the social elite of the community organized a supper in Festival Hall.It was hosted by the Esteys, Fullers, and Crosbys. Between them they owned and operated many of the largest businesses in Brattleboro. They may have been the movers and shakers of Brattleboro but the concert was where the real stars came out.
Mary Howe and Harriet Brazor were both world famous singers who performed all over the United States and Europe. In 1898 they were both at the top of their games, and both called Brattleboro home.
Harriet Brazor was born in 1866 and her family moved to Brattleboro when she was four years old. She began singing publicly when she was thirteen and developed a rich contralto voice. Mary Howe was born in Brattleboro in 1870. She began singing publicly by the age of ten and developed a strong soprano voice. Both women went on to become world class singers performing in operas and concerts on two continents.
The advertising for the Brattleboro Soldiers Aid Society Concert said both women had recently returned home from European tours and offered to perform free in order to raise funds for the Brattleboro soldiers presently engaged in the Spanish American War.
The review of the concert in the local paper claimed it was “The Best Ever Heard in Brattleboro” Another review published in a Vermont paper said it was a brilliant performance from beginning to end. The concert proved to be such a success that the musicians and singers offered to hold a second performance to raise more funds a week later.
These concerts were wonderful examples of community action for the benefit of others. The leaders of Brattleboro, and the world class performers from town, joined together to support the local soldiers, and their families, who were sacrificing a lot for their country.
Mary Howe and Harriet Brazor went on to perform professionally for another fifteen years before each retired.