Quaint, charming, cozy, and friendly. These are practically tabooed words attempted to be avoided when writing about any particular place, trying to entice people to visit. However, Bennington, Vermont, in the lower western corner of the state, is just all of these things, and later you may even understand why I have decided on these choice words and agree with me. Known as a former battle-town location by way of involvement in the American Revolutionary War (Battle of Bennington, 1777), the town is quite beautiful in its quaint, charming, cozy, and friendly way. When entering the town from the west on a main route, turning north on one path with bring you to the part of the neighborhood housing several historical points of interest. The Bennington Battle Monument is similar to one of many like it throughout the East Coast of the United States. It is in the center of a round, green courtyard, surrounded by a circle drive in one direction all the way around. On one side of the loop are a few shops presenting historical and special event information, Vermont maple syrup and other food and souvenirs, while residences shape the remainder of the rest of the circle. We chanced upon a free entrance day to the monument during a small local festival, though it really is worth the trivial five-dollar or less entrance fee to go inside for a look. The event being held was a race to the top of the over 400-stairs built inside. There is also an elevator, obviously built at a later date, but still just as rickety as one can imagine. Inside the monument is damp and cool. There is a cast-iron kettle hanging on rafters inside the stone-structure, and on all four sides, windows. These windows provided look-out points for battle, able to see over the rolling hills out to the Adirondacks of New York to the west, Massachussetts from the south, and Vermont to the north and east for any possible attacks. Now, the open windows serve as fantastic photo-taking spots. Heading back into the small town, one will be able to stop by the Old First Congregational Church of Bennington, a Protestant worship place. This standing structure was built in 1805 with a few refurbishments since, and taking a step inside will take you back into Colonial time. Nearly all the interior and exterior is painted white; seats are of old red velvet cushion, offering a stark contrast. The church is still used for worship, but you will see the way it was built—as the guide explains—initially having better-to-do families sitting in paid reserved family box pews on the main level of the floor, with everyone else in the lofts on the sides. The preacher’s spot in front has a long staircase on either side of the pulpit, rising up to meet it. An organ and choir loft rest in the back of the second floor. Out back in the Old Bennington Cemetery is the grave of the American poet, Robert Frost. Traveling through winding roads to the outskirts of town to experience a few endearing covered-bridges of the Northeast is a must. There are several over a span of some miles, but three are nestled closely together, crossing the Walloomsac River several times, not so far from this part of Bennington. The helpful, welcoming folks back at the monument gift shops are more than eager to explain to outsiders how to experience this road trip. The three we drove through were: Silk Covered Bridge, Burt Henry Covered Bridge, and the Paper Mill Village Bridge, this last with a defunct paper mill hiding beneath it. The twisting roads do not offer much a place to stop to admire, and there is a bit of local traffic requiring the one-lane bridges, but you will find a way to pull off somewhere and walk up to see the iconic New England red-planked structures. The setting in any weather would be perfect for painting, picture-taking, writing, and just sitting to admire these nostalgic constructions surrounded by nature that at one picturesque glance is seemingly stunningly motionless, yet in fact it is stirring all around it. A little south of these bridges are a couple of small-town-busy main streets that make up downtown Bennington. Head due north from there for a short, scenic drive, passing woods, mills, and rustic homes, to Shaftsbury to find one of Robert Frost’s homes: now The Robert Frost Stone House Museum. Frost lived in various places throughout New Hampshire and Vermont. (An aside that another famed poet, Edgar Allen Poe, also had multiple homes turned museums: located in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia and for a stint in Baltimore, Maryland. The former now boasts a large museum on Poe and the latter is kept as a small house-museum like this one but in a brick row-home, the size of which this Midwesterner could barely imagine in today’s modern world how entire families occupied these tiny and tight places, let alone get any creative work accomplished). Situated on a small piece of farmland, the Frost lot includes a couple of buildings, including a barn and the matching home with red barn-style planks and panes and a stone-built base. A gravel and grassy pathway lead up to the doorstep. Step inside the wobbly screen-door entrance into a foyer, and further enter the home which is set up to be a display of the poet’s works and inspirational sources. The abode is quite small, and you can walk around the center in just a short time going from room to room seeing small-scale exhibits. This is the location he wrote his famous text “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” and the museum is sure to have this pointed out for you with added details. There is a small gift-and book-shop inside. Regardless of what is in the home now and that taking photos was not allowed, it is fascinating to get a glimpse into an artist’s life and to wonder and to witness the landscapes which inspired him for a better understanding of his work. It is no surprise he is one of my beloved poets. When a person can be thoroughly immersed in the beauty of nature and life in it and then be able to write about it, expressing him or herself through it and sharing that with others, this is spirit-fulfilling, likewise as it is for the reader from reading and absorbing it. Vermont's woodsy setting is ideal to round the day trip to a close: Stopping by Frost’s home on a drizzly day is an antidote for literary inspiration and historical curiosity. Bennington Battle Monument
The Old First Church Covered Bridges of Vermont Robert Frost Stone House Museum (website under construction as of 2/5/18) Edgar Allen Poe in Baltimore Comments are closed.
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