Arriving in Vermont in early summer is traveling back in time to a tranquil way of life and elegant hospitality. As soon as we crossed the state line, we knew we had discovered New England’s emerald jewel. We chose to stay in the Woodstock and Quechee Lakes region for true rest and rejuvenation after the busy school year. Set in the Ottauquechee River Valley at the base of Mt. Tom of the Green Mountains, this is not the Woodstock (NY) of 1960’s Hippie fame.
We selected the Jackson House Inn (802 457 2065) in West Woodstock for our home away from home. This inn was built in 1890 and is on the National Historic Register. Each room is lovely with authentic period antiques and beautiful decor, which enhances its historic charm. The inn is impeccably clean and extremely comfortable with excellent big beds, air conditioning, new bathrooms, and extra amenities such as an exercise room and fully stocked bar to make guests feel welcome, with complimentary beer, wine, or champagne with hors d’oeuvres in late afternoon. We awoke each morning to enjoy pancakes or an egg dish in the serene dining room overlooking a lush private garden. The Jackson House is recommended by locals as having the best restaurant in the valley.
Woodstock, in a lush valley of the Ottauquechee River at the base of Mt. Tom in the Green Mountains, was the fertile fishing and hunting ground of the Abenake Nation when Timothy Knox, a Harvard graduate, built his cabin here in the 18th century. By 1800 the town was a thriving community where all around the Village Green were home industries necessary for self-sufficiency. A silversmith, a hatter, a tailor, a baker, blacksmiths, two printers, a jeweler, and a cabinetmaker helped build the village, which through careful preservation remains much the same today as it was in 1865. And local grown crops and farm animals provided abundantly for life then and still does today. One of Woodstock’s notable citizens, Senator Jacob Collamer, an advisor to Abe Lincoln on the Abolishionist Movement, exclaimed, “The good people of Woodstock have less incentive than others to yearn for heaven!” And this could still be echoed today by locals and visitors alike.
For the Woodstock area unity in competition is the new community effort called Benchmark Inns, a consortium of 15 regional Inns, which are affiliated to assist each other with standards of excellence, ordering in bulk, and promoting their businesses cooperatively. Within 30 miles along Highway 4 you can select Where to Stay from 53 properties including Bed and Breakfasts, Inns, rental houses, or more budget friendly motels by clicking here . You might try the sedate and quiet Lauren Inn, newly renovated with outstanding decor. The Woodstock Inn and Resort right on the Village Green, has over 100 rooms and is a full service resort which can ably handle conventions and large weddings. The Canterbury House and The Charleston House and The Village Inn are other historic homes which offer beautiful bed and breakfast stays. Just a few miles away at Perkinsville is the This fertile valley grows excellent produce and the numerous excellent local restaurants feature organic meats and freshest regional fruits and vegetables in season. We were there during early spring when they harvest fiddlehead ferns, which are a delicate green vegetable of indescribably delicious flavor. Of course, Vermont maple sugar and apples are famous the world over, as is the rich cheese. water buffalo yogurt, mozarellaBut new to the region is the production of Water Buffalo yogurt and mozzarella cheese at Woodstock Water Buffalo Company ,which now is distributing nation-wide the only 100 per cent water buffalo yogurt produced in the United States. Delicious, Nutritious and Healthy, it has a higher protein and health-promoting bacteria than other yogurts and is popular with health enthusiasts. And locally, you can enjoy the rich water buffalo mozarella cheese. The overall operation is a unique venture which demonstrates ingenuity in finding a new niche that flies in the face of the over franchised world of America. Although the company is not set up for tours, a visit can sometimes be arranged by calling 802-457-4540.
Ambling around Woodstock on our first morning we enjoyed a guided history walk around the Village Green, where people still sit on park benches, watch birds in the shade of sugar maple trees, or meet for old-fashioned town celebrations like Memorial Day parades, Fourth of July picnics, apple and pumpkin festivals, and winter sleigh rides as well as building snowmen. The little town of about 2,500 people has a separate inner township of the Village Green, which has about 900 people. Each year in March neighbors always gather at the annual Town Meeting to discuss and decide issues, as they have in the same place since the early 19th century. Walking around the Green we could see fine examples of many periods of architecture because Woodstock has 200 homes, churches, and buildings which are on the National Historic Register.
The vitality and cooperative spirit in this small community is exemplary. The Chamber of Commerce, under the enthusiastic leadership of Annette Compton, not only promotes local buisnesses but also serves to create many events to entertain visitors and entice them away from frantic city life to delightful, laid-back retreats in the lush and healthy environment. Inspired by Vermont’s motto of “independence and unity,” there are many small entrepreneur businesses which have decided to work together to help promote their area and make it a delightful place for people to come for a visit and even choose to stay for a lifetime. Local artisans and craftspeople, of which there are many, demonstrate this spirit by helping promote each other’s specialties. Open Studio Week-end in May is the perfect time to see many artists and crafts people working in various media including paint,ceramics, metal, print-making, fiber arts, jewelry, wood-working, basketry, and many others. Visitors watch them creating beautiful items which are also for sale. Many old crafts have been revived and are being taught and preserved. We found galleries and unique shops everywhere, even Pegasus Gallery in the parking lot of a Mobil Gas Station. Local creations of all types are available in these shops and galleries year-round, and the prices, by standards of larger cities, are quite reasonable, while craftsmanship is superior.
For such a small village as Woodstock, shopping is amazingly fun and varied. There are many specialty shops and galleries where you can find one of a kind gifts and quality keepsakes. Stepping into F.H. Gillingham & Sons General Store instantly made me wish times hadn’t changed our shopping experiences so much. This store, the oldest general store in the United States to be in continual operation by the same family, has been here for 120 years serving the town with needs of almost any kind. And talk about customer service and satisfaction!
Don’t miss a visit to Plymouth Notch Historic District, the birthplace and homestead of Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States. His farm is just as his grandfather built it in the early 1800’s. This has been called the best Presidential Historic site in the United States. Your visit will include a wagon ride through the countryside to his cemetery, 19th century barns and tavern, an entire village just as it was in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. You’ll see how hard Calvin worked from his very early days. The visit here is a great way to experience history personally.
Another walk back in time is the Billings Farm (802 457-2355) where you will learn about farming 100 years ago in the superb Farm Museum. The working dairy farm is a favorite place for children who can watch milking and pet the baby calves. The Jersey dairy herd’s ancestors were orginally imported from the isle of Jersey by Billings at the turn of the century and produced a number of prize winning animals through the years. Other animals include chickens, horses, and sheep. In the original home of the farm manager you can learn to cook on a wood stove. The farm is open daily May through October and some winter week-ends.
Woodstock is also the birthplace of the Conservation Movement. Be sure to include time at the Marsh-BIllings-Rockefeller House,(802-457-3368) one of the most recently acquired National Historic Parks in the U.S., a gift from Laurance and Mary Rockefeller who were active in this community throughout their lives. The fabulous estate is furnished exactly as they lived and left it in the 1990’s. The home had been the home of George Perkins Marsh, who learned to love nature as a child and was saddened by the denuded countryside around Woodstock where 60 percent of the virgin forests had been felled to pasture sheep. He is known as the father of conservaton because of his book Man and Nature. “We must conceive of stewardship not simply as one individual’s practice but rather as the mutual and intimate relationship extending across generations between one man, community, and its preservation.” He advocated wise use of land and developed the oldest managed forest in America. The home was next purchased by Frederick Billings, a wealthy railroad tycoon who focused on restoration of the land. He planted hundreds of thousands of trees all through the west where his railroad, the Northern Pacific, was being built. He also planted thousands of trees in the Woodstock area to reforest the bare land. Rockefeller, who married the granddaughter of Billings, was the last owner of the house and estate. He focussed on preservation of the natural beauty of the land, for which he received the first Presidential Gold Medal of Honor for Preservation. The fine forests there today are used for recreation and carefully managed to preserve their beauty and usefulness.
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