Our Vermont Travelblog

Where We Live

I posted a little show and tell about our neck of the woods in Fletcher over at my main blog.

ntodd

Trip 13 - Sheldon And Fairfield

It was a lovely day for biking, but I was more in the mood to hang out with the dog and take a little jaunt--he's been such a good boy since coming home, and between my being busy and the incessant rainfall, he hasn't gotten as much attention as he deserves.  So...

Dude, look at the camera or it doesn't count!

First stop was Sheldon (history, demographics):

About 1789 Colonel Sheldon and his sons, Elisha Jr., George and Samuel, moved to Vermont. Other settlers soon followed and the town's name was changed from Hungerford to Sheldon in 1792. Colonel Sheldon and Elisha Jr. were elected selectmen at the first town meeting, and Samuel was elected town clerk. Later Samuel was to become the town's first justice of the peace and first representative to the Vermont legislature.
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A railroad stop named Olmstead Falls became known for the recuperative powers of "the waters" of what were known as the Missisquoi Springs in that part of town. In 1884, Olmstead Falls became Sheldon Springs in a move probably designed to draw attention to the town as a resort area. After the largest hotel in town was destroyed by fire (set by a disgruntled employee) the village declined as a tourist spot, but the name remains.

We parked here by a little quasi-park thing next to the river.

New Picture

I've uploaded a new picture with just me and Mex for the sidebar.  Yeah, I look a little dopey, but what the hell--it was a PITA getting Mex to settle down enough to shoot in the first place!

ntodd

Trip 12 - Westford And Williston

It is the dawning of a new age: the Post-Cairo Era.  I had to take Mexico to the vet this afternoon, and since I'm abandoning him at a kennel for the first time tomorrow (his usual sitters are otherwise preoccupied), I decided to take the opportunity to spend some quality time and start the 251 Club anew.

I left Mex off-leash in the town green, which might have been a mistake because he really wanted to go play with the wolf hound and other dogs across the road.  I guess that's a typical conflict in Father-Son events, eh?

I took a meandering path to the vet by going the back way to PetSmart in Williston for some toys and treats.  First we had a pit stop in Westford (history, demographics):

Absent any evidence otherwise, the name appears to derive from being the most westerly of four granted the same day. For whatever reason, in 1781 the young Republic of Vermont granted another Westford, in Orleans County. That town was subsequently renamed Westmore [where the Fortress of Solitude is].
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Where family names and descriptive terms were usually the basis for place names, Westford has a distinction in Number Eleven Hill. Nowhere else in the state is anything named by a number. When the town was being laid out, land was distributed in rounds, somewhat like modern sports drafts. The best land (suitable for dwellings and tillage) went in Round One to the most prominent grantee. Pasture land was Round Two; Round Three was frequently woodlot. Round Eleven would have been pretty far down the list in terms of usefulness.

I think this is a de-sanctified church.  They show movies here.

A while back I took a picture of Westford's covered bridge, some skating, more skating, even more skating, and a snow-covered bench.