Bennington--magical

Perhaps you remember this obelisk from April. It is a monument in Bennington, VT, commemorating a Revolutionary War battle fought in nearby NY, but the munitions were stored in Bennington. Bennington was our first city in Vermont when we came and we toured the monument. Recently we returned to Bennington on a magical, fall day. The drive was absolutely beautiful.

This waterfall is a favorite spot for leaf peepers. Nearby is a maple syrup stand. Our friend Connie says the guy has had the stand there for years.
Our purpose in going to Bennington was to visit the probate court clerk to offer assistance in transferring records from Bennington to Middlesex. We were lucky enough to also meet the probate judge for the county. We had a wonderful visit and both ladies were very gracious. After our business was done, we went to the Bennington Museum which houses some lovely displays which we weren’t allowed to photograph including an endearing display of the art work and personal memorabilia of Grandma Moses as well as many, many Vermont artifacts and this car—a WASP which was a gift of long ago actor Douglas Fairbanks to his wife Mary Astor.

Also in the museum was a quilt I had been waiting for months to see. This quilt was made during the Civil War by Jane Stickle while she waited for her husband to return from the war. Every stitch was done by hand. There are 169 4 1/2” blocks—none repeated. The triangles in the border are not repeated either. It is a masterpiece. Many quilters are currently duplicating the Dear Jane quilt as it is called. It is only displayed in the museum once a year for a month because of its fragile condition.


We returned to the John Stark obelisk and saw this beside it. Apparently a fund raiser because we saw these moose everywhere.

Then we rode the elevator to the turrets in the obelisk—about 20 stories up. Not a thrilling ride for me, but the view was worth it. We could see Massachusetts and NY from up there.

On our way home, we stopped by Whitington, VT, the birthplace of another special person.

Bennington was a wonderful experience for us. The museum was well worth the visit as was the monument. Our visit to the court will result in records being sent and we feel we were blessed to meet Judge Buchanan—a genealogy and history buff whose most famous ancestor was Benedict Arnold. We hope to return to Bennington and visit their famous pottery works. This is Vermont.