Fall in New Hampshire & Vermont – Day 7 – Oct 2024

Hey Guys!

This post continues our time in New Hampshire & Vermont.

Read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here & Day 6 here & Click here to see links to all my blog posts

Our travel dates were Oct 5 – 12th.

We are now staying n Woodstock for the next two days.

We woke up to clear blue skies after having a day of clouds and drizzling rain the day before.

Our room at the Shire had views of the Ottauquechee River.

Read reviews for this area here

We decided to start our morning with breakfast at a nearby restaurant in Woodstock called, Soulfully Good.

It was one of the restaurants that I had seen mentioned several times in the Vermont Facebook page I follow.

Tip: Click here for the best places to eat breakfast in Woodstock

After getting parked, we headed inside.

We arrived around 8:15 and were some of the first ones at the restaurant.

If you want to eat breakfast, you will have to get there early because the restaurants in these small towns stay very busy during the fall season!

We took a few minutes to look over the menu.

I decided on the pancakes and the hubby ordered the breakfast burrito.

The food was average ….my pancakes were not cooked well enough and my hubby wasn’t impressed with the burrito…..I mean, who serves a salad with a breakfast burrito?! 😉

Read reviews here

After leaving the restaurant, we headed to our first stop of the day.

We passed the Mon Vert Cafe which has some of the best reviews for breakfast in Woodstock….that’s where we should have eaten!

We also passed the picturesque First Congregational church.

The original church was constructed in 1807. In 1818 a committee of three journeyed from Woodstock to Boston and purchased the church bell at a price of 45¢ a pound from Paul Revere & Sons.

The bell weighed 711 pounds and cost $319.95. It is interesting to think how long the trip by horse and wagon would have been to Boston and back, and how a 711 pound bell was lifted into the bell tower!

While Paul Revere is best known for his famous Midnight Ride, after the Revolution he set up a foundry in Boston, making iron and later brass items such as stoves, hearths, anvils and cannons.

Woodstock holds the distinction of being the only town with five bells manufactured in the foundry established by Revolutionary War patriot Paul Revere.

The Revere Bell is now displayed on the south porch of the church and is the oldest of Woodstock’s bells and the only one cast in Paul Revere’s lifetime.

Tip: Read here about a Revere Bell walking tour you can do in Woodstock

If you zoom in on this picture, you can see the bell to the left under the covered roof.

Three of Woodstock’s five Revere Bells still ring from the Masonic Temple (formerly the Christian Church), Saint James Episcopal Church, and the North Universalist Chapel. The fifth Revere Bell rests on a pedestal behind the Woodstock Inn in front of the Inn’s putting green.

The original chapel was moved to the rear of the meeting house and in 1880 the current Billings Chapel was erected.

Read the very interesting history of this church here

As we continued our drive, we passed this cool looking barn.

We were now driving through Bridgewater.

As we were driving through the small town, we passed the United Church of Christ.

The church was built in 1879 by William C. Bugbee, contractor. The dedication of the church occurred in 1880 and later that year, the 650-pound bell was placed in the belfry. The bell is still ringing 145 years later.

Continuing our drive

We passed a sign for the Killington Resort.

The ski resort is hugely popular during the winter months but they also offer a scenic gondola ride that you can take any time of the year.

Tip: Tickets for the gondola start at $32 and must be purchased online

We then spotted this incredible stone church and decided to check it out!

The church was called, the Mission Farm Chapel and was built in 1895.

In addition to the church, the 170-acre Mission Farm property includes an 1817 farmhouse, a guest and retreat house, a vicarage, a bakery and agricultural buildings.

This property was placed on the National Register Historic places.

After this short stop, we continued our drive.

We then arrived to our first stop of the day, Kent Pond.

During my research, I had read how beautiful this pond was and how you could capture some incredible reflection shots from the pond.

However, when we arrived, it was way too windy for any reflection shots but the pond is definitely worth a visit!

Tip: The Appalachian Trail also goes along the south side of Kent Pond.

After leaving here, we continued our drive.

During our drive, we passed another body of water so we decided to pullover and check out the views.

Our location showed that we were now in Plymouth.

The lake offered incredible views of the nearby mountains.

After researching, I’m pretty sure this was Emerald Lake.

The colors in the trees around the lake were really vibrant!

Shortly after leaving the lake, we arrived to our next stop of the day, President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site.

Tip: This site is only open during the months of May-Oct and only on Tues-Sun from 10 am to 5 pm

After getting parked, we headed inside and purchased our tickets. Tickets are $12 for adults, $4 for children ages 6-14 or you can buy a family pass for $30…this ticket includes up to 6 people with 4 adults.

After purchasing our tickets, we walked around the small museum inside the ticket building.

The museum housed exhibits and archives recounting Calvin Coolidge’s private and public lives.

Calvin Coolidge was the 13th president of the US but only became president after the sudden death of President Harding in 1923.

The Coolidges were actually on vacation in Vermont when President Harding died and Calvin’s father, who was a notary public at the time, swore his own son in as President by kerosene light at this homestead!

This was the Bible that Coolidge took the oath of office as President on August 3, 1923.

Calvin Coolidge’s presidential chair….so ornate!

This was Grace Coolidge’s (Calvin’s wife) cosmetic case.

After spending a few minutes walking around the museum, we headed outside to check out the rest of the property.

The historic site encompasses over 200 acres and includes Calvin Coolidge’s birthplace, the family homestead, as well as the homes of relatives and friends.

Its 12 or 13 buildings and their surroundings constitute a historical site in which the story of rural American democracy is told and preserved.

You will also see the Union Christian Church that was built in 1840, the Florence Cilley General Store, a one-room schoolhouse, the Aldrich House, the Wilder Barns, the Wilder House, and the cheese factory.

We headed to the Plymouth cheese factory.

The factory was established in 1890 by Colonel John Coolidge, the president’s father, along with James S. Brown and three other local farmers. The factory closed in 1934.

In 1960, President Coolidge’s son John revived the cheese factory which had been closed since 1934. The Coolidge family still owns about 500 acres of the surrounding small hill farms.

In 1998, John sold the cheese factory to the state of Vermont with the understanding that cheese would continue to be made there as long as the building was standing.

You could see where they made the cheese at the factory.

There were lots of pictures of the Coolidge family hanging on the walls.

They were offering cheese tastings so of course we had to try it out!! It was so good!

There was a small museum located on the second floor of the cheese factory.

The museum displayed a lot of the original equipment they used to make their cheese.

After heading back downstairs, we noticed a sign where they offered lunch bags for sale that included their cheese, pepperoni, crackers and water.

So, we decided to purchase one for later.

After the cheese factory, we checked out the old schoolhouse.

The schoolhouse was built in 1890 and where Calvin Coolidge attended school.

Back when Calvin was a boy, there was no formal US Dept of Education or standardized educational requirements. The average American completed an eighth grade education. which was defined by proficiency in reading, writing, math and basic life skills.

Seems like we need to get back to those basics for today’s education!

We then headed to the barn that still contained the Coolidge’s possessions.

The 1½-story farmhouse with connected barn had been purchased in 1876 by Colonel John Coolidge, who added the front porch and 2-story front bay.

The Coolidge Homestead is furnished exactly as it was when Vice President Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office following the unexpected death of President Warren G. Harding.

The quilt in this room was made by Calvin Coolidge when he was just 10 yrs old.

Calvin’s dad was a deputy sheriff at the time they lived here and would sometimes keep prisoners in this room when he didn’t have time to take them to the jail in Woodstock.

This bedroom belonged to Colonel John Coolidge in 1923. The president and Mrs. Coolidge slept in the middle bedroom upstairs. Because it was not possible to arrange public access to the second floor, the furnishings used by Calvin and his wife have been moved down to this room.

Two pair of Calvin Coolidge’s shoes were sitting on the bedroom floor.

A few more pictures of the inside

And of course, we couldn’t miss having our pictures taken on the front porch of the house!

Next, we walked over to the home that Calvin was born in.

This was the original home of his parents and is attached to the general store.

Calvin Coolidge was born in this bedroom on July 4, 1872. He was the first child of John Calvin and Victoria Josephine Moor Coolidge. Calvin’s sister, Abigail, was born in 1875. The family lived in this modest house until 1876, when they moved across the road to what is now called the Coolidge Homestead.

A few more shots of the inside

Next, we checked out the church where the Coolidge family used to worship.

The church was built in 1840 and dedicated as a Congregational Church in 1842.

We then headed to the general store that was built during the 1850’s.

John Coolidge became storekeeper in 1868. The rent was $40 a year, and by careful management, profits averaged $100 a month.

Coolidge soon purchased the store and entered into a partnership with his wife’s brother in 1875. He sold his share of the business in 1877, but owned the building until 1917.

Florence Cilley, whose name appears above the front door, operated the store between 1917 and 1945. The small post office at the front of the store served the town until 1976.

Today, it is still an operating general store and full of antiques from when the store was originally opened.

After leaving the store, we checked out 3 “tiny homes”.

These were actually called the, The Top of the Notch Cabins. These cabins provided tourists with modest, but comfortable accommodations. They are typical of the late 1920s and were prefabricated. The rates for the cabins were $7 a day!

These cabins, a gift shop and a tea room called “Top of the Notch” were in operation for many years. The middle cabin had been restored and was open to the public for viewing.

Also located here is the hillside cemetery in which President Coolidge is now buried with the members of his family….sadly, we missed this as we saw nothing about it on the pamphlet we were given!

Read reviews for this historic site here

After spending about an hour here, we headed to our next stop.

About 15 mins after leaving the Coolidge homestead, we arrived to Ludlow.

Ludlow was founded in 1761 and, like many of the towns in Vermont, was full of historical buildings like this incredible church!

Ludlow Baptist Church was built in 1892 for a cost of $11,079.52. It was designed by George H. Guernsey of Montpelier.

Guernsey worked as a builder but established himself as an architect and became a leading architect in Vermont where he designed many incredible structures throughout the state.

In 1897, he was elected as Montpelier’s third mayor. He died of tuberculosis at his home in 1900 where he was buried at Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier.

After this stop, we continued on our way to our next stop.

As we were driving, we spotted the ski slopes at the Okemo Ski Resort.

The ski resort offers year round scenic chair lift rides and so much more!

Tip: Don’t miss driving the Mt Equinox Skyline Drive when in this area!

Continuing our drive through Ludlow

As we were driving, we spotted a small pond so we stopped to take a few pictures.

I’m not sure what this pond was called but it offered beautiful views!

Click here to read about a hike you can do in this area called Tiny Pond

A few minutes after leaving the pond, we crossed into the town of Weston where we would find our next stop, the Old Mill Museum.

Unfortunately, the mill was closed when we arrived so we just walked around and checked out what we could.

It’s only open for tours on Wednesdays and weekends during peak season, and opens on select dates the remainder of the year.

The Mill Museum overlooks a picturesque mill pond and waterfall.

Built in 1785 as a sawmill, and later as a grist mill, its collection of early trade tools and products includes equipment used in farming, cheese making, coopering, blacksmithing, woodworking, weaving and spinning, and tinsmithing.

Standing next to the mill is the Craft Building that was built as a firehouse in the late nineteenth century. In the 1920s, Frank Mansur took over the firehouse in the 1920s and used it as a machine shop.

Read reviews here

Tip: Near the mill is the historic Farrar-Mansur House that was built in 1797…we missed the house.

After leaving here, we stopped off at the Weston Village Store. The general store has been opened since 1891.

We walked around the store and checked it out.

The store had everything from Vermont made goods, to homemade fudge to souvenirs and so much more!

We found a couple of Vermont sweatshirts that we liked so decided to purchase those and a few other goodies!

Read reviews here

After leaving this general store, we drove across the street to the very popular Vermont Country Store.

In 1946, Vrest and Mildred Ellen Orton opened The Vermont Country Store in Weston. Vrest was inspired by childhood memories of his father’s general store in North Calais, Vermont. The Weston store became the first restored rural general store in the nation.

Today the store is owned by Lyman Orton and his three sons. Together, they are 7th & 8th generation Vermonters, and 4th & 5th generation storekeepers.

The building that houses the Vermont Country Store was built in 1827!

The store was much bigger on the inside than we thought it would be and it had everything you could imagine!

It was like taking a step back in time….my hubby and I loved it!

It felt like part museum and part general store!

I saw two gentlemen in the store playing checkers and it reminded me of the old picture that the store had posted on their site!

There was a glass cabinet that was full of old antique scales.

We picked up some of their hand cut Vermont cheddar to take with us for the picnic we had planned later!

The store was full of old toys from the past and candy that you can no longer find in your local grocery stores!

The store had everything…..clothes, shoes, food, candy, toys, housewares, books and more!

Read reviews. here

As we were checking out, the cashier pointed out these hats that were hanging on the wall that belonged to the original owner, Mrs. Mildred Orton.

Mrs. Orton passed away at the age of 99 in 2010 and Mr. Orton was 89 when he passed in 1986.

Mrs. Orton’s nephew, Howard Wilcox still makes Wilcox Ice Cream, Vermont’s original, which was introduced by Mildred’s father in 1928 as a way to diversify for a growing family.

After making our purchase, we headed outside where we had a gentleman take our picture by the store.

Beside the country store was a small restaurant that was named after Mildred.

Tip: Don’t miss the Weston Village Christmas Shop when in this area

After leaving here, we headed to the small historic area of Weston.

We stopped to take pictures of the Old Parish Church.

The construction of the church began in 1816 and was completed in 1832.

Since its construction, the only significant change to the church has been the replacement of a simple dome over the doorway with today’s clock tower.

After taking our pictures of the church, we continued our drive and passed this beautiful horse farm along the way.

As we continued our drive, we entered into the town of Londonderry.

We passed the Second Congregational Church that was built in 1840.

Continuing our drive

It was now 1 pm and we were ready for lunch so we decided to find somewhere to eat our “picnic style” lunch.

I actually had a place picked out that was on my itinerary in case we wanted to have a “picnic” and it just so happened that it worked out perfectly.

I had seen pictures of it on the Facebook page that I follow so I made a note of it.

It was called Hapgood Pond Recreation area and was ten minutes from Londonderry.

However, when we arrived, we quickly discovered that all 12 acres of the pond had been drained in order to build a fishing pier!

I was so disappointed!

So, instead of having our picnic lunch by the water, we had lunch by the mud! lol!

Read reviews here

At least our food was delish!

And so were the trees! 😉

After leaving here, we continued our drive through the small town of Peru where we passed the J.J. Hapgood General Store and Eatery.

I had read that the food here was top notch!

Read reviews here

Tip: Scenes from the movie Baby Boom starring Diane Keaton was filmed at the general store

We passed the Peru Congregational church Construction on the church began on the Fourth of July in 1845, with contractor and resident J.J. Hapgood utilizing much of the timbers of the former church building in the new church. In 1853, a tornado swept through Peru, damaging the west end of the church and moving it from the foundation, however, it survived.

As we continued our drive we entered into Manchester which would be where our next stop is located.

Manchester was one of the top recommended places to visit on the Vermont Facebook page I follow.

The charming Vermont town was settled in 1764 and the town was laid out in 1784. The arrival of the railroad from industrialized centers like New York City brought tourists, drawn by Manchester’s historic architecture and beautiful setting among mountains. Following the Civil War, the town developed into an affluent resort area, which it remains today.

Manchester is also home to Hildene, Robert Todd Lincoln’s 412-acre summer estate and that’s where we were headed.

A couple of the historic homes we passed in Manchester

One of them was actually a hotel called the Wickham House.

The Wickham House was originally built in 1790 as a tavern and inn by Captain Peter Black. The inn was later purchased in 1837 by Rev. Dr. Joseph Wickham, legendary headmaster of Burr and Burton Academy.

Heading to the Hildene House

After getting parked, we headed inside to purchase our tickets.

Tip: Ticket for adults are $23 pp and $6 for children ages 6-16. The house is only open Thurs – Mon from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.

Once we had our tickets, we headed back outside and waked a short distance to the house.

Abraham Lincoln’s son Robert and his wife, Mary built this house in 1905 as a summer home.

Robert was the only child of Mary Todd Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln to survive to maturity.

Peggy Beckwith, Abraham Lincoln’s great-granddaughter and the last Lincoln descendant to live at Hildene, died in 1975, and left Hildene to the Church of Christ, Scientist in accordance with her grandmother’s wishes.

The non-profit Friends of Hildene purchased the estate in 1978 and began the long process of restoring the home and formal garden.

The estate encompasses 412 acres and includes the house and 14 historic buildings, includes the home, formal garden and observatory.

The house has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.

The tour is self guided but they only allow so many people in at a time and a group had just entered into the house when we arrived so we had to wait for the next group to enter the house.

While we waited, we checked out the nearby observatory.

Robert Lincoln had gotten his initial interest in astronomy from his father, Abraham Lincoln so when he built this house, he also built his own observatory.

Robert became a voracious reader of books on astronomy, about thirty of which still remain in his library at the Hildene house.

The views near the observatory were incredible!

After checking out the observatory, we headed back to the house to get in line for the next tour group.

There was a small square outlined in the grass near the front door of the house that showed the size of Abraham Lincoln’s first home compared to his son’s home!

After a few minutes of waiting, we were allowed into the house.

There are several rooms that can be explored so we took a few minutes and checked out the downstairs as well as the upstairs.

Here are a few pictures I took of the inside.

President Lincoln’s top hat

After checking out the inside, we headed outside to check out the gardens.

The gardens are beautiful!

There are more than 1,000 peony blossoms throughout the gardens!

The garden was designed by President Lincoln’s granddaughter, Jessie Lincoln, for her mother, Mary Harlan Lincoln in 1908.

The prestigious American Peony Society designated two of Hildene’s peonies, “Hildene” and “Jessie Lincoln,” as previously unidentified cultivars. The research that led to this honor took place in the Observation Garden located behind the the Welcome Center.

The mountains surrounding the house are absolutely stunning!! I can see why they would want to build a home in this location!

Tip: Besides the house, observatory and gardens, you can also visit the Welcome Center and Museum Store in the historic carriage barn; 1903 Pullman car, Hildene Farm, the solar-powered goat dairy and cheese-making facility, greenhouse, composting facility, animal barn, vegetable gardens, apple orchard, 600 foot floating wetland boardwalk and an 1832 schoolhouse.

Read reviews for the house tour here

A few more photos of the outside

We had to go back through the house to exit so I took a few more pictures on the way out.

After the gardens, we left the house and continued our drive.

We passed this cool looking house as we were driving through Manchester.

Tip: The two most popular trails in this area the Lye Brook Falls Trail and the Prospect Rock Trail.

Continuing our drive through. Manchester

We passed the Orvis Outlet Store

In 1856, Charles F. Orvis founded the Orvis Company in Manchester, Vermont, offering superior fly-fishing equipment and priding himself on customer satisfaction and service. It is the oldest mail-order retailer in the United States.

Downtown Manchester

As we continued our drive, we passed beautiful farms.

The views along the way were so amazing!

We spotted a covered bridge so decided to pull over and check it out.

This is the Scott Covered Bridge and is located in Townshend.

The Scott Bridge is actually three bridges, put in place by Harrison Chamberlin in 1870 after the flood of 1869.

The bridge is 277 feet long and one of the longest covered bridges in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It’s closed to all traffic.

Driving through Townshend

A few minutes later we found ourselves in the quaint town of Newfane.

Fun Facts: The West River in Newfane yielded the largest gold nugget ever found in New England, at 6.5oz and the small town was featured in episode 8, season 4, of the TV series “Route 66” in 1963. A sign for The Village Store at Newfane, Vermont, 1876, appears in an early scene.

There are around 1700 people that live in Newfane.

After arriving to the historic downtown area, we decided to park and take a few pictures of this cute, little town.

When we arrived there was some kind of farmers market or festival going on so it was difficult getting decent pictures of the beautiful historic buildings.

The First Congregational Church was built in 1839.

Near the church was the beautiful Four Columns Inn. The house was constructed in 1832 for General Pardon T. Kimball, a cattle-broker, general of the state militia and later, a state senator.The house was converted to an inn in 1965.

Next, was the incredible Windham County Court House. It was built in 1824 and remodeled in 1853 to its present appearance.

Next is the Union Hall that was built in 1832 for $1600.oo. After twenty years it was abandoned, then converted to a public hall in 1872. It is now used for meetings, weddings, concerts, etc.

We then spotted this statue that had been erected in memory of the men of Newfane who had served in the Civil War.

We then spotted this cute little building that used to be the post office but now houses an antique shop.

Next to the post office was the rarest sighting of the day! 😉

We then headed inside the Newfane General Store to check it out. This store was built in 1889 after the original store that was built in 1822 was destroyed by a fire.

The store had a full menu of delicatessen and prepared food.

They also offered coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner, groceries, cheese, maple syrup, ice cream, baked goods, and lots more!

They even had a few antiques in the store.

After checking out the general store, we continued our drive where we arrived to the Dummerston Covered Bridge in Dummerston.

The original bridge was built in 1872 but was totally renovated in 1998.

The West Dummerston covered bridge is 283 ft long and one of the two longest in the state, and it is the only one with diamond-shaped side ports.

Tip: The academy-award winning movie, The Cider House Rules, was filmed in Dummerston at Scott Farm in 1998.

Fun Fact: You can stay in the former home of famous author Rudyard Kipling. In fact, he wrote The Jungle Book, The Days Work, The Seven Seas and Captains Courageous while living there.

Continuing our drive

About 15 mins after leaving the bridge, we arrived to Putney where we spotted the Putney General Store.

The long history of this store dates back to 1796, the year when George Washington handed over control of the government to John Adams. The store has seen a lot in more than 2 centuries since then, including the recent loss of the original building to 2 fires in 2008 and 2009.

We headed inside to check it out

Since it was around 5:30 pm, we decided to order a couple of deli sandwiches for dinner.

After getting our sandwiches, we headed outside to eat on the front porch of the store.

They were so good!!

Read reviews here

After we were done eating, we continued our drive and crossed into Westminster.

Westminster is Vermont’s oldest existing town and was chartered in 1735. It was also the first capital of the Republic of Vermont. It borders the state of New Hampshire. The population is around 3100.

We passed this beautiful church as we were driving through the town.

About five minutes after arriving to Westminster, we crossed over into Walpole, New Hampshire where we passed another beautiful church! This church was called the Walpole Unitarian Church. The church was built in 1842 but was replaced after the roof collapsed in 1920.

Tip: Filmmaker, Ken Burns lives in Walpole

We then passed this beautiful house!

We were in Walpole for one reason, to purchase some delicious chocolates at L.A. Burdick.

L.A. Burdick has 7 different locations but the location in Walpole is their flagship store.

L.A. Burdick Chocolates began with one man who had returned from training as a chocolatier in Bern, Switzerland and had a desire to make chocolate confections that could truly be called chocolate as most chocolate in the US was mass produced.