Brattleboro Historical Society

09/05/2026

You can listen to Brattleboro’s 9/11 story here:

In this recording the September 11th attack on the US is remembered by local residents...

09/05/2026

25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks this coming week. “When the second plane crashed in, my initial reaction was disbelief, and then anger, to think that somebody somewhere had decided to ram two planes into the towers like that.” Ron Hubbard - Brattleboro Fire Department

09/03/2026

Brattleboro Vermont then and now. Canal Street 1934.

09/03/2026

When the Books Are Opened Up

In the record books of Heaven
Angel pens are, day by day,
Setting down our thought and action,-
All we do and think and say;
Every blessing that befalls us,
Every bitter-bearing cup
Will be found upon their pages,
When the books are opened up!

Every love and every longing
That our hearts have ever known,
With indelible distinctness
Will be in that record shown;
Bitter bread and bitter waters
That we have called to sup
Will reveal their inner meaning
When the books are opened up!

On the side of good or evil
It is ours to cast our lot;
Hemmed and held by circumstances
We can still be free in thought!
As the sculptor hews the marble,
Into something bright and fair
We, a character may fashion,
If we give it pains and care!

by Arthur Goodenough...he may have been writing about the Recording Angel statue carved by Larkin Mead, a rendering of Mead's angel can be seen in Brooks Library

West Brattleboro’s Arthur H. Goodenough passed away on September 18, 1936. He was a full-time hill farmer and an amateur poet. Upon his passing he left over 3,000 poems. For more than twenty years his stanzas were published in various New England newspapers and many other publications throughout the country.
Goodenough was born in 1871 and was a West Brattleboro farmer his entire life. His first poem printed for others to read appeared in a New York City newspaper when he was still a teenager. The Rutland Herald wrote about Goodenough’s commitment to his craft this way, “His poetry was not done for money or fame, but for mere love of song, often amidst a tough struggle for existence on a bleak hillside farm.”

09/02/2026

Brattleboro Vermont then and now.
Birge Street.

09/01/2026

Brattleboro Vermont then and now.
The Estey Organ "er****on shop," in which every organ was completely set up and tested before it was crated and shipped to the purchaser.
The Estey Years: 1852 – 1953.

08/31/2026

Dear Brattleboro Community,

In honor of our nation’s 250th, the Historical Society of Windham County is putting out a call for stories.

They're looking for people willing to share a 5-7-minute story about life in their town—past or present. It doesn’t have to be a grand story. It might be a childhood memory, a story about your elders, a natural disaster, a celebration, making a living here, the schoolhouse, the grange, a tree, a neighbor, a character everyone remembers—or something we haven’t thought of.

REGISTER TO TELL YOUR STORY by SEPT 4TH https://tinyurl.com/potluckstories

You can:
• Tell a story of your own.�• Tell someone else’s story.�• Assume the character of someone from our past and tell their story using historical material we’ll provide.

The stories will become part of A Potluck of Stories: Windham County Remembers, a weekend of storytelling on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. Each program will be different, weaving stories told by present-day residents with those drawn from Windham County history.

They hope to have all 23 towns represented. If they receive more wonderful stories than they can fit, then another event in the spring will be scheduled. They will offer support and guidance to everyone who participates, along with an optional information session in mid-September, and minimal run-throughs before the performances.

Personal accounts feel more important now than ever. As we become an even more technology-driven culture, we’d do well to hold on to what makes us human: our stories.

The event is produced by Henriette Mantel—actress, director, writer, and lifelong Newfaner—and Annie Landenberger—writer, director, vocalist, and founder of Leland and Gray Players and Rock River Players.

Interested? Curious? Have a story but aren’t sure it’s “a story”?

Contact Annie Landenberger at [email protected] or leave the Historical Society of Windham County a message at (802) 365-1443. We’d love to hear what you have.

08/31/2026

Sept. 11, 2001. Firefighters in Brattleboro felt a professional empathy for colleagues in New York they would never meet, and a sense of helplessness at not being called to serve.

Firefighter Mike Bucossi - “As we sat there, being from small town Brattleboro watching New York City firefighters, just wondering how they're going to attack this thing, 80 stories high?”

08/30/2026

I was teaching in 2001 at the time of the 9/11 attacks. A year later I decided to film Brattleboro area residents on their thoughts a year later. I created this film and now 25 years have passed. Interesting to hear neighbors commenting 25 years ago. It's shared here through the Brattleboro Historical Society and is airing on BCTV all week. Monday at 6:30 PM and other days throughout the week.

A series of interviews with Brattleboro, Vermont residents conducte...

08/30/2026

The Smith cousins began a local student-run newspaper in 1888. They were seniors at Brattleboro High School. The paper was called "School Echoes". They contracted with a local printer, sold advertising, established a subscription system, and brought on student writers to produce the paper. High School news continued to be distributed in local newspapers, the Vermont Phoenix and Brattleboro Reformer, into the 1960's. Click below to hear the story...
https://soundcloud.com/bratthistoricalsoc/bhs-e581-school-echoes-and-the