Town History
From Brattleboro Community Brain Trust
Contents |
Welcome to the Town History Section
We'll break the illustrious history of the place we know as Brattleboro, Vermont into several time periods.
For much of the pre-1931 information, we draw from The Annals of Brattleboro special issue of With Interest. It'll take a while to get it all entered in here. We also want articles about what's already here, further documentation, photos, maps, and more.
You can also help by filling in accurate dates and information in roughly the same format for the years 1931-present. Modern Brattleboro history needs to be documented.
History of Brattleboro
The history of Brattleboro, Vermont is quite expansive. To make room for all of the details, our Brattleboro Town History is divided by century (for now, at least - there may be further subdivisions later).
You can find the history of Brattleboro in the following sections:
- Pre-1600 is our depository for the oldest information about this part of Vermont.
- In the 1600's, European settlers made their way into the region, and their first settlements were built.
- The 1700's can be found here. Brattleboro was born and the town got underway.
- The 1800's were a time of growth and expansion in Brattleboro.
- The 1900's had its ups and downs.
- The 2000's can be found here. (We write this as it happens.)
For more timelines: Timelines
Timeline References
Unless otherwise attributed, most of the factual tidbits with dates before 1931 come from a special issue of "With Interest", compiled from Miss Mary R. Cabot's "Annals of Brattleboro" 1896-1931 and from newspapers 1896-1931, by Lanice Raton Dana and edited by Charles Edward Crane, published in April of 1932 (Vol IX, Number 1).
Brattleboro Books, Booklets, and Magazines
Annals of Brattleboro, Mary R. Cabot, 1921
With Interest, 1922-1932 - extensive booklet series published by the Vermont-Peoples National Bank of Brattleboro
Brattleboro - Its Attractions As A Home - Its Advantages As A Center of Business and Industry, Brattleboro Board of Trade, 1887.
Brattleboro, Windham County, Vermont - Early History With Biographical Sketches of Some of its Citizens, by Henry Burnham and Edited by Abby Maria Hemenway of the Vermont Historical Gazetteer, Published by D. Leonard, Brattleboro, 1880.
Brattleboro - Selected Historical Vignettes, Illustrated, by John N. Houpis, Jr., Brattleboro Publishing Company, Limited, 1973
Local Brattleboro Image Collections
Brattleboro Postcards - postcard and photo collections from private collections
Brattleboro Commercial Advertising - cards, catalogs, fliers, and other printed matter created for trade purposes. From the collection of S. A. Smith IV.
