Grafton, Vermont

We were in Vermont a couple years ago, but I had forgotten just how pretty it is.

A porch rooster

As is our practice when visiting a location for the first time, we pick up a hand full of brochures then try to select what we want to see and/or do. Monday, when we stopped at a Vermont Information Center to have lunch and stretch (that’s another thing about not driving on the interstate—I miss the rest areas. They are so convenient and easy to get in and out of.) we picked up a brochure for the village of Grafton. On the front, it proclaims Grafton to be “one of America’s top ten most beautiful destinations.” That proclamation is not by the Grafton Chamber of Commerce, but by USA Weekend, whoever they are. Anyway, that statement caught our eye and we put Grafton on the list of things to see.

Alexander-Davis house

It is indeed a pretty, little community. I might not go as far as to say “one of the top ten in America.” However, this is not leaf season and folks in these parts put on their best duds and spruce up when the leaves turn. Maybe it will rank as a top ten in a few more weeks. Top ten pretty or not, it was still very much worth the visit.

The old fire station is now a gift shop

The Old Tavern is still and inn

The thing that makes Grafton unique is that everything here is old. There are no new structures. Most of the buildings have been restored so it looks like it might have looked way back when. The brochure we picked up had a map of town and a brief description of several of the buildings. We found a place to park the truck (in the white church parking lot) and set out on foot. The Historical Society operates a small museum. We were the only visitors there at the time, so once again got a personal tour. This is getting to be a habit I like. Bet this won’t happen in New York City.

The Brick Church

The white church

There were two churches in town—the white church and the brick church. They were about a half a block apart. The sign in front of the brick church read “Grafton Church”. Obviously, it was Christian, but had no denominational affiliation indicated. We couldn’t get very close because they were serving lunch in the “chapel” next door and it seemed like all the town folks were there for lunch. The sign out front just said “Lunch Today” so I don’t know if it is a regularly scheduled event or if this was a special occasion. It was the place to be, apparently. At the white church, the sign read “Baptist Church”. Our brochure gave us this history. The brick church was built in 1833 for the Congregational Church and the white church was built in 1858. The Congregationalists and the Baptists combined forces in 1972 and meet in the brick church during the summer and in the white church the rest of the year. By the way, the brochure refers to these buildings as the Brick Church and the White Church.

Town Hall and Post Office

We had our picnic, of course, and on our way out of town stopped by the Grafton Village Cheese Company. We sampled the 2, 3, and 4-year olds, but decided to purchase the 4-year old. I did not like the sage flavored cheese at all.

We liked the fan over the door

Grafton is a pretty Vermont village and we enjoyed our visit.