Moretown

Vermont is so streamlined and beponded that it has (if you count both banks of every stream) uncountable miles of shore line. The tourist in Vermont passes by and over brooks and rivers at every turn...Charles Edward Crane



My first road trip begins on a sunny October day with an amble south down Route 100B. It's easy to miss Moretown, the center of which on first viewing is just a stately town hall and a pronounced bend in the road.

But on closer inspection (afforded by a quick turn about and a second drive back around the bend) the village of Moretown reveals an intimate charm: two dignified churches, a clapboard library, the general store, and a very charming gazebo.


The main fact of Moretown is the narrow, boulder-strewn Mad River, seen as just a glimpse from the car as it crisscrosses the highway but central to the development and history of the town. During the 1800's the Mad River provided the productive energy for lumber and grist mills, power plants and creameries. Then one rainy November day in 1927 the river flooded and brought to Moretown and the rest of the valley sudden death and destruction.

But today the Mad River is placid, and I just want to stop the car and climb a big rock on the bank, and take a long look into quiet water.

Moretown Facts and figures