I grew up in the tiny, tiny Northern Vermont town of Berkshire, VT. When I say tiny, I mean I’m pretty sure there’s more cows than people, even now. I thought, what better way to introduce Vermont than to first introduce the town where I was raised! Here’s a glimpse into my childhood. The more things change, the more they seem to stay the same.
View from my parents land.
A few facts:
- 2000 Census Population: 1,300 people
- One store / gas station.
- Elementary school is Kindergarten thru 8th grade.
- High school? We can pick which high school we would like to attend from one of the neighboring towns.
- Two restaurants (one is only open in the summer, the other just opened up), one bar.
- MANY, many family owned dairy farms.
- It’s a place where “Everyone knows your name”.
- Canada is in our backyard. Literally.
- ‘West Berkshire’, ‘Berkshire Center’ and ‘East Berkshire’ constitute as ‘The Town of Berkshire’.
- Closest grocery store – about 15 minutes away.
- Traffic? It’s either a car going slower than 50 on the main road or a tractor, probably a tractor.
- Not one stop light in town. Not one.
A few more important buildings (considering we have them)…
The Lady of the Lourdes Catholic Church in East Berkshire.
We have a fire department, volunteer only. My dad was a volunteer fire fighter when I was growing up. The big fires were the barn fires from wet hay.
This is the Berkshire Town Hall. I will say this is “new” to me. This building has obviously always sat here but it was recently renovated and it looks pretty nice. The previous town clerks office was about the size of my bedroom… ok probably a little bigger than my bedroom but not that much. This is nice, I’d be interested to go inside.
Finally, coming into East Berkshire from Berkshire Center…. we love those Green Mountains in the background. It makes a sight for sore eyes. I can never get sick of looking at those peaks. The point part of the mountains in the background is Jay Peak (ski resort).
Here’s a little glimpse into my homeland. This town holds a really special place in my heart. If you have any questions about the town or what it was like to grow up here, I’d love to hear them!
