Vintage Village

A historic tavern is the centerpiece of this charming Vermont town.

February 14, 2007|Steve Jermanok, Globe Correspondent

Very few places in New England epitomize small-town splendor and charm better than Grafton. In the mid-1800s, Grafton had approximately 1,500 people and 10,000 sheep. Wool was turned into cloth, and soapstone in nearby quarries was used to create stoves, sinks, and foot warmers. By the end of the century, Grafton's inn, known as the Old Tavern, had played host to such luminaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Teddy Roosevelt. However, the village soon took a turn for the worst. Sheep farmers moved west , and the mills shut down . By the end of the Depression, the population was under 100. If it were not for the generosity of Pauline Dean Fiske, and the foresight of her nephews, Dean Mathey and Matthew Hall, the historic homes would have been torn down, and the land turned to pasture. With their aunt's money, the nephews founded the Windham Foundation in 1963 and restored the entire town, including the Old Tavern at Grafton. The village now looks the way it did a century and a half ago. Yet, this is no Disneyesque version of a Currier & Ives painting, but rather a working town where locals mix with a growing number of second-home buyers.

Play

Less than a mile down the road from the Old Tavern at Grafton, Grafton Ponds (Townshend Road, 802-843-2400, graftonponds.com) guarantee that there will be snow on the ground in season for at least a five-kilometer Nordic track. It is one of only two cross-country ski centers in the state that makes its own snow. Expect an additional 55 kilometers of trail through the hillside of maples and birches if the skies open up. An ice-skating rink and tubing hill are also on premises.

Dig for fossils, discover minerals, and learn about the area's plants, animals, and geology at The Nature Museum (186 Townshend Road, 802-843-2111, nature-museum.org) in town. You can also meet the resident catamount.

Rest

Renting a room at the Old Tavern at Grafton (92 Main St., 800-843-1801, old-tavern.com. Rooms with breakfast start at $138 in winter ) is like renting a quaint village for the weekend. The former stagecoach stop has 46 rooms in the main building and four guest houses scattered about town, all of which have been meticulously restored to their 19th-century splendor with antiques and oversize baths.

Two miles west of the village, the Inn at Woodchuck Hill Farm (Woodchuck Hill Road, 802-843-2398, woodchuckhill.com. Rooms with breakfast and private bath start at $155 a night ) is a 1790s country home on 200 acres. That's more than enough room to snowshoe in the winter, and hike and fish in the spring.