Near our Cabins: Middlebury, Vermont

Our Vermont Travel Guide: Intro & Itineraries | Vermont Villages | Killington | Woodstock | Waitsfield & Mad River Valley | Hiking & Nature in Green Mountains | Brandon | Middlebury | Montpelier | Burlington | Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour | Stowe | Favorite Restaurants

A great little place for lunch or a sweet is Otter Creek Bakery in downtown Middlebury. Great shopping in downtown Middlebury! Discover equisite art at Edgewater Gallery, featuring many Vermont artists, in downtown Middlebury. In 1761, Middlebury was chartered with most people settling in the town after the Revolutionary War. Some say the town was named because it is located midpoint between the towns of New Haven in the north and Salisbury to the south, which were chartered the very same day, and some say because it was located halfway between the Canadian and Massachusetts borders.   Passing through the heart of the historic village is the Otter Creek, the longest river in Vermont. You can see its powerful waterfall from the Battell Bridge and through the windows of the Edgewater Gallery, located in a building that once was a mill. In an old mill building converted into a stylish space and set dramatically against the rushing Otter Creek Falls.   Middlebury is home to Middlebury College, a liberal arts college of international recognition. The college was founded in 1800 by a group of Middlebury citizens to train young men for the ministry and other learned professions. It is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Middlebury College is frequently ranked among the top five liberal arts colleges in the United States. Middlebury is a beautiful quintessential New England village, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, with its white steepled church overlooking Main Street and its vibrant citizenry. To demonstrate their industrial heritage, a historic marker is found on Main Street commemorating John Deere and his invention "the plow that broke the plains." This marker is located in Cannon Park near the blacksmith shop where Deere apprenticed in from 1821-1825. John Deere left Vermont and moved to Illinois where he built the world’s first steel moldboard plow. Nearby is the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History where one could learn much more about the history of the area. Just north of Middlebury is the Wildflower Farm with six acres of fields and woodlands to stroll, along with wildflower seed for every region in their gift and seed shop. They are open April-October. Middlebury is about 33 miles from our cabin via the very scenic Highway 125. Middlebury is only 16 miles north of Brandon. So you can drive back through Brandon and back to our cabin via scenic Highway 73. Or continue north to Burlington.