Barre

by Doreen Chambers, Brooke Lorentzen

Overview

In 1788, the first settlers were drawn to the region of central Vermont now known as Barre by the area's 19,900 acres of rolling hills and valleys and its granite, water, forest, and fertile soil. The industrial growth of Barre depended on these resources. The Stevens Branch stream gave life to a number of mills, manufacturing companies, and granite-polishing works. Joshua Thwing built the first grain mill, and William Moorcroft started the first woolen mill to manufacture white flannel. The granite business began developing in 1812 and grew to be the chief industry in town, bringing immigrants from around the world to work in the quarries and sheds. One such settler was William Foster Milne, who arrived in 1907 and went on to organize the first Boy Scout troop in America. Today, visitors come from all over the world to visit the Rock of Ages Visitors' Center and quarry tour, Hope Cemetery, the Barre Opera House, Thunder Road SpeedBowl, and the Vermont Granite Museum.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467120913
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	02/10/2014
Series:	Images of America Series
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	1,075,083
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Doreen Chambers is a member of the Vermont Historical Society and author of Williamstown. Her daughter Brooke Lorentzen is a member of the Barre Historical Society and currently works for the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Many of the images included in this work are from collections at the Barre Historical Society, Barre Granite Association, and Rock of Ages.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 6

Introduction 7

1 First Settlement 9

2 Early Barre 17

3 Barre City 29

4 The Granite Center of the World 47

5 Times of Unrest and Change 79

6 Firehouses and Fires 91

7 Fun, Festivities, and Attractions 97

8 Changing Fashions 109