BARRE VT

BARRE VT

City Hall Square

Built - c. 1880

Barre, Vermont is known as "The Granite Center of the World" since it has quarried granite as far back as the 1700s. The granite that has been mined in the area is considered to be prized for its coloring and texture and has been used in countless number of statues and building facades. Even after mined for over 300 years now, it is estimated that there is still a 4,500 year supply of Barre gray granite still to be quarried out of the surrounding hills.

The town has quite a cultural heritage due to the influx of educated and sophisticated workers to the area who worked the granite over these 300 years with the town having many historic buildings, quality shops and fine restaurants. The famous Barre Opera House and Socialist Labor Hallhave both been restored to its architectural integrity and are both funcional.

City Hall Square, where the bandstand is located, was once the hub of what was called Lower Village and is at the junction of two old post and stage roads. At one time the area was sparsely populated and partially cleared. In 1794, at a town meeting, it was voted that "the swine should not run at large the present year," and that the common area should be developed. Early records in 1801 indicates the presence of a log cabin on the grounds, the first framed schoolhouse and the Methodist Meeting House.

Barre's first bandstand was then built on these grounds between 1873 and 1882 and has been used extensively since. The only information gathered is that it has endured several renovations over the years with the most recent one being in 1975 when it was relocated to the very center of the common.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:
Internet - http://www.vermontvation.com9/5/2003

BENNINGTON VT

BENNINGTON VT

Vermont Veterans Home Grounds

Built - 1988

Bennington, Vermont is the state's 5th largest community located in the southwest corner of the state just 9 miles from the New York border and 14 miles from the Massachusetts border. The city has a rich history and can claim to have hosted one of the most important battles of the American Revolution in August of 1777. The Battle of Bennington took place in the area although actually being fought in New York but the citizens of Bennington believe it was more in their area with the Bennington Battle Monument marking the spot which was believed to be the main battleground. The city also boasts a number of other historical landmarks including Robert Frost's gravesite, the Bennington Museum, Park-McCullough House and three of the states many covered bridges.

Bennington's bandstand was built on the grounds of the Vermont Veterans Home and dedicated on September 25, 1988 to the home by the Mt. Anthony Lioness Club as so stated on the large plaques affixed to the structure. It is Bennington's first bandstand and was financed by public donations and built by community members and high school students.

The solidly built bandstand is nearly at ground level with the slightly pointed roof being supported by 6 brick pillars and is certainly one which will last for many years to come.

Local bands have and still perform on the bandstand regularly during the summer months and a few dignitaries have appeared on the structure including Vermont Governor Howard Dean and a 101-year old Veteran's Home resident who was honored by the Governor.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:
Lynne, Reference Department
Bennington Free Library

BONDVILLE VT

BONDVILLE VT

John Gardner Memorial Stage

Bondville Fair

Information is currently unavailable on Bondville VT bandstand

BONDVILLE VT

BONDVILLE VT

Bondville Fair

Information is currently unavailable on Bondville VT bandstand

BRADFORD VT

BRADFORD VT

Bradford Bandstand

Built - 1991

Information is currently unavailable on Bradford VT bandstand

BRANDON VT

BRANDON VT

Central Park

Built - 1988

Brandon became an important mill town after being chargered in 1761 having both saw and grist mills on over 20 sites. Also the production of stoves and other iron products were produced in the area due to the abundance of local iron ore. With the Burlington-Rutland Railroad running through the town after 1849, Brandon also became a center for the manufacture of railroad cars. The area was also a major marble quarrying area at one time.

Brandon has two village greens with the Neshobe River flowing between them and during the boom years of the 19th century, many fine homes were built with most of them still in use to this day.

The town is also the birthplace and childhood home of the famed 19th century statesman Steven A. Douglas who is most renowned for the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates. Also Thomas Davenport, an inventor of the electric motor, although never achieving fame for his invention dying penniless, was born and lived in the town.

On one of the town's village greens, called Central Park, sits Brandon's well-built bandstand which was completed in 1988 and is one of many the town has had. This most recent structure was built by the Brandon area Chamber of Commerce to replace the deteriorated previous bandstand in the park through donations and contributed help and materials. When the new bandstand was built, the Chamber of Commerce scheduled the work party with the first job being the dismantling of the old bandstand. It was then realized that the town owners of the old structure had never been contacted or asked permission to take it down which caused some embarrassment on their part.

The Chamber of Commerce sponsors a free summer concert series every season with different bands playing each year. The bandstand also plays host to the July 4th parade and activities, Memorial Day commemorations, the Great Bandon Auction, Harvest Festivals, September 11th commemmorations and Memory Tree Festivities with Santa Claus.

INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY:
Janet Mondiak, Executive Director
Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce

BRATTLEBORO VT

BRATTLEBORO VT

The Blanche Honegger Moyse Bandstand

Built - 1901

Brattleboro has always been a very unique place to live and visit being considered to be the "Hub of New England" in that it is easily accessed from Interstate 91 and close to the Massachusetts border to the south, the state of New Hampshire in the east and the wonderful recreational areas of the Green Mountains to the west. Brattleboro itself offers an extraordinary variety of outdoor activities, entertainment, arts and shopping.

Brattleboro also became the "Organ Capital of America" from the early 1870s to the mid 1950s when the Estey Organ Company was founded. The company employed as many as 500 gifted craftsmen in the area and marketed over 500,000 of its reed organs in its history to countries as far away as New Zealand. The prosperity of the Estey family also funded other enterprises in Brattleboro including bands and a sewing machine company.

The city is also known as the birthplace of Richard Morris Hunt who has been credited as being one of the first American architests to design a bandstand. He designed his bandstands in 1849 while being a student in Paris. His designs were, however, not readily accepted in America at that time since they were way ahead of our country's idea as to how a bandstand should look since we evidently had a lack of his enthusiasm for elaborate designs. However, Mr. Hunt was successful in this country in other projects including the base of the Statue of Liberty, W. K. Vanderbilt's houses in New York and Newport, Rhode Island, and teh entrance to New York City's Central Park.

Brattleboro's first bandstand in the north endo f town on the common was completed in 1902 and has a hexagonal structure to it originally having cedar shakes before it was replaced with slate, a flagpole on top, railings on all six sides and electric lights around the ceiling. Baffle partitions were added later on to improve the acoustics of the structure.

The bandstand has a long history of use with many band concerts and speeches performed on it for over 100 years now. In 1902, President Teddy Roosevelt spoke on it. In the 1940s, Dorothy Hamour sold war bonds on it and in 1987, Vice President Geoge Bush spoke on it while campaigning for the presidency.

On September 23, 1999, the Brattleboro selectmen passed a resolution to name the bandstand the Blanche Honegger Moyse Bandstand in honor of Mrs. Moyse who had been a life-long prominent citizen of the town, and the selectmen also wished to honor her on then her 90th birthday.

BRATTLEBORO VT

BRATTLEBORO VT

Esteyville Bandstand

Estey Section

Built - 1910

Brattleboro is blessed with another bandstand in the Esteyville section of the city where once stood the Estey Organ Company. This structure was built with an 8-foot foundation to house the fire fighting cart and is a hexagonal structure located in the former Fuller Park, so named after Levi K. Fuller who was an officer of the company and a former governor of Vermont. The park is a small triangular tract of land where Estey, Chestnut and Pleasant Streets meet.

The bandstand has played host to many neighborhood events in this closely-knit community. Concerts, suppers, childrens' games have been some of the events on the bandstand in its almost 100 years of existence, as of this writing, and has always given the neighborhood residents a location to get together and enjoy each others company during the summer months.

BRISTOL VT

BRISTOL VT

Roy J. Clark Memorial Bandstand

Bristol Village Park

Built - 1937

Bristol was originally named Pocock, after Admiral Sir George Pocock - son of an English Vicar but changed to its present name in 1789, generally believed to be named after Bristol, Rhode Island. The town is considered to be the gateway to Vermont's famed Green Mountains lying at the foot of Deerleap and South Mountains. Its chief attraction is the Lord's Prayer Rock which had the prayer chiseled into it by a physician from Buffalo, New York who was originally from the town and still had a great fondness for it. The town also has a nearly solid rock area of land known as Hell's Half Acre which is the focal point of a century's old tale about an old Spaniard who claimed that as a young boy, his father and others had mined a vast amount of silver in the surrounding mountains and hid it in that area. Many people since have mined that region looking for the silver treasure and as a result, the area has many tunnels and pits.

Bristol also has continuously held a 4th of July celebration for over 225 years now involving firework displays, parades and "Outhouse Races," concerts, silent auctions, and many floats and is the longest running parade in the state of Vermont.

The town's first bandstand, in the town park, was built in 1913 which was just a floor with surrounding railings and was later replaced by the current bandstand in 1937 which today is in fine shape and has had little changes made to it other than a newly refurbished floor completed in 1998. The bandstand is named after a prominent citizen of the town, Roy J. Clark, and is home for the Bristol Band which has been in existence since the 1870s and is the oldest in the state of Vermont. The bandstand plays host to many other bands during the warmer summer months, normally on Wednesday evenings. The structure has had visits by many VIPs including "Big Joe" Borrell and Tammy Fletcher.

INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY:

Shirley Emilo, Administrative Assistant

CRAFTSBURY VT

CRAFTSBURY VT

Craftsbury Common

Built - 1975

Craftsbury's existence was attributed to Colonel Ebenezer Crafts and 61 associates who were members of a Massachusetts line regiment that had been organized in the American Revolution by Colonel Crafts. In the original charter of the town, the name chosen was Minden in honor of the 1759 defeat of the French forces from England and Germany in the Prussian city of Minden. This event helped to conclude the Seven Years War or better known as the French and Indian Wars in North America.

Crafts soon became caught up in the post-Revolutionary depression and apparently the small Vermont town was one of the few pieces of property he was able to salvage. The town's name soon after was changed from Minden to Craftsbury to honor the Colonel in November of 1790.

The town is now home to over 900 people in this northeastern part of Vermont. Loggers, self-employed workers, farmers and professionals and retirees call this small town in the rolling hills of Vermont, home. Summers are very comfortable and the nearby falls are incredibly colorful. The winters provide a playground for cross country skiers and snowmobilers.

Craftsbury's bandstand was built in the mid 1970s on the north end of Craftsbury Common. This structure replaced one built at around the turn-of-the century and demolished in the late 1950s. The bandstand was built by Craftsbury's own master builder - Harry Sweatt as a public service concept by a well-knon local Roger Easton family and funded by the Village Improvement Society.

Little other information is available on the building of teh bandstand and costs involved but the structure has surely paid dividends over the years with many concerts being performed on-stage along with local favorite "Old Time Fiddlers' Contests," along with banjo contests.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:
Dave Linck, Craftsbury Historical Society

DANVILLE VT

DANVILLE VT

Danville Village Green

Built - 1965

Danville is located in the north central part of the beautiful state of Vermont just west of the city of St. Johnsbury and is nestled in an area of farmland dotted with streams and rivers with many covered bridges which the state is famous for. Danville is very proud of their own Green Bank Hollow covered bridge built in 1886.

The town's name was suggested by a friend of Ethan Allen's, Michel Guillaume St. Jean de Crovecouer, to honor another Frenchman, Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville who had been France's royal mapmaker for more than 60 years, and is considered to have done more to change his trade than any man who ever lived. Under the pseudonym J. Hector St. John, de Crovecouer himself was a well-known writer who wrote one of the best known books in the 1780s called "Letters from an American Farmer." It is for de Crovecouer that St. Johnsbury, Vermont was named.

Danville's bandstand is the second one the town has had with little information available on the first one. This second structure was built in the late 1960s with the wooden base replaced with bricks in the early 70s evidently since the wood had rotted out and the base was deemed unsafe. Originally, before the floor was cemented, there used to be fringed doors whereby handles were pulled up and the doors were placed on legs creating a shelf all around the bandstand and used by vendors.

At Christmas time there is a tree with lights adorning the center of the bandstand with wreaths hung on each post creating a very cheery look during those cold and wintry nights. On the 4th of July, Memorial and Labor Days, the bandstand is adorned with flags.

The St. Johnsbury Band, Danville High School Band and other bands play on Sunday nights during the summer months and the structure is the central point for the Danville Fair Day. The bandstand is thus the focal point of the town being located on the Danville Village Green which is in the center of the town.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:
Ann Cochran, Asst Town Clerk

FAIRLEE VT

FAIRLEE VT

Fairlee Bandstand

Built - 1919

Fairlee, Vermont is a quiet rural town with a population of just under 900 people at last count. The town is the site of the beautiful Morey Lake, named for Samuel Morey who sunk his steamboart when he became enrages after Robert Fulton patented his invention. The town is located on the New Hampshire border off I-91 and is the home of Glen Falls and the famous Walker Museum.
The Fairlee Bandstand has been situtated in the center of town on the town common since built in 1919 by Gustav Winship and has been used extensively over the years during many concerts, 4th of July festivities, "Fairlee Days," parades, dedications and other events. The bandstand is considered to be the center of civic pride in the town and is always structurally attended to and decorated with beautiful flowers in the flower boxes surrounding the outside protion of the structure and is a wonderful site upon entering into the town.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:
Hester Gardner, Curator
Fairlee Historical Society

GROTON VT

GROTON VT

Veterans Memorial Park

Built - 1988

The town of Groton is located in Caledonia County in the northeastern part of the state of Vermont. The origins of its name probably comes from either Groton, Massachusetts or Connecticut both of which are named for Groton, Suffolk, England which was the home of the first Governor of Massachusetts and two Connecticut Governors.

The town is the home of the famous Groton Fall Festival and Chicken Pie Supper which has been written up in both the Family Circle Magazine and Yankee Magazine being described as "the best small town chicken pie dinner in the world" for over 50 years now. The town is also the home of 5 state parks and one of the largest and most picturesque state forests in Vermont. It is also the birthplace of William Scott, one of Vermont's best known infamous Civil War soldiers. He was the one the phrase "The Sleeping Sentinel" was popularized since he was caught falling asleep on guard duty. He was sentenced to death but later pardoned at the last minute by President Abraham Lincoln.

Groton's bandstand on Veterans Memorial Park was built in 1988 and is a 6-sided hexagon-style with a standing seam roof and benches around the outside area of the structure. The bandstand is the second one the town has had with the first one demolished many years ago. The building of the bandstand was done by town volunteers through mostly donations and some town money. It was built to be a centerpiece of the park for band concerts and other community events. The Alumni Band and other local small bands have used the structure as their venue along with the stage being used during the Fall Foliage Festival in October along with gospel music and other messages given during the warmer months.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:
Michael O. Blair, former Town Selectman

MIDDLEBURY VT

MIDDLEBURY VT

William Hazelett Upson Bandstand

Middlebury Village Park

Built - 1975

The town of Middlebury is located in the western part of the state in the Champlain Valley. It is an historic town with a cultural and educational center and is also a tourist and vacation destination. There is always something to do in town be it eating at great restaurants, inns, shops, museums and libraries as well as theatre, college and sports venues. The town's annual Festival on the Green is an event that people come to from within the state and from all over the New England area. The mountains and open areas for winter and snow sports make it a very attractive place to visit.

Gamaliel Painter is the one credited with being the first owner of the land, then known as Salisbury, after the Revoultionary War ended. He acquired the ownership of the high ground which now overlooks the downtown and falls area. That property is known as Painter Property and is now owned by Middlebury College.

Middlebury decided to build its first bandstand in 1870 after interest in organizing a band came to be in the early 1860s. Several other bandstand were built from that point on in Middlebury Village Park. The one previous to the current bandstand was built in 1918 and was used until the late 1980s. This bandstand became a problem hangout due to local alcoholics who either had no home or didn't bother to go home during the summer months. The Village Trustees had problems keeping the storage area of the bandstand locked due to these vagrants. The bandstand was a simple octagon with lampposts and lights on top of each and had no roof which was a problem when summer showers would quickly cancel concerts. The structure was finally demolished by fire due to the carelessness of the alcoholic occupants.

In 1974, the Middlebury Garden Club began a drive to have a new bandstand built spearheaded by Doris Bowker who spent a considerable amount of time convincing the Middlebury Rotary Club to undertake the project and to present it to Middlebury as a gift. She though that it was a great time to also honor William Hazzlett Upson, of the town, who had become very famous for his Alexander Botts stories published by the Curtis Publishing Company in the Saturday Evening Post.

The project then got underway with Theron Wolcott commissioned to design and oversee the building of the structure using donated building materials and Rotarians as volunteer labor. The design included an O'gee roof with an octagonal plan large enough to hold a Bristol-sized band.

The bandstand was finally completed and the new William Hazlett Upson Bandstand was dedicated on Tuesday, June 12, 1975 at a formal ceremony with Mrs. Upson unveiling a plaque dedicating the bandstand.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:
David Clark, Librarian
Ilsley Public Library

IRASBURG VT

IRASBURG VT

Irasburg Common

Built - c. 1889

The small and quiet Vermont town of Irasburg was named for Ira Allen who initially settled in the area with his wife Jerusha who became one of the first Vermont women to have her name as a grantee of land when after their marriage, Ira transferred title of all Irasburg to her. In later years, Jersha stated that at the time of his wedding gift, she didn't think it was "worth a rush!!!"

Little is known about Irasburg's bandstand which sits in a very large common area other than it was built and first used probably in 1889 by Irasburg's Cornet Band. The high structure was built for their band concerts which took place on many summer days or evenings during the time with also visiting bands playing there in the 1920s. The use of the bandstand ended sometime after that decade with the structure only being used now on occasion for weddings, annual church fairs and other community events but still stands proudly after well over a hundred years of use.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:
Betsy Inkel, Town Clerk

ISLAND POND VT

ISLAND POND VT

Lakeside Park

Built - 1986

The town of Island Pond was originally named Brighton but is now considered to have Island Pond as its true name. The pond near the center of town, originally known as Knowltin Lake, has 22 acres of island in the center of the two-mile long pond. The town has steadily grown since the early 1800s due to the railroad running through it with land and lumber companies in abundance. Today the streets of the town are much quieter without railroad men and loggers from around the area since the 13 railroad tracks that once passed through are down to two and the large roundhouse that once housed the engines is now a lumber storage yard. History still remains in its Train Station where one can visit the historic museum and see pictures from the past. The area still has its wilderness, mountains, fast running rivers and streams and numerous logging roads.

Island Pond's "gazebo" was built in 1986 in Lakeside Park and is the town's first and built by local church groups mostly for people to sit in. The structure was part of a park project paid for by state funding. Local church groups are the ones who use it the most for numerous church and small community events since the structure is rather small and cannot hold too many people at one time.

INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY:
Margaret Castinguay, Asst Town Clerk

LUDLOW VT

LUDLOW VT

Information is currently unavailable on Ludlow VT bandstand

LYNDONVILLE VT

LYNDONVILLE VT

Bandstand Park

Built - 1955

Lyndonville, Vermont is located in the northeast part of Vermont and was founded in 1780. The town covers 6 square miles of rolling meadows and is surrounded by hills. It is a regular stop for tourists being the home of 5 of Vermont's covered bridges as well as a place to explore the past. The town has several industries and is world famous for the "Big Balm" which is ointment and dilators for the healing of cows, horses and other domestic animals.

Bandstand Park, originally called Depot Park, emerged from a parcel of land where potatoes once grew and a village dump flourished. In 1880, the east side of the park was cleaned up with an 11-foot high foundation strategically placed in thisnew park. In the 1890s, the Village Improvement Society took on the major responsibility of caring for the park planting Elm trees, flower beds and installing ornamental iron lamps. A wonderful bandstand had been bult previously, standing at Depot or Railroad Park on Broad Street, prior to the park's emergence and moved to this site. It was finally replaced by the current bandstand in 1955 which has been used extensively since for a venue for concerts with its headliner being the Lyndonville Military Band which has been under different names since 1867 and still active to this date. Thus for over 100 years, weekly outdoor band concerts have been popular in Bandstand Park and has been a summertime tradition for the town drawing many large crouds of citizens and visitors.

INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY:
Cheryl McMahon, Secretary
Lyndon Chamber of Commerce

MORRISVILLE VT

MORRISVILLE VT

Copley Bandstand

Peoples Academy Grounds

Built - 1931

Morrisville is not your sleepy and quaint Vermont town but is a vibrant one and the center for commerce, services and State of Vermont branch offices and industries. It does still retain all of the inner and outer loveliness you would expect from a Vermont village with its people being very community-spirited surrounded by an exquisite countryside.

The town was first chartered to Moses Morse and associates with the town named after the family from New York who were famous for their roles in Colonial Government. Lewis Morris was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence as well as being a Brigadier General in the American Revolutionary War. His brother, Richard, was a noted jurist and succeeded John Jay as Chief Justice of the New York Superior Court. His half brother, Governor Morris, was also a member of Congress and is generally credited with having designed our decimal coinage system.

Late in the 19th century, the growth of the town was related to the arrival of the railroad that also helped to create the unique style of architecture of the buildings in town of which became the economic and social center of the county.

The Copley Bandstand was built in 1931 on the People's Academy Grounds. There were earlier bandstand structures in the town of Morrisville, but none on this site. It has served as the venue for the Morristown Military Band and was financed by A. H. Copley. At the dedication ceremonies, an estimated 2,000 people were there and was presented by Chief Justice George M. Powers who was the first speaker on the program followed by others and a few selections from the Morrisville Military Band.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:

Mary West, Librarian

NEWBURY VT

NEWBURY VT

Newbury Green

Built - 1991

Newbury is a town in Orange County in the Lebanon Metro Region. It was named after Newbury in Massachusetts.

Their bandstand was built in Newbury Green in 1991 and is the first one the town has had. Townspeople aged 5 to 85 years old, helped build the structure under the supervision and spearhead of Art Morris for the town's bi-centennial. The bandstand was financed by a very successful drive of donations in the name of people's memories. The structure's exact location was debated by people of the town but the final resting spot serves quite well for everyone. Local bands use the pine structure sported with cedar shakes on the roof as their venue along with annual fiddler's contests, the Cracker Barrel Fair and numerous weddings.

INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY:

Susan Underwood, Town Clerk