Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1922-07-07
Villages Offer Variety of
Attractions to Sum-
mer Travellers

River valley and become impressed
with its charms tells of them as fol
lows:
In the old days when young mar
ricd man asked his friends that ster-
eotyped question, "Where will / spend
my vacation?" there always would be
some facetous acquaintance who would
chirrup: Take the missus and drive
cart through the Green mountains"
BY cart" they meant anything drawn
by one horse-a buggy, dog-ca or
sulky. 1t sounded good, but nine men
out of ten would prefer walking to
humping over gravel roads in any con-
traption coming under the classification
of cart"
However, suggest to the perplexed
young husband of modern times that
he take the family flivver and hop up
through the West River valley in south
ern Vermont" and he might take you
up. What is more. if he did he would
return at the end of the conventional
two weeks and fall on your neck in a
futile effort to express his gratitude.
The West River valley was designed
partially for that sort of thing-so it
would seem. The roads are hard gravel,
well cared for after every rain storm,
curried and groomed to a point where
they have all of the smoothness of tar
bound macadam without any of the
disadvantages of the latter that come
with long, persistent wear. In the val
ley itself the hills are easy to negotiate,
there are but few bad turns. against
which the driver is warned by jul
diciously placed signs, which also holds
true of the few railroad crossings one
encounters in a trip say as far as
South Londonderry.
Valley Begins at Brattleboro
The West River valley can be classed
nf 10 ip n
hill country in New England 1t offers
wild mountainous scenery, interspersed
with pastoral touches of farm and
meadowland, and a succession of de-
lightful little villages, thv queen of
which is Newfane, county seat for
Eugene Field.
The West River, similar in character
to the upper reaches of the Westfeld,
the Swift or the Ware rivers, winds
picturesquely almost the entire length
of the valley, and as for mountains the
landscape is strewn with them from
one end to the other.
Then, off the beaten paths are such
delightful little villages as West Wards
boro and Windham, and the original
mountain top site of Newfane, TO reach
which the modern knight of the road is
called upon to traverse highways lead.
ing through some of the most H"htful
scenery in any part of New England
The latter statement is no eXaggera-
ton. Windham county as whole,
coupling the West River valley towns
with those that rest upin higher lands,
is picturesque in the extreme, and the
vacationist who negotiates its hills
and valleys in small car, especially,
il going to take back something more
lasting than wayside souvenirs when
the two weeks are up, and business
routine calls once more.
The West River valley beoins Just a
step north of the center of Brattleboro,
and from the moment the autoist passes
the Brattleboro Retreat and sails out
through the beautiful river bottom
meadows on the way to Dummerston
his attention is engaged continuously
until he emerges once more. 1t is hills
and valley, valley and hills through
out its full length, and the scenery
is of so changing character that not
an inch of it can be termed monotonous.
The river winds and twists, first a few
hundred feet below the road, now al
most level with it. Here there are fields
on one side with the river on the other
u short distance beyond the rough hills
ascend precipitatcly from the very edge
of the road. while down their sides rush
brooks which apparently never run dry.
And everywhere the roads are good
wide enough for two machines to pass
the river If the vacationists care Tor
spring water-and they are virtually
unanimous in that respect-every hall
mile or so offers a spring which would
be worth a fortune near large city
And if one desires to collect the where
withal for waysde luncheon any one
of score of farm houses can furnish
the best possible ingredients.
Newfane Attractive Village
= bn
Brattleboro to Newfane. but to the
average person it takes much more
than an hour to get through the town
The reason for this is its surprising
attractions. The present town Of New,
fame is nearly century old, The ole
jail now equipped with modern. cells
and all that sort of thing, has history
almost as interesting as the beautiful
little white court house, whose dome
is almost hidden by the grove of trees
on the common.
The old jail still shows the honorable
scars and patchwork, that mark where
old -time prisoners chiseled and priet
their way to the outer air and freedom
The sheriff continues to run a hotel il
one end of the Jail building, and thu
model prisoner invariably is sent out a
o'clock STANDARD time) to drive il
the iail's two cows, and perhaps re
bellious calf.
The court mousse doeS not operate II
the summer months, but the key ma,
be had by calling on the sheriff. ant
once a traveller enters the dim halls o
the little building peculiar fascina
ton holds him. Here one will find tn
portraits of famous iurists Of nation
wide fame who first learned the practi
cal end of the legal profession With
the walls of the Win9ham county cour
house. And twice yearly the risin
generation still travel to do their shar
in administering justice. In the it'll
tower rests bell which peals 10 mir
utes before His Honor is due to leav
the sanctity of his room at the inn, t
cross the square and don the judicis
robes. 1t is one of the most peacefl
courts of justice of which the natio
can boast
Out in front of the court house is
fountan-Newfane has water systel
and close to its rim is a croquet cour
From late spring until early fall gr0u
of elderly men gather twice daily, aft
luncheon and after dinner, for a neve
ending croquet tournament which fl
wears has been the wonder of visitor
They are dead serious in their spor
They argue for every point, and
welding rogue mallct-.the avera,