BROWNINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – There’s a snapshot of the past in Vermont’s own Northeast Kingdom — the town of Brownington. It has a population of about 1,100 and was chartered back in 1790. There are actually three villages in the town — Brownington Village, Brownington Center, and Evansville. As part of our new Wednesday series “Vermont’s Own,” where we’re visiting every town and city across the state in the coming years, Darren Perron takes us to the Orleans County town.

Not much changes in this Northeast Kingdom town.

“This is historic downtown Brownington as it looked in the 1830s,” said Krista Barry, the new executive director of the Old Stone House Museum, who is about the newest thing around.

The Old Stone House is a building stuck in time and steeped in history. “We rotate the objects in our collection,” Barry said. “That’s how you get the chance to see 75,000 objects. We display five to 10 percent of our collection at one given time.”

The house was built in the 1830s by a man who broke glass ceilings — Alexander Twilight. “He is a Vermonter by birth. What we have discovered about his ancestry is that his father was Black and his mother was white,” Barry said.

He became the first African American to graduate from college in the U.S. at Middlebury College, and the first elected to a state legislature. In fact, the only African American elected before the Civil War. Twilight won a seat in the Vermont House in 1836.

The Old Stone House was originally a student boarding house for boys and girls. Twilight was also the headmaster of the nearby Orleans County Grammar School. Enrollment grew rapidly under his leadership, and some girls found ways to leave their mark on original glass. “Just like students today etch their names in desks, even in the 1800s, students were etching their names in things,” Barry pointed out.

But the building closed in 1859, two years after Twilight’s death, and was nearly leveled to make use of the granite blocks. But historians stepped in to help save it. “In 1917, the Orleans County Historical Society saved it from demolition and in 1925 opened it as a museum,” Barry said.

This year marks 100 years of the Old Stone House Museum and the Brownington Village Historic District, which includes numerous buildings preserved on 60 acres.

“It even sounds like the past here, so it’s a unique, peaceful experience,” Barry said.

That is, until you get a few miles away. In addition to the Old Stone House, there’s an old saying in town, too — all dirt roads lead to Brownington. And helping to maintain them is Road Foreman Geoff Falconer.

“Mud season is a challenge because we have so many miles of road,” he said. Forty-seven to be exact, and only 4.5 miles are paved.

“The backroads are everywhere. You can get everywhere from anywhere,” said Billey Hayes. “There’s nothing better than driving the back roads in the Northeast Kingdom.

But on these Brownington back roads, you’re just as likely to see horses as horsepower. “There’s no need to be in a hurry if you’re on a dirt road,” Falconer said. He says pavement might make his work easier, but that takes money. “I’d love the tax revenue of a Walmart, but I don’t wanna see a Walmart in Brownington.”

And blacktop, Falconer said, would take away from what makes Brownington Vermont’s Own. “You’re out here to enjoy things,” he said.

The Old Stone House has ongoing events, exhibits, and workshops all summer. Their big 100th anniversary celebration — Old Stone House Day will be Sunday, August 17th.

On next Wednesday’s installment of “Vermont’s Own,” we’ll visit the community of Dummerston.

If you have an idea for your town, don’t be shy, send us a note about the places, people, and events that embody the place you call home.

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