Chester to Proctorsville

The Inn Victoria 

Mike & Diane in front of the Inn

The whole walking group

Michelle and Carole, standing in front, are driving from Inn to Inn. Carole just found out she is having hip replacement surgery so can’t walk. 

Last night we had an interactive dessert. Our host Dan was quite the showman. 

Flambé’d strawberries 

Over ice cream 

Now on to breakfast…

Wild Maine blueberry muffins

Kim’s eggs, blueberry pancakes and bacon

The pancakes were really thick and a bit doughy inside. 

Pure Vermont maple syrup 

I had the frittata, bacon and potato

My gluten free blueberry muffin

Taking off this morning 

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

In the latter part of the year 1867, the Rev. Charles Stuart Hale, Rector of Immanuel Church, Bellows Falls, came to Chester and conducted an evening service in the Congregational Meeting House – this being the first Episcopal Service held in Chester. As succeeding services were held, interest was awakened, and an earnest desire for permanent services, leading to the formation of a “Ladies’ Sewing Society”, and later to “St. Philip’s Mission.”

Frederick E. Fullerton generously offered to donate a building site and to subscribe one thousand dollars. Plans for a church were drawn and given to the parish by P. Wentworth, an architect in Boston. All these plans came to an abrupt halt with the sudden death of Mr. Fullerton, at the age of 52, in February of 1869. But Mrs. Fullerton immediately informed the Vestry that it was her intention to carry out the plans of her husband. With this assurance, work was begun on the church. The house, located on the lot where the church now stands, was moved away by 16 yoke of oxen, and the foundation of the church was started. It soon became apparent that the building, as planned by the architect could not be built with the available funds and the work stopped. The Rector was able to raise only a few hundred dollars outside the parish to continue the construction. Again Mrs. Fullerton informed the Vestry of her desire to see the church completed and promised the money needed to do so. Work on the church was resumed and the building was completed in the spring of 1872, at a cost of $15,000, including all the furnishings and the organ which is still being used. Of the total cost, Mrs. Fullerton contributed $11,000. The Rectory, located on High Street, was also a gift of the Fullerton Family.

Much of the architecture of central Chester looks medieval and some of it is, but by far the greater part of it, including most of the black-and-white buildings, is Victorian, a result of what Pevsner termed the "black-and-white revival" pioneered by architects John Douglas and T.M. Lockwood.

Our first turn of the hike today was across from the pub. 

Depot Railway Station

The arrival of the first public train on the Rutland & Burlington Railroad on July 18, 1849, opened the Depot to increased business and importance. The rail line linked the Connecticut River valley at Bellows Falls and Lake Champlain at Burlington. 

The original small wood-frame station, built in 1849 as a rest stop for passengers, was located beside today's Smitty's Market. It was replaced in 1851 by a larger wood-frame building on the present location. After that structure burned in 1871, the Central Vermont Railroad built the present station-cherry-red brick with green trim and fine Italianate details. In addition, it has a mechanical semaphore signal. 

The State purchased the line in 1963 and leased it in part to the Green Mountain Rail-road. Today there are daily freight runs as well as occasional scenic train rides.

Photo of the corbels

Chester Town Hall

Built 1884 

This imposing, 2-1/2-story red brick building signifies its purpose: to link Chester's North and South Village with space for meetings and official town business. It features a tall wood cupola and a central recessed entrance flanked by two classical steel columns and triple-hung windows. At one time, the Chester Depot post office and a restaurant occupied either side of the entry. More recent occupants were the Police Department and, in the basement, the Town Jail. 

A fire alarm that shook the building was on the roof. 

The large second floor was once used for roller skating, movies, and winter carnivals. It was renovated in 2019 to provide space for Town Meetings and public and private functions.

The Fire District No. 2 Firehouse, also known locally as the Yosemite Engine House, is a historic fire station. Built in 1879, it is architecturally distinctive in the state as the only period fire station with two towers, which is also a characteristically accurate example of Second Empire styling. Canvas hoses were hung to dry in the taller north tower, and the alarm in the shorter bell tower still rings when its rope is pulled from the second-floor meeting space. Both towers are topped with distinctive mansard roofs, each with a molded crown. 

The following photos are of Stone Village

First Universalist Parish of Chester 

This is a Unitarian Universalist church. I had to look up their beliefs. They believe in the Golden Rule, loving our neighbors as ourselves, working for a better world, searching for truth with an open mind, using reason to help us explore religious ideas, and granting everyone the right to choose their own beliefs.

Stone Village architecture reflects the transition from Federal to Greek Revival styles. Federal style is symmetrical, with a center front doorway usually trimmed with a fanlight above and sidelights. Later, as Americans identified with Greece and democracy, they favored the Greek Revival style, in which the gable end of the house faces the road, suggesting a Greek temple front. Stone Village interpretations mingle the two styles with local building designs.

When the stone houses were being built along North Street in the 1830s and 1840s, there were two parishes in Chester— North and South Chester. Both village sections were about equal in size and importance.

North Chester's first stone house was constructed in 1834 and the last, in 1845. The vernacular architecture of this little cluster of buildings built by villagers for its working people captured the public's imagination in the 20th century. Some say the name "Stone Village" was created by the owner of an antiques shop in one of the houses.

Did you start your AllTrails? Yes, but not until the firehouse 🥴. And no, no, no, we are not climbing that mountain behind you. Yes, yes, yes, we did climb that mountain. 

The moss covered stones remind me of Europe. 

Green gate marks the left turn

Silver gate - don’t go through this gate!!!

Entered the forest for the final portion of the walk. Finally, walking away from traffic and noise. 

The leaves were fluttering down all around me. 

And now out of the forest

If you’re out and about on the trails this fall, you might run into a fuzzy black and orange fellow inching across your path.

The woolly bear caterpillar, also known as the fuzzy bear caterpillar or the woolly worm, has fuzzy bristles that are black on both ends with a band of orange in the middle. It is said that if it is especially fuzzy, it will be a particularly cold winter. 

Highland cows 

Entering Proctorsville

Vermont apple pie company

Our lodging tonight

Our room

All the amenities are Bee Kind and very nice. 

This picture was taken right before we started the hike on the first day.

After a really nice dinner we received  the instructions for our walk tomorrow. It looks like a rough one, even worse than today and today was not an easy walk. 

Stats

Steps - 32,380

Miles - 14.1 miles

Floors - 21 or 1345’ ascent