The Hartford VT Historical Society preserves the history and material culture of Hartford Village, West Hartford, White River Junction, Wilder, and Quechee. The society presents educational programs, publishes five newsletters a year, and maintains a wonderful collection of artifacts, photographs, and documents.

Hartford’s Story Started in 1761

Hartford, Vermont was chartered on July 4, 1761. Many of the town’s original proprietors lived in Connecticut and were lured by reports of farmland, timber, and powerful rivers. But it was an uncharted place nearly two hundred miles away.

Hartford began as a patchwork of small farms. Settlers grew some food and shot the rest. Churches and taverns were social hubs and wool from Merino sheep was an early cash crop. Many served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

Early settlers founded their town on a hillside above the White River. They met in the home of Solomon Strong to choose a select board and form a militia. They built roads, mills, and a meetinghouse. After town meetings and church services, they gathered at the commodious home of Freegrace Leavitt, which still stands near the Center of Town burial ground.

Hartford residents formed the five villages of Hartford Village, West Hartford, White River Junction, Quechee, and Wilder. Levi Hazen and Joshua Tilden were among those who conducted schools in their homes. In 1807, a network of schools was established across Hartford.

When the railroads came to White River Junction in 1848, Hartford became a center of transportation and industry. By 1849, Samuel Nutt had purchased a sprawling hotel in Enfield, NH, moved it to White River Junction, and opened the Junction House, which thrived on railroad travelers. By 1891, Hartford had an opera house, a bustling train station, electrified office buildings, and a new high school with trained teachers and the latest textbooks.

In 1889, William Howard Tucker explored the town’s early documents and published a History of Hartford that records many of the people and events in the town’s past. In 1911, Hartford celebrated its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary with a pageant written by Kate Morris Cone that dramatized scenes from Tucker’s book.

Today, the Hartford VT Historical Society displays artifacts from Hartford’s past, assists with family genealogies, presents programs on local history, visits schools, and celebrates our town’s vibrant history.