This episode of Vermont 251 takes place in Bennington County, in its most-southern towns (practically bordering Massachussetts). Pownal, Stamford, and Readsboro are official towns while Heartwellville, North Pownal, and Pownal Center are not.
Cumulative Official Town Count | Cumulative Unofficial Town Count |
|---|---|
21 | 12 |
Pownal the town is very small (population about 3200 in 2020) and is really nothing to write home about. There are some (not very well maintained) historic buildings in the historic "district" and some current ones without much charm in The Center. Commerce, except for a few places on the highway (Rt.7) was not really in evidence. HOWEVER, the views along the country roads in Pownal are among my favorites in the state. They include rolling hills with red barns and wonderful mountain views (of the Taconic range, I assume).
I wish I could say that I had more/ more exciting things to say about the other towns in this part of the state. But, nope.
Stamford is a tiny town (pop less than 900 in 2020) located practically on the Massachusetts border (less than 10 minutes from North Adams). If there are any stores in town, I did not find them, but this was one of the first of the 251 forays and now I would approach it differently, so maybe they do exist. Given the town's size and proximity to MA, perhaps it is not a problem that there isn't much, if any, commerce there? The land and vistas are lovely, and it was recently announced that the actress Susan Sarandon was building a home there...
Readsboro is an even tinier town than Stamford (by about 100 residents) and I did not find the main part of town, which actually does seem to exist (thank you, Google). I did find, however, the lovely Deerfield River and a hamlet which is part of Readsboro named Heartwellville. The sole bit of evidence that this hamlet exists or ever existed is its cemetery.
In the next installment, we see that Mormonism is actually tied to Vermont! Who knew??