VT 251: Swanton, Highgate, St. Albans, and Fairfield
- donnaramadishes
- Sep 14, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 18
The northwest corner of Vermont offers history, natural beauty, one of the state's ten cities, and some good eats and drinks.
SWANTON
Swanton was a surprisingly lovely town with a nice town green that houses both a fountain and a pond (with the town's namesake swans), and abuts a big library, some eateries, and some well-kept churches. Bordering Lake Champlain to the west and Quebec to the North, Swanton was named after a captain in the British Army and chartered in 1763; it remained mostly unpopulated until the very late 1700s (current population was about 6700 in 2020).
About those swans: In 1961, Queen Elizabeth II gifted a pair of her Royal Swans to the town at their annual Summer Festival. The Chamber of Commerce named the swans Sam (for Uncle Sam) and Betty (for Queen Elizabeth). The swans hailed from an area in England near the village of Swanton Abbott. "The swans were caught during the annual "swan-upping" outing held by members of England's ancient guilds, who mark the Queen's swans with a nick on the beak to separate them from their less exalted brethren."[citation] Before summer in 2016, the swans died of old age, but after about two years, a new pair of swans (still named Sam and Betty) were secured and placed in their home in the Village Green Park, surrounded by a black fence (which is still there). The new swans were not related to, nor descended from, the original ones, but they are still called the Royal Swans, and a new one will be arriving to the pond shortly to replace one which recently died (I don't know if it was George or Betty -- sorry).
HIGHGATE
Highgate, the official town, doesn't exist on my map. Instead, it is comprised of three unofficial towns on my map:
Highgate Springs. Presumably there is a state park in Highgate Springs. However, there is no signage or building, so even if the forested land on the shores of Lake Champlain count for something, there is nothing to see there. And, other than a couple of churches and a post office abutting the only store/ gas station, the only thing in Highgate Springs seems to be The Tyler Family Resort, aka The Tyler Place. If you are looking for a sleepaway camp experience for the entire family, this is someplace to consider -- and I can tell you from (old) personal experience that the bunks and food are way better than what you had when you were a camper! Be warned, though, this place practically abuts the Canadian border and is therefore a long drive from almost everyplace.
Highgate Center. Well, there's really not much to see or say about Highgate Center. It feels like a typical sleepy small town; it has a post office, fire department, a couple of churches, a school, and a library, so there's that. The village store is pretty much a mini mart (at the gas station), but there may have also been anther market in town...
Highgate Falls. This is a total misnomer as the "falls" are the result of a dam and there is no town at all that we could find. The truss bridge over the "falls" was sorta interesting, though.
ST. ALBANS (CITY & TOWN)
St. Albans City & St. Albans Town are two, separate official towns that count toward the VT251. The Town of St. Albans was chartered on August 17, 1763 as part of the New Hampshire Land Grant and is named after St. Albans, England.
The Town surrounds the City of St. Albans and extends to the shores of Lake Champlain. It has a population of roughly 7,000 with a waterfront park (complete with creemee stand and restaurant). While there may well be some industry in the town, there was nothing obvious; it felt residential.
The City, on the other hand, has a hopping Main Street and plenty of commerce. It is the only actual city in Franklin County, Vermont, and also has a population of around 7,000. The city has a legit bustling downtown, with numerous restaurants and shops as well as two breweries Mill River Brewing (with connected smokeouse/ BBQ place) and 14th Star Brewing (conveniently sharing space with a yummy burger-type place, Grazers). There's a really nice bookstore (The Eloquent Page) which sells both new and used books; some of the used books sets are even sold in bundles, which is convenient and unusual. There's also a museum and a park all right in the downtown area, and St. Albans hosts one of the state's foremost maple festivals (in April should you be interested)! St. Albans is well worth a visit!
FAIRFIELD
Fairfield is a small (pop. about 2,000) rural town with not much EXCEPT that it is the town where President Chester Arthur was born and lived during his early childhood. It has a school and town hall (with a meeting room named after President Arthur), and lots of dirt roads. East Fairfield, not an official town, is where President Arthur's early childhood home stood. There is a replica of the house just next to a stone marker located ON the site the house originally stood. A docent is on-duty during the season (July-October) to tell you the story of the President's life. While East Farfield is no longer bustling (such as it was for a small village), it does have a post office (without the town name on the sign!), a few churches, and a covered bridge, so it isn't dead.
That's it for this episode of 251. Stay tuned for more...
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