The entrance to the historic Rockingham Meeting House, built from 1787 to 1801.
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Window into a Colonial community

A Montpelier museum hosts an exhibition about the Rockingham Meeting House, the ‘most-intact 18th-century public building remaining in Vermont’

ROCKINGHAM-The Vermont History Museum in Montpelier is hosting a special exhibit, "Rockingham's Acropolis: A Look at the Rockingham Meeting House in History."

Started in 1787 and completed in 1801, the building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2000. It is considered an exceptionally well-preserved example of Colonial architecture. Meetings began to be held there in 1792, years before the building was completed.

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News

Meeting members will consider police, human service spending

BRATTLEBORO-Elected meeting members will convene Representative Town Meeting (RTM) on Saturday, March 22 at 8:30 a.m. in the Brattleboro Union High School gymnasium to consider a recommended $25,184,081 fiscal 2026 budget that could mean a 12.1% increase in property taxes. If the meeting is not completed by 5 p.m., the body assembled will decide whether to continue the meeting or to reconvene on Sunday, March 23. A full house of folks turned out at Academy School on March 12 for...

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Questions of policing, taxes entangle Brattleboro

BRATTLEBORO-Back in 1960, when the town decided to manage capacity Town Meeting crowds by becoming the only community in the state to elect a set number of citizen participants, residents never imagined that subsequent decades would bring more open seats than candidates willing to fill them. Then social media sparked a recent firestorm of questions about policing and a proposed 12% municipal tax hike. Some 150 Town Meeting representatives, about half chosen earlier this month in races that drew twice...

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Treasurer and lawmakers fear dire impact from federal chaos

BRATTLEBORO-Fear, worry, anger, and confusion over the recent actions by the federal government and the intentions of President Donald J. Trump were the emotions expressed in full force at a Town Hall meeting held by state Treasurer Michael Pieciak on March 15. Pieciak, a Brattleboro native who still has deep roots in the community, chose the town for his first Town Hall meeting on the topic of Trump's apparent attempt to destroy the federal government and what it might mean...

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Lawmakers approach the midpoint in Montpelier

BRATTLEBORO-The Legislature is in the middle of a fraught and unusual session, with the midpoint approaching in the form of "crossover day" on Friday, March 14 - the day when bills that start in the House pass to the Senate, and vice versa. Lawmakers are deep into committee and caucus work, all the while dealing with a newly empowered governor and the unease that comes from not knowing what will be coming down the pike from Washington, D.C. "We are...

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Work will begin on new housing at Chalet site

WEST BRATTLEBORO-Windham & Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT) and its co-developer, Evernorth, have received a $6.2 million funding boost from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board to help redevelop the historic Chalet property. The redevelopment is planned to preserve the original Chalet building and create a new neighborhood with a mix of housing types and architectural features. The conceptual design was informed by residents currently living at the Chalet and in the immediate neighborhood, along with municipal staff members and those...

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WSESD recount will decide rep from Guilford

BRATTLEBORO-Unofficial Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) March 4 election results say newcomer Jocelyn Fritts will take a seat at the table to represent Guilford instead of former Board Director Kelly Young, but a recount has been requested and is now being scheduled. Running for a first time, Fritts, who has relocated here from Florida, received just 28 votes more than Young in the unofficial count of 1,128 to 1,100. "I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the support...

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Ousted board member says election outcome was inevitable

BRATTLEBORO-As three newcomers prepare to take seats on the Selectboard, at least one outgoing incumbent isn't surprised. "Any incumbent was going to lose," said Franz Reichsman of the March 4 town election results. "You raise people's taxes like that, and there's going to be some blowback for sure." Adding, with some humor, "I didn't expect to win, but I didn't expect to be dead last," Reichsman went on to say, "this was an anti-incumbent, anti-Selectboard vote." Coming on board to...

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Putney seeks ways to expand housing options

PUTNEY-The town needs 80 new rental and owner-occupied homes over the next five years to meet the demand for new housing and to replace its aging housing stock, according to the recently released Putney Housing Needs Assessment and Action Plan. "The lack of new and available housing means that young families can't move into town, which leads to an older population shouldering the tax burden," stated Robert O'Brien, senior housing specialist for Camoin Associates, the Virginia-based consulting firm that produced...

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