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Greensboro Historical Society
29 Breezy Avenue
Greensboro, Vermont 05841
(802) 533-2457
| Summer Hours (July 4 through August 31) |
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Wed/Thurs - 10:00 to 2:00pm |
Since its founding in 1977, the Greensboro Historical Society has brought together diverse people from the community: descendants of founding families, new residents, members of the summer community, school children, working people and those who have chosen to retire in our town. All come together to celebrate and learn from our predecessors in this special place. Our membership in this small town is more than 300 families.
GHS NEWSLETTER #62 (Fall, 2024)
Click here to view it // or // Click here to view past newsletters.
Articles include:
Summer Presentation - "Geology Rocks!" The Geology of Greensboro
- Presentation by Dr. Robert Merrill
Summer Exhibit: “Rail to Trail” The history of the railroad and train station in Greensboro Bend
Summer Activity: "Rail to Trail" history walk with Steve Leach
President’s Corner: “Docent - The Scent of a Deer?”
The Hazen Road Dispatch: Looking for a new editor
New Mural in the Bend: The Village the Railroad Built
Historic Buildings Ready for a New Future: The Methodist Church in The Bend
Greensboro's Halloween Trail
2024 Summer Event: 
"The Bend Train History Walking Tour"
- Saturday, August 10th, 2024 -
10AM @ Greensboro Bend Rail Station near LVRT trailhead parking lot
Join us for an all-ages-friendly walking history tour of the Greensboro Bend Train Station and the railroad before the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail arrived.
This short walk will be guided by long-time St. J. And L.C. Rail worker Steve Leach.
Parking is available along the road or at the LVRT Trailhead parking lot. Join us!
2024 Summer Event: 
"Annual Meeting and Featured Presentation"
- Monday, August 5th, 2024 -
7PM @ Fellowship Hall
Join us at this year’s annual meeting to learn more about Greensboro’s unique geological features that we tend to just take for granite—including Rocking Rock, Pulpit Rock, and the glacier-carved ledge on Barr Hill.
Dr. Robert Merrill has been involved in the field of geology for over 50 years, so bring all of your curiosity and questions, plus some interesting rocks to share!
Refreshments will be provided.
"Greensboro Rocks" - The Geology of Greensboro
with Dr. Robert Merrill
Location: Fellowship Hall
2024 Summer Event: 
"Annual Book Sale & Ice Cream Social"
- Saturday, July 27, 2024,
Book Sale: 10:00-4:00pm
Ice Cream Social: 2:00-4:00pm
The Greensboro Historical society is hosting its annual book sale and ice cream social Saturday, July 27, in downtown Greensboro.
Select your next summer read from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM at Janet Long's garage (across the street from Willey's Store), and stop by the GHS lawn for free ice cream from 2:00 PM-4:00 PM.
While you eat your ice cream, take a moment to enjoy our outdoor story walk featuring The Little Red Caboose, a classic Golden Book about a little caboose with a big heart.
Everyone is welcome!
For more information, visit or call (802) 533-2457 during museum hours Wed./Thurs./Sat. 10:00 AM-2:00 PM. Visitors can also view this year’s exhibit “Rails to Trails," along with the permanent Hill Family exhibit. GHS publications, including the Hazen Road Dispatch, will be for sale.
2024 Summer Event: 
"Gebbie's Sugar on Snow"
- Saturday, July 6, 2024, 5:00-8:00pm
Join in on the music, dancing, and Gebbie’s sugar on snow party at the Highland Center’s 2024 Funky Fourth celebrations!
120 servings will go fast—first come, first served.
$12 per person—all proceeds benefit the Greensboro Historical Society
2024 Summer Exhibit: 
"Rails to Trails"
- Tues/Wed/Thurs - 10:30 to 2:30pm
Friday - 2:30 to 5:30pm
Saturday - 10:00 to 12:00pm -
GREENSBORO HISTORICAL SOCIETY OPENING RECEPTION, Sunday, June 30, 3:00-5:00 at the GHS Museum, 29 Breezy Avenue in Greensboro next to Willey's Store. All are welcome to join us in celebrating the opening of our new exhibit: Rails to Trails. This exhibit focuses on the arrival and departure of the St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County railroad in Greensboro Bend as well as the transition of the rail line to the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail.
Displays include maps, timelines, photos, press clippings, personal anecdotes, and curiosities from poems to artwork, plus a Kids’ Corner (including a train-themed light-up board, a train table with toy trains, and an outdoor story walk) and an array of railroad industry paraphernalia.
Refreshments will be served. All aboard!
Exhibit Opening Reception on Sunday, June 30 from 3:00-5:00pm
GHS Museum, 29 Breezy Ave, in Greensboro (next to Willey's Store)
GHS NEWSLETTER #61 (Spring, 2024)
Click here to view it // or // Click here to view past newsletters.
Articles include:
Summer Exhibit - "50 Years of Land Conservation in Greensboro - revisited"
Summer Presentation - "The Story of Land Conservation in Vermont"
- Presentation by Darby Bradley (VLT) and Bob Klein (TNC)
Summer Exhibit: “Rails to Trails”
President’s Corner: “Docent - The Scent of a Deer?”
The Hazen Road Dispatch: 48 Years Old and Still Going Strong
Snowmobiling history with Shawn Messier and Dennis Pudvah
Vermont History Day 2024
Archives addition: Greensboro teacher's plan book from 1908
"Toad Bag" - collaboration with Lakeview students
Annual Meeting & Presentation: "Greensboro Rocks!" with geologist Bob Merrill
Lamoille Valley Rail Trail update
Achievement Award for 2023 exhibit: "Saving Land, Saving History: "50 Years of Land Conservation in Greensboro"
2024 Greensboro Town Meeting:
10AM, March 5th
Location: Lakeview Elementary School
Updating list of 2024 Calendar of Events
GHS NEWSLETTER #60 (Fall, 2023)
Click here to view it // or // Click here to view past newsletters.
Articles include:
Upcoming Winter Exhibit - "Winter Recreation in Greensboro, Part II" focusing on snowmobiling and ice fishing
Summer Presentation - "The Vermont Flood of July 10-11"
- Presentation by Bob Merrill (geologist), Clay Simpson (historian), Stew Arnold (Lake Protection Committee, chair), Karl Stein (health officer), and Dave Brochu (fire chief)
"President's Corner" - The GHS Mascot - by BJ Gray
Thanks to Hazen Road Dispatch editor of 22 years, Gail Sangree
Grange Historian Visits GHS
Upcoming Summer Exhibit - Railroad in Greensboro Bend
GHS NEWSLETTER #59 (Spring, 2023)
Click here to view it // or // Click here to view past newsletters.
Articles include:
Summer Exhibit - "50 Years of Land Conservation in Greensboro - revisited"
Summer Presentation - "The Story of Land Conservation in Vermont"
- Presentation by Darby Bradley (VLT) and Bob Klein (TNC)
"President's Corner" Nothing like a good road sign! - by BJ Gray
Hazen Road Dispatch - Contents of the 2023 edition
Review of our 2023 Winter Presentation - "Skiing in Greensboro"
GHS Bookshop
Greensboro's Nugget of History
Updated and expanded version of our 1976 publication "A History of the Greensboro Bend Railroad Station and the St. J. & L.C. Railroad. "
From the Archives : Greensboro Grange
Running Challenge - Featuring our local cemeteries
Overview of our shared "Civil War" exhibit with Hardwick Historical Society and Highland Center for the Arts
In Remembrance
2023 Summer Exhibit:
"50 Years of Land Conservation in Greensboro - revisited"
- Tues/Wed/Thurs - 10:30 to 2:30pm
Friday - 2:30 to 5:30pm
Saturday - 10:00 to 12:00pm -
The GHS exhibit for the 2023 summer season revisits the history and value of land conservation in Greensboro over the past 50 years.
This exhibit showcases the work of landowners, conservation organizations and supporters.
“50 Years of Land Conservation in Greensboro” features 21 panels of photos and information about the conserved properties.
This summer, we’ve added a showcase of products that represent the working lands amongst the conserved properties — timber, milk, cheese, grain for local bakers, haying, sugaring, organic herbs and vegetables are all continually made on local properties that have been conserved.
We’ve also added notes about the value of land conservation, including clean waterways, carbon storage, public recreation, tourism, nature education, viewsheds, animal corridors, wetland habitats, greenspaces in town and working lands that continue to produce local food and wood for the timber industry.
A monitor in the exhibit space will show the 2022 Summer presentation “History of Land Conservation in Vermont” by Bob Klein and Darby Bradley. Bob Klein was the first director of The Nature Conservancy, Vermont (starting in 1977) and Darby Bradley started the first land trust in Vermont, the Ottauquechee Land Trust, which eventually became the Vermont Land Trust.
2023 Summer Meeting Presentation:
"Come Help Make History" - Open Panel Discussion of Recent and Historical Flooding in Greensboro
"Geology of Greensboro" change in program due to flood affecting keynote speaker's schedule
Fellowship Hall
- 7PM, July 24th -
The Greensboro Historical Society invites you to our Annual Meeting with a revised program. Instead of learning about how ancient earth events known as geology have shaped this place, we ask you to share experiences with ways that recent earth events, like the flooding, are shaping our homes and lives. Join your friends and neighbors to share stories and photos of ways the weather of the last week affected our community. To bring a larger perspective, there will also be information on the flood of 1927.
If you have digital photos to share, please send them, with identification, to Kyle Gray at the historical society () so they can be projected on the screen for all to see. A video recording of the meeting will be part of Greensboro’s history, so come, share your stories, and help make history. We look forward to seeing you at 7 PM Monday in Fellowship Hall of the Greensboro United Church of Christ.
“The Great Vermont Flood of July 10-11, 2023”
Geology of Greensboro with Dr. Benjamin DeJong, the Vermont State Geologist.
On July 24 at 7 PM in Fellowship Hall the GHS Annual Meeting will precede an in-depth program on the very foundations of Greensboro. From kettle ponds to glacial erratics, Greensboro is rich with geological features that we tend to just take for granite. If you’d like to know your schist from your phyllite or recognize the signs of glacial activity when you see it, join us for a panel discussion featuring Vermont State Geologist Dr. Benjamin DeJong to learn more about the geology of Greensboro and Vermont. Bring your questions and curiosity and interesting rocks to share. Watch for other geology-related activities during the summer, including possible walks, library programs, and more.
2023 Greensboro Town Meeting:
9AM, March 7th
Location: Highland Center for the Arts
2023 Winter Presentation:
"Skiing in Greensboro"
Presentation by Sandy Gebbie and Willie Smith
(...and all community members with stories to share)
Learn about the history of nordic skiing at the Highland Lodge and about Greensboro's answer to alpine skiing: The Gebbie Ski tow!
Sandy Gebbie will talk about their downhill skiing operation (which opened in 1960 with a rope tow run by a tractor).
Willie Smith will recount tales of nordic skiing over the decades and will describe the growth of the trail network leading to and from the Lodge.
When: March 5th (Sunday) @ 2:00pm
Where: Fellowship Hall of the Greensboro United Church of Christ
2022 Publications & Events:
2022 Summer Meeting Presentation:
"The History of Land Conservation in Vermont"
Featured speakers Bob Klein (The Nature Conservancy, Vermont) and Darby Bradley (Vermont Land Trust)
share perspectives on the history of land conservation in Vermont.
Fellowship Hall, Greensboro
Monday, March 24th, 2022 at 1pm, @ Fellowship Hall
“The History of Land Conservation in Vermont”
GHS NEWSLETTER #58 (Fall, 2022)
Click here to view it // or // Click here to view past newsletters.
Articles include:
Summer Exhibit - "50 Years of Land Conservation in Greensboro"
"President's Corner" Honoring Andy and Judy Dales - by BJ Gray
Summer Presentation - "The Story of Land Conservation in Vermont"
- Presentation by Darby Bradley (VLT) and Bob Klein (TNC)
2023 Winter Meeting - "Snow on and Snow Forth: Winter Recreation in Greensboro"
Tracking our History: The Greensboro Bend Railroad Station
Historic Films of East Craftsbury
From the Archives : Greensboro Grange
Cemetery Stone Cleaning History Revealed
2022 Winter Meeting Presentation:
"Greensboro Cemeteries: Windows to the Past"
Featured speaker Gina Jenkins and members of the Greensboro Cemetery Association will share stories of
Greensboro’s cemeteries and highlight this important connection to our Town’s past.
(Masks required)
Fellowship Hall, Greensboro
Sunday, March 24th, 2022 at 1pm, @ Fellowship Hall
"Greensboro Cemeteries: Windows to the Past"
GHS NEWSLETTER #57 (Spring, 2022)
Click here to view it // or // Click here to view past newsletters.
Articles include:
Summer Exhibit - "50 Years of Land Conservation in Greensboro"
"President's Corner" - by BJ Gray
Synopsis of 2022 Hazen Road Dispatch
GHS collaborations with area historical societies
Self-Guided History Explorer walks in Greensboro Village and Greensboro Bend
Review of GHS winter program -- Greensboro Cemeteries: " Windows on the Past"
Request for paintings for summer exhibit.
In Remembrance
Summer 2021 Featured Exhibit:
"Highland Cattle: Proud Heritage"
July 6th through August 31
This summer’s exhibit will focus on the history of Highland Cattle in Greensboro.
This heritage breed has been a part of our town for over fifty years.
We hope you will enjoy seeing some of the artifacts, trophies, and photos from this award-winning herd, as well as learning more about other kinds of cattle in Greensboro in the 2021 exhibit.
Click here to view the exhibit page.
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Summer 2021 Annual Presentation:
"Timothy Hinman: Rogue or Hero?
August 9, 7pm
Join us for the annual summer meeting and presentation wherein two experts will discuss Timothy Hinman. Peggy Day Gibson, the former director of the Old Stone House Museum and our own Gail Sangree, a Hinman researcher and author, will share insights into the man and his world.
Click here to view the presentation page.
Click here for the complete 2021 Calendar of Events
2021 Publications:
GHS NEWSLETTER #56 (Fall, 2021)
Click here to view it // or // Click here to view past newsletters.
Articles include:
Summer Exhibit - "Highland Cattle - Proud Heritage" - Ray Shatney and Janet Steward
"President's Corner" - by BJ Gray
Hinman Settler Road dedication
Summer Presentation - "Timothy Hinman: Rogue or Hero?"
From the Archives: Early 20th century tintypes
Tribute to GHS presidents Nancy Hill and Willie Smith
Volunteer Support - Amelia, Leo, and Renée Circosta
Upcoming: Winter Presentation
"Our Cemeteries: A Window on the Past" - Sunday, March 6th at 2pm
with Gina Jenkins, Pat Mercier and others from the Greensboro Cemetery Commission
GHS NEWSLETTER #55 (Spring, 2021)
Click here to view it // or // Click here to view past newsletters.
Articles include:
Summer Exhibit - "Highland Cattle - Proud Heritage"
Summer Presentation - "Timothy Hinman: Rogue or Hero?"
Self-Guided History Walks in Greensboro and Greensboro Bend Villages (expanded for 2021
President's Corner articles by Willie Smith and Nancy Hill
Remembrance of Patricia Haslem (1920-2020)
Remembrance of Elizabeth Hardy Bishop (1926-2020)
GHS in Montpelier
GHS donates history books in Greensboro Bend
Lyles Newsletter over the years
Summer 2021 Activity: July 3rd through September
History Walks in Greensboro and Greensboro Villages
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| (Click above to find maps & questionnaire) |
Looking for a fun, interesting activity this summer? Take the recently installed and expanded self-guided History Explorer Walk in Greensboro Village or Greensboro Bend.
It’s a great walk for adults and children; and it includes a series of questions answered by visiting the signs posted throughout the villages.
Follow the numbered designations to each historic location where you can read the history and answer the questionnaire. Those completing the questionnaires can redeem them for prizes at the Greensboro Free Library (GFL).
Brochures guiding the walks can be found at Smith’s Store for the “Greensboro Bend” walk and at the GFL and GHS building on the porch bulletin board for the "Greensboro Village" walk.
Click on the image to the right to learn more about the walks and to see maps and questions!
Find photos, for example, of the first town hall or the Caspian Lake House in Greensboro Village, or the workers at the first sawmill in Greensboro Bend.
The walk will be posted from July 3 - September.
Much of the information came from the booklet "An Architectural Walking Tour of Greensboro, VT" prepared by GHS in 2001. Copies of that booklet are available to check out from the GFL or are for sale at the GHS museum on a Saturday morning from 10 – 12pm.
2020 Winter Meeting Presentation: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Ammendment!
Vermont Humanities Council presents Linda Radtke's talk:
"From the Parlor to the Polling Place: Stories and Songs from the Suffragists"
Sunday, March 1st, 2020 at 2pm, @ Fellowship Hall
2020 Greensboro Town Meeting
Recent GHS Event:
2019 Summer Meeting Presentation:
"The First Vermonters: The Abenaki Nation's Past, Present, and Future."
Follow-up Presentation by Bobby Farlice-Rubio of Fairbanks Museum
(back by popular demand)
Monday, August 5th, 2019 at 7pm, @ Fellowship Hall
2020 Publications:
GHS NEWSLETTER #54 (Fall, 2020)
Click here to view it.
Articles include:
Self-Guided History Walks in Greensboro and Greensboro Bend Villages
President's Corner by Nancy Hill
New Hinman Road Official State Sign in Greensboro
Baker Hill - History Walk
History in the making
Fire at Pope's Store in Greensboro Bend
GHS NEWSLETTER #53 (Spring, 2020)
Click here to view it.
Articles include:
Review of 2020 Winter Presentation by Linda Radtke: "From the Parlor to the Polling Place"
(Video is available above)
Notice of canceled Summer 2020 events
Overview of the 2020 Hazen Road Dispatch
Update on facility maintenance (reconditioned floor)
Update on archives digitization and accessioning
Reflection on Marion Babbie's 100th Birthday
Willie Smith's "President's Corner" reflects on changes brought by Covid-19
In Memoriam column
Previous Winter Presentation:
"Treasures from the VHS Attic"
Presentation by Steve Perkins, Director of the Vermont Historical Society
VHS Director Steve Perkins brought a cache of unique and priceless artifacts from the VHS collection in Montpelier to the annual winter meeting of the Greensboro Historical Society in Fellowship Hall on Sunday afternoon March 10
When: March 10th (Monday) at 2:00pm
Where: Fellowship Hall of the Greensboro United Church of Christ
Previous Summer Presentation:
"The First Vermonters -- Indigenous People"
Presentation by Bobby Farlice-Rubio of Fairbanks Museum
The Abenaki people have lived in Vermont for thousands of years, and they are still here today. By focusing on the individual lives of seven famous Abenakis from different centuries, we’ll explore how their culture has survived the centuries and evolved to meet the challenges of a changing world. We’ll also discover how the Abenaki Nation has shaped the present and future of all of Vermont’s people.
When: August 6th (Monday) at 7:30pm
Where: Fellowship Hall of the Greensboro United Church of Christ
Previous Summer Exhibit:
"Greensboro in the Gazette - Photos from 1978 - 1994"
Where: Greensboro Historical Society building
Previous Fall Presentation:
Fall Presentation: Lauren Sopher, UVM Graduate Student - "PLACE" Presentation
The GHS (along with the Greensboro Planning Commission) helped support Lauren Sopher with her culminating project from the Field Naturalist and Ecological Planning graduate program at the University of Vermont. This "PLACE" project focused on the "Place-based Landscape Analysis & Community Engagement" of Greensboro Bend.
Click on the image to the right to view the video.
When: November 1st (Thursday) at 7pm
Where: St. Michael's Church Hall in Greensboro Bend
Forty Years of the Hazen Road Dispatch
Our new anthology of writings from that journal, is now available for sale at the historical society building and the Willey's Store at $24.95 per copy. Containing articles about Greensboro, Craftsbury, Hardwick, and Walden, it includes pieces by Allen Davis, Charlie Morrissey, Lewis Hill, Sally Fisher, Alan Howes and many others, Some of the older articles have been updated, and there are several new photographs.
As Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Greensboro summer resident Wallace Stegner wrote in the foreword to The History of Greensboro, the First Two Hundred Years (1990), "Local history is the best history, the history with more of its readers in it than any other kind. It is immediate, personally apprehended ... It is the record of human living in its daily complexity and the sense of place in it is strong." This insight helps to explain the strong support GHS continues to enjoy.
Historical Videos
Click on the upper left-hand corner of the video below to see our recent videos!
What do we do?
- We produce varied publications (see the "Resources" menu items)
- We do original research, published since 1975 in our annual journal, The Hazen Road Dispatch (see the "Resources" menu items)
- We provide space for permanent display of artifacts from early Greensboro settlers and create special annual exhibits to highlight some aspect of the town's history in the new addition to the GHS building, completed in 2010; and we assemble albums containing photos and information from each exhibit (see the "Resources" and the "Photo Gallery" menu items)
- We arrange at least three annual lectures, panels, or general interest programs, including a winter meeting and summer meetings in July and August, on topics related to the year's theme (see the "Events" menu items)
- We sponsor educational seminars on historical themes
- We work with teachers and students at the local school to involve children in learning about their history
- We store records of several community organizations
- We collect and archive records, photos, genealogy data and historic artifacts from Greensboro families
- We record audiotapes and DVDs of individuals and meetings (see "Audio" and "Video" archives under the "Resources" menu item)
- We collect and file information on current events for future generations
- We sponsor walks to local spots of historical interest
- We enjoy monthly luncheon meetings and a summer ice cream social with old-time games for children; and we conduct an annual book sale each autumn.
Visit our friends and colleagues of the Vermont Historical Society online and at their two locations:
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Vermont History Museum
109 State Street
Pavilion Building (next to the State House) Montpelier, VT Normal hours: 10:00am to 4:00pm, Tuesday - Saturday
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Vermont History Center
Historic Spaulding School Building 60 Washington Street
Barre, VT
Normal hours: 9:00am to 4:00pm, Monday–Friday
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