About St. Johnsbury
About St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Named by National Geographic as the #1 Small Town for Adventure, St. Johnsbury combines an energetic business district with a rich cultural life, year-round recreational opportunities, and beautiful historical buildings.
St. Johnsbury lies at the confluence of three rivers. It's conveniently located at the intersection of Interstates 93 and 91. There are 7500 residents in St. Johnsbury, making it the largest town in northeastern Vermont and northwestern New Hampshire. It's just 45 minutes from the Canadian border, an hour's drive from Dartmouth College and many ski resorts are nearby, including the hidden gem of Burke Mountain.
St. Johnsbury is a Preserve America and Main Street Community. The town cares about its history, architecture, cultural and authentic small town life.
Downtown St. Johnsbury is the real deal. Please join us in St. Johnsbury for an adventure that is Very Vermont!
This website is sponsored by the St. Johnsbury Chamber of Commerce.
St. Johnsbury’s Summerfest:
Movement, Art, and Music for All!
It’s time for St. Johnsbury’s annual Summerfest, to be held Friday, August 13 and Saturday, August 14, with an extra treat Monday, August 16! Summerfest is St. Johnsbury’s celebration of summer, and this year, Summerfest celebrates the Creative Arts and Movement.
Excursion train rides are the perennial highlight of Summerfest. Trains will leave from the Welcome Center in St. Johnsbury, which was originally the town’s railroad depot. The Round-trip trains go both north and south, so you can choose your view of the Vermont countryside. The rides are wonderful for children who may never have been on a train, and for older folks who remember the fun of riding the rails, and for everyone in between! Local train aficionado Nat Tripp has arranged for the train rides. Trains will leave on a schedule from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.
Trains are only one type of movement at Summerfest. Yoga, Tai Chi, and dance will be demonstrated all day Saturday on Main Street. Instructors will show you the basics, and encourage people to join in the fun. For a more vigorous workout, register for the “Mad Dash Challenge” through the St. Johnsbury Town Forest. You can run the Challenge anytime between 10 am and 4 pm Saturday, but you must register by noon on Friday.
Young children will have plenty of opportunities to move all day Saturday at the Children’s
Activity Center at the Four Seasons Park, where they can enjoy games, challenges, and crafts, and of course, win prizes! At 10:00 am, the annual Pet Parade will get started on Main Street. And at 1:00 pm, rubber duck races will be held at Arnold Park -- come see how fast your duck can go, and benefit the restoration of the Arnold Park fountain, too.
You can enjoy a self-paced tour of St. Johnsbury’s most beautiful architecture by following the St. Johnsbury Historic Walking Tour. The walking tour includes the highlights of St. Johnsbury’s magnificent architectural gems, such as the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum and the Fairbanks Museum, as well as a number of private homes and buildings on or near Main Street. Download an audio podcast to guide you through the tour, or pick up a pre-loaded mp3 player and historic tour map at the Welcome Center or the Athenaeum. Plan for about one hour for the tour.
If you’re tuckered out by all the movement, park and ride shuttles are available all day Saturday to transport you around town.
The Creative Arts are spotlighted during Summerfest from start to finish. On Friday 
evening, live music is available at the Wingate Restaurant and at Elements Restaurant, both in St Johnsbury. A performance of “The Mellow Yellow Experience,” a live recreation of 1960s music, will be held at Fuller Hall on the St. Johnsbury Academy campus.
On Saturday you can view an exhibit of local artists outdoors at Courthouse Park, or watch the artist Ed Kadunc at work at Uniquity. There will be an open studio and sidewalk sketching at The Gallery, and temporary tattoos can be had at Artistic, Inc.
The weekly St. Johnsbury Farmers’ Market will be held from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in its usual place on Pearl Street, just behind TD Bank on Railroad Street. The Farmers’ Market has 40 to 50 vendors who sell everything from the freshest organic produce, farm-raised eggs and meat, plants, maple syrup, fresh-baked breads and other prepared food, fresh-roasted coffee, handmade crafts, and so much more.
Saturday from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm, the band “Tesselations” will be performing free on the front porch of the Welcome Center at the corner of Railroad Street and Eastern Avenue. Come enjoy the Latin-influenced jazz funk band.
Throughout Summerfest, enjoy the boutique shopping in downtown St. Johnsbury, on Railroad Street, Eastern Avenue, and Main Street. And please bring a donation to the food drive being collected Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm in the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot at the corner of Railroad Street and Portland Avenue.
The final event of Summerfest will be held after the weekend on Monday evening at 7:30. A fee concert will be given by the St Johnsbury Town Band, one of the oldest town bands in the country, at the Courthouse
Park gazebo. The St. Johnsbury Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a free ice cream social at the concert for everyone as well!
This year, Summerfest extends from Friday, August 13 through Monday, August 16. Come join the fun and celebrate the best of Vermont in the summer! For more information about Summerfest, call the St. Johnsbury Chamber of Commerce at 802-748-7121 or email to stjworks@kingcon.org.
Here’s the full schedule of Summerfest events:
FRIDAY, AUGUST 13
7:00 pm Live music, Winegate Restaurant
7:30 pm The Mellow Yellow Experience, Fuller Hall at St. Johnsbury Academy
9:00 pm Friday Night Live music, Elements Restaurant
SATURDAY, AUGUST 14
All Day Park and Ride Shuttles around town
All Day Historic St. Johnsbury Walking Tour (start at Fairbanks Museum or St. Johnsbury Athenaeum)
All Day Temporary tattoos at Artistic, Inc.
All Day Face Painting, Open Studio and Sidewalk Sketching at the Gallery
All Day Music in the Gazebo at Courthouse Park
9am to 1pm Farmer’s Market at Pearl Street
Train Rides: Depart from Welcome Center Train Depot
To Barnet (south) - 9:30 am, 12:30 pm, and 3:30 pm
To Lyndonville (north) - 11:00 am and 2:00 pm
9:30 to 11am Ed Kadunc Oil and Pencil Painting at Uniquity
10:00 am Pet Parade starts at St. Johnsbury Athenaeum
10:00 am Movement on Main Street -- Yoga
10:00 am Introduction to Meditation at Shambala Center
10am to 2pm Food Drive for local food pantry at Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot
10am to 4pm Kids' Activity Space at Four Seasons Park
10am to 4pm Art in the Park exhibit and sale at Courthouse Park
10am to 4pm Mad Dash Challenge through St. Johnsbury Town Forest (starting point on Concord Avenue)
11:00 am Movement on Main Street -- Tai Chi
11:00 am Introduction to Meditation at Shambala Center
11am to 2pm Buggy Rides for the Historic St. Johnsbury Tour on Main Street
12 noon Movement on Main Street
12 noon Introduction to Meditation at Shambala Center
1:00 pm Movement on Main Street -- Yoga
1:00 pm Introduction to Meditation at Shambala Center
1:00 pm Duck Races at Arnold Park
1 to 4pm Ed Kadunc Oil and Pencil Painting at Uniquity
1:30 pm Planetarium Show at Fairbanks Museum
2:00 pm Movement on Main Street
2:00 pm Introduction to Meditation at Shambala Center
3:00 pm Movement on Main Street
3:00 pm Introduction to Meditation at Shambala Center
3:00 pm Author T. Greenwood speaking at Boxcar and Caboose
4:30 to 7pm Live Music by Tesselations on front porch of Welcome Center
MONDAY, AUGUST 16
7:30 pm St. Johnsbury Town Band “Circus” Concert and Ice Cream Social at Courthouse Park
Can you smell it in the air yet? That sweet fragrance of maple sap, being
boiled for hours and hours, until it reaches that golden stage called “maple syrup.” It must be maple sugaring season -- Vermont’s “fifth season” that comes between winter and spring!
Vermont’s syrup producers are known as “sugarmakers,” and the area around St. Johnsbury is filled with people who produce a variety of maple products for retail sale, and others who just produce a few gallons as a hobby to share with family and friends.
Plenty of special events are planned in Vermont to celebrate the delicious products of Vermont’s state tree, the sugar maple.
Here in St. Johnsbury, the World Maple Festival will take over the downtown April 24. A great family event, the festival will fill Railroad Street in St. Johnsbury with everything maple. Events include: a pancake breakfast (of course!), a performance by the "King of SIlly," musical performances all day, a "Kids vs. Kops" broomball game, a fabulous Kid's Zone of fun, craft vendors galore, tons of food, and the World Maple Syrup Champion will be crowned! Scott Beck, owner of local independent bookstore Boxcar & Caboose, heads the World Maple Festival. You can get more information about the festival by calling him at 802-274-0201. Watch this fun video about last year’s festival by clicking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbHd5bZiDpk.
St. Johnsbury has a long tradition of producing maple products, leading to its nickname as “Maple Center of the World.” Maple Grove Farms, one of the world’s leading producers of maple products, was founded in St. Johnsbury and has its Vermont headquarters right here in town. The company’s Maple Museum in St. Johnsbury, with its huge maple syrup jug outside, attracts thousands of visitors from around the world each year. An article written in the Vermonter magazine in 1927 details the founding of Maple Grove Farms in 1915 by three young St. Johnsbury women, Katherine Ide Gray, her daughter Helen Gray, and Ethel McLaren.
You can read more about the process of making maple syrup and St. Johnsbury’s tradition of maple products here. And come join the sweet fun!
New Facelift for Main Street Clock
Seems like every small downtown has one – a clock that sits in the middle of town as a landmark: “Meet me at the clock.” St. Johnsbury’s clock on the corner of Main and Eastern Avenue is just such a landmark for the town. In years past, the Randall and Whitcomb stationery store advertised their location at the intersection as, "on the corner by the clock."
Owned by the Fairbanks Museum, it’s been here since 1910, when it was brought from New York City’s Grand Central Station and erected by H. W. Randall. At the time, it cost $700, according to “The Town of St. Johnsbury,” a history of the town written in 1914 by Edward T. Fairbanks.
You may have noticed that the clock had stopped a long while back. Recently, a small group of people in town decided it was time to get the clock working again.
“Every twenty years or so, the clock needs an overhaul,” says Bob Desrochers. He should know – he’s been involved in the last two times the clock needed work, in the early 1970s and again in the 1990s. This summer, Desrochers contacted Peggy Pearl at the Fairbanks Museum and Dick Diefenbach, local clockmaker, to get them involved. Both had been part of previous renovations of the clock, so everyone knew what had to be done.
Workers from Desrochers’s company, Fairbanks Mill, handled the
work of sandblasting and repainting the clock. Glass for a new bezel was obtained from Mayo’s Glass, and Dick Diefenbach worked on the inner parts of the clock to get it in running order. After sealing the clock against the elements, it was wound and back in action in September.
Dick Diefenbach at work
About that winding…Desrochers says the clock must be wound every week – no batteries in that old clock! For now, he is happy to take care of those duties. “It’s fun to be part of an effort for almost forty years, off and on,” says Desrochers. “I guess we’ll have to do it again in another twenty years or so.”
If you see St. Johnsbury tax assessor Peter Whitney peering intently at your Victorian filigree, don’t panic. Whitney is probably much more interested in how your house will look in a photograph.
Church spires in St. J
Whitney has an avid interest in old buildings. For the past couple
of years, Whitney has been photographing architectural features of residences and other older buildings in St. Johnsbury and other communities. Once he bought his digital Canon Eos Rebel, he decided to start taking pictures of buildings and especially details that interested him. “With my digital camera I can take as many pictures as I want without any additional expense,” Whitney explains.
Zucarro & Willis law office, Main St.
Whitney’s St. Johnsbury photos show his attention to building detail. His photo of church spires provides a vivid contrast of the architectural styles of two of St. Johnsbury’s churches. The architectural details of the Estabrook House, a St. Johnsbury bed and breakfast, make for some beautiful shots of that magnificent Queen Anne Victorian home.
Estabrook House, Main St.
Whitney provides an interesting view of the building that houses the Zuccaro & Willis law office, framed by an archway across the street. He also shows interesting details of two other St. Johnsbury houses, one of which
contains a very large tower.
Tower house in St. J
Whitney taught himself how to take architectural photos. Recently, he has become very interested in how he frames his pictures and says he has taken more time to establish just the right frame for each picture.
On Flickr, Whitney has joined several groups that contain photos that interest him, such as “Victorian houses,” “houses with towers,” and “historical porches and scroll work.”
Whitney says he is always looking for
new buildings to photograph. “Recently I photographed the Reed Supply building near the Old Mill Racquet Club,” Whitney said. “You might not notice it right away, but the building has gorgeous lines and details.”
Reed Supply porch, St. J
Whitney has uploaded his pictures to Flickr, an Internet photo archiving service that members of the public can visit. His photos are located at http://www.flickr.com/photos/21136694@N02/. In addition to his architectural photos, Whitney also has collections of nature photos, including flowers, foliage, and birds, as well as photos of hiking trips and travels.
Thanks to Peter Whitney for his generosity in allowing us to use his pictures here on the DiscoverStJ site from time to time, as other local photographers have done. We enjoy his beautiful photos of our beautiful town.
Fred and Robin Little have owned Sunshine Boutique in downtown
St. Johnsbury for over 20 years. It’s a thriving business, with beautiful jewelry, clothing, and decorative items for the home.
So why would they want to own Moose River Lake and Lodge, another store in downtown St. Johnsbury that offers jewelry, clothing, and beautiful items for the home?According to Fred Little, “It’s an exciting challenge for us. The two stores are completely different from each other.” Their plan is to maintain the distinct look and feel of Moose River, with its rustic upscale North Country cabin-like atmosphere. “We’re enjoying having the two different kinds of stores,” says Fred.
Robin and Fred take turns being in each store. So far, th
at’s worked out just fine,” says Fred. Years ago, the Littles owned a fine jewelry store in Littleton. “But it was much harder running two locations 20 miles away from each other,” he says. “It’s great being a 28-second walk between the stores.”The transfer of the store from Bob Hoffman to Fred and Robin Little took place
in mid-November. “We’ve had a wonderful holiday season,” says Fred. “Moose River has done much better than we had even hoped, and Sunshine Boutique exceeded our expectations, too.”
“People see our ‘St. Johnsbury Works’ shirts,” says Susan, “And right away they start asking questions. We try to direct them to help them find what they’re looking for.” You’ll often see the Downtown Ambassadors out on their rounds with their children in tow – Heather and Susan each have a toddler, and Maribeth has two children under 5 years old. “We try to go out between 11am and 2 pm, 5 or 6 days a week,” says Maribeth. “We’ll be here through the end of the summer.”
The women are very pleased with the job so far – the flowerpots are lush and blooming, the street looks great, and as Heather says, “Lots of people thank us for what we’re doing, and that’s really nice.”