Dorset Historical Society

Dorset Historical Society 2023 Annual Meeting Notice
2023-10-16 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Dorset Historical Society
2023 Annual Meeting Notice
Monday October 16th at 4p.m.
The Dorset Historical Society’s Annual Meeting will be held Monday, October 16th at 4 p.m. at the Dorset Historical Society. If someone cannot attend and they wish to watch the meeting livestreamed on Facebook, please email DHS for instructions.
There will be a review of the events and accomplishments of the past year as well as an acknowledgement of some of the donations to the collection.
The new business will include the election of two directors: Sallyan Pelletier and Kathryn Czaplinski.
Many thanks to Sue Washburn and John Rodenburg who will be leaving the Board after years of dedication and hard work.
Immediately following the Annual Meeting, the Board of the Dorset Historical Society will convene and the following slate of officers will be nominated and approved:
President- Rache Simmons
Vice-President- Megan Thörn
Treasurer — Mary Stevenson
Secretary — Erica Shott
For more information, stop into our offices, go to dorsetvthistory.org, or call DHS at 867-0331.

Dorset Historical Society: 60th Birthday Party!
2023-09-23 11:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Come to the Bley House Museum at 11am until 1pm on Saturday, September 23rd, to help us celebrate 60 years of the incorporation of the Dorset Historical society.

Enjoy a piece of birthday cake and a beverage as you browse a display spanning to 60 years of the Dorset Historical Society history and hear tributes from local dignitaries.

The Dorset Historical Society’s Bley House Museum is located on Route 30 at Kent Hill Road. For more information, visit our website or call 802 867.0331.

From 1970 to 1973, the Dorset Historical Society led Jeep adventures to remote areas of Dorset. They met at the Dorset Church, caravaned down the Lower Hollow Road, went up Coolidge Lane, off-roading to the top of Crane Hill, to the Freedley Quarry, and back down to Dorset Hill Road.

Myths and Legends of the Battle of Bennington
2023-09-21 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
The Dorset Historical Society’s Third-Thursday Lunch-Lecture on September 21, Myths and Legends of the Battle of Bennington is presented by David Pitlyk, historic site assistant.

As events pass out of living memory and into history, the way they are remembered is shaped by the collective effort of generations. From the misrepresentative to the mendacious, over the years some people have just plain gotten it wrong. Join us as we consider some of the worst milestones in the historiography surrounding the Battle of Bennington. This lecture will lay out several myths, explore their origins and attempt to set the record straight.
David Pitlyk is the Historic Site Assistant at Bennington Battlefield. He previously served as the Interpretations Coordinator at the USS SLATER. He holds a BA in history and MS in secondary education from the University at Albany.
The Dorset Historical Society’s Bley House Museum is located on Route 30 at Kent Hill Road. For more information, see https://dorsetvthistory.org or call (802) 867-0331.

A Brief History of Forestry and Land Use in Vermont
2023-08-17 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
The Dorset Historical Society’s Third-Thursday Lunch-Lecture on August 17 will feature Rick Kelley, Vermont Forester. Rick will discuss the history of forestry in Vermont.
DHS’s TTLLs begin at noon and last about an hour. Attendees are invited to bring some lunch; desserts and drinks will be provided. The event is free, open to all and handicapped accessible. The Dorset Historical Society’s Bley House Museum is located on Route 30 at Kent Hill Road. For more information, see https://dorsetvthistory.org or call (802) 867-0331.

For the Love of Vermont: The Lyman Orton Collection.
2023-07-20 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
The Dorset Historical Society’s Third-Thursday Lunch-Lecture on July 20th will feature author, Anita Rafael. Anita will be discussing her book Orton Book Project: For the Love of Vermont: The Lyman Orton Collection.
Anita Rafael is a writer living and working in an 1840s carriage barn she rehabbed in 2005 in the village of Wardsboro, Vermont. Her feature articles about people, places, arts, food, travel, and events in Vermont have appeared in lifestyle magazines and newspapers throughout the state of Vermont since 2007, as well as on websites and travel blogs. Publications in Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts printed her feature articles throughout the 1990s.
In October, 2022, Anita Rafael began working with Lyman Orton, proprietor of The Vermont Country Store, on the book about his forty-five year adventure in collecting the art of Vermont. The book, released in mid-2023, is titled For the Love of Vermont: The Lyman Orton Collection. (Hardcover, dust jacket, illustrations and photographs, 220 pages. Publisher: The Vermont Country Store). The talk will be about putting the story of the artists together with Lyman’s story about collecting art.
DHS’s TTLLs begin at noon and last about an hour. Attendees are invited to bring some lunch; desserts and drinks will be provided. The event is free, open to all and handicapped accessible. The Dorset Historical Society’s Bley House Museum is located on Route 30 at Kent Hill Road. For more information, see https://dorsetvthistory.org or call (802) 867-0331.

Ice Cream Social
2023-07-08 13:00 - 15:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Community Gathering

Freedley Quarry Hike
2023-06-24 09:00 - 12:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Start at The Bley House Museum on Kent Road

Gettysburg Quarry Hike
2023-06-17 09:00 - 12:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251

Red Scare in the Green Mountains
2023-06-15 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
DHS June 15 Third Thursday Lecture discusses Red Scare in the Green Mountains, presented by Vermont Humanities speaker, Rick Winston.

The Dorset Historical Society’s Third-Thursday Lunch-Lecture on June 15 will feature Vermont Humanities speaker, Rick Winston. Rick will talk about the Red Scare in the Green Mountains.
What happened in Vermont when the anti-Communist fear known as the “Red Scare” swept the country? Quite a bit, as it turns out. Rick Winston, author of the recently published “Red Scare in the Green Mountains: Vermont in the McCarthy Era,” explores some forgotten history as we see how a small, rural “rock-ribbed Republican” state with a historically libertarian streak handled the hysteria of the time.
There were several fascinating stories in the Green Mountains, including a high-profile academic firing, a conservative senator who helped take down Joseph McCarthy, controversies involving left-leaning summer residents, and some veteran newspaper editors who spoke out against McCarthy’s tactics.
Rick Winston was the co-owner of Montpelier’s Savoy Theater for 29 years, and was Programming Director for the Green Mountain Film Festival for 14 years. He has taught film history at Burlington College, Community College of Vermont, Goddard College, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and has made presentations throughout Vermont on film history.
DHS’s TTLLs begin at noon and last about an hour. Attendees are invited to bring some lunch; desserts and drinks will be provided. The event is free, open to all and handicapped accessible. The Dorset Historical Society’s Bley House Museum is located on Route 30 at Kent Hill Road. For more information, see https://dorsetvthistory.org or call (802) 867-0331.

DHS New Exhibits Opening and A Soldier’s Life at the DVL
2023-06-10 11:00 - 14:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Two Dorset institutions come together to present the community with a morning of history. The Dorset Historical Society’s New Exhibits opening takes place from 11-1pm and at 1pm the Dorset Library presents a living history program: A Soldier’s Life.
This year’s new exhibits at the Dorset Historical Society include a Timeline of Dorset History covering the years 1840-1870; the “Quabbin Houses,” moved by Charley Wade to Dorset from Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley in the 1930s; Huntington Pratt Gilbert’s photographs of life in Dorset from 1905-1915; new acquisitions; and highlights from our collection of autographs and autograph books.
After you view the exhibits at the Historical Society and have a light refreshment, the Dorset Village Library (directly across the street) is hosting A Soldier’s Life. An appropriately attired educator from Fort Ticonderoga will teach program attendees about the lives of American soldiers on America’s northern frontier. This engaging 45 minute program incorporates history and geography to provide context to the daily experience of soldiers. The focus will be on a specific regiment connected to our location. We will explore the equipment and food, discuss the challenges of transporting and supplying the Continental Army, keeping in mind Fort Ticonderoga’s strategic location. This program is designed for students, but we welcome the whole community.
Both programs are accessible and free to all.
The Dorset Historical Society’s Bley House Museum is located on Route 30 at Kent Hill Road. For more information, see https://dorsetvthistory.org or call (802) 867-0331.
The Dorset Village Public Library is located on Route 30 and Church Street. For more information, see https://dorsetvillagelibrary.org/ or call (802) 867-5774.

DHS Welcomes Bradley Bender, Mt. Tabor-Danby Historical Society President discussing Silas Lapham Griffith, Vermont’s first millionaire.
2023-05-18 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
The Dorset Historical Society’s Third-Thursday Lunch-Lecture on May 18 will feature Bradley Bender, Mt. Tabor-Danby Historical Society President. Bradley will discuss Silas Lapham Griffith.
Silas Lapham Griffith, affectionately known as The Santa Claus Bandit, became Vermont’s first millionaire through his industrious lumber and charcoal operations. Ann K. Rothman, the late Dutchess of Danby became fascinated with the town’s benefactor at age 55 when she purchased an old farm in Danby and began romancing a native son who recorded hours and hours of fascinating oral history with her regarding Griffith’s operations. Rothman was a talented interior decorator and writer from Long Island who founded the Mt. Tabor-Danby Historical Society and became the owner of several historic buildings on Main Street including Silas Griffith’s 1864 “Skyscraper” department store. Rothman’s 20 year obsession with exhaustive Griffith research resulted in several unpublished manuscripts about him and finally the publication in 2022 of Silas Lapham Griffith The Santa Claus Bandit: Vermont’s First Millionaire, through the financial and organizational efforts of Robert Tobin and Tim Cameron.
Bradley will speak about this new biography of Griffith, his connection to a world-famous Dorset native son, Rothman’s background, and his collaboration with her on Griffith research.
DHS’s TTLLs begin at noon and last about an hour. Attendees are invited to bring some lunch; desserts and drinks will be provided. The event is free, open to all and handicapped accessible. The Dorset Historical Society’s Bley House Museum is located on Route 30 at Kent Hill Road. For more information, see https://dorsetvthistory.org or call (802) 867-0331.

Hiraeth: My Dorset
2023-04-20 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
DHS Welcomes Anne E de Schweinitz
The Dorset Historical Society’s Third-Thursday Lunch-Lecture on April 20 will feature Anne E de Schweinitz presenting her program titled Hiraeth: My Dorset.
In Anne’s own words: “My story of four generations in Dorset. New starts, a little boyo’s big adventure, and the return “home” of his grown daughter. A story of connection we all share to this beautiful little Eden called Dorset.”
Hiraeth (here-eyeth) noun, Welsh.
A homesickness for a home to which you cannot return to or never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for lost places of your past.

DHS’s TTLLs begin at noon and last about an hour. Attendees are invited to bring some lunch; desserts and drinks will be provided. The event is free, open to all and handicapped accessible.
The Dorset Historical Society’s Bley House Museum is located on Route 30 at Kent Hill Road. For more information, see https://dorsetvthistory.org or call (802) 867-0331.

Scenes From a Pandemic: How Dorset Managed the Shutdown
2023-03-16 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
The Dorset Historical Society’s Third-Thursday Lunch-Lecture on March 16 will feature Andrew Longacre. Andy will discuss “Scenes from the Pandemic”
“Scenes from the Pandemic” will discuss how the Dorset Church and other local organizations accommodated a 2-year interruption of their services. Audience participation is encouraged and we will also hear from our local curator, Jon Mathewson and Librarian, Erica Shott. They will provide stories, photos and artifacts from the pandemic.

DHS’s TTLLs begin at noon and last about an hour. Attendees are invited to bring some lunch; desserts and drinks will be provided. The event is free, open to all and handicapped accessible.
The Dorset Historical Society’s Bley House Museum is located on Route 30 at Kent Hill Road. For more information, see https://dorsetvthistory.org or call (802) 867-0331.

Virtuous Sinner — A Memoir Made in Vermont
2023-02-16 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Presented by Alexandra Langstaff

The Gardens and Mission at Hildene
2022-02-17 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Presented by Andrea Luchini

Going, Going, Gone — Or Not?
2021-11-18 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Join Peter Palmer at the Bley House Museum on Thursday November 18th to look at principles of good design and some examples of good and bad designs. We will then look at many of the buildings that we have lost, some that have been saved and many that are in danger.

Then and Now: Additions and Alterations to Dorset's Architecture Over Time
2021-10-21 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Presenters are Judy Harwood and Michele Pagan

Cancelled — All About "A Time Traveler's Theory of Relativity"
2021-09-16 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Presented by Nichole Valentine Has Been Cancelled

Changes to H.N. Williams
2021-08-19 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Presented by Billy Brownlee

A Tale of Two Paintings
2021-07-15 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Presented by Donald Trachte

An Ice Cream Social
2021-07-10 13:00 - 15:00 | VT
Come Experience Our New Exhibits, and Enjoy Delicious Free Wilcox Ice Cream!

The Folsom Quarry Hike
2021-07-10 09:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
The length of the hike depends on the number of people, weather and other mitigating circumstances. Meet at The Dorset Historical Society.

The Freedley Quarry Hike
2021-06-26 09:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
The length of the hike depends on the number of people, weather, and other mitigating factors. Meet at The Dorset Historical Society.

Highway Construction
2021-06-17 12:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
Progress vs. Preservation in 20th Century Vermont
Presented by Paul Searles

Gettysburg Quarry Hike
2021-06-12 09:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
The length if the hike depends upon the number of people, weather, and other mitigating factors. Meet at The Dorset Historical Society.

New Exhibit Open House
2021-06-05 11:00 - 13:00 | The Dorset Historical Society Bley House Museum, Corner of Kent Hill Road & Route 30, Dorset, VT, 05251
