Page 93 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2023 SPECIAL CRUISE EDTION

As I drove along Scenic Route 100, I would beautifully restored Greek Revival and
stop at scenic spots and state parks where I Georgian-style homes that hug the tree-lined
could begin walking in those colorful woods. trees as well as some impressive commercial
Near the town of Rochester, I found the buildings from the 1800s that continue to
Rochester Valley Trails of the Green Mountain define this town.
National Forest. Strolling along its easy paths, I In my wanderings around the state, I found
got my first glimpse of the fall leaves. Woodstock the most appealing of the small
In Granville, a short stroll off the road took towns I saw. Its inn was within walking
me to Moss Glen Falls, a gorgeous horsetail distance to everything in town; the town had
waterfall that spreads into a teal pool of water. interesting shops and restaurants to explore;
The falls are “a major contributing factor as to and it boasts several natural and historic
why this road is widely considered to be attractions.
Vermont’s most scenic byway,” says The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National
NewEnglandWaterfalls.com. Historical Park is the premiere destination
Warren Falls, near the tiny town of here. Built in 1805 by Charles Marsh, its
Warren, features crystalline pools among mansion is a centerpiece of this fascinating
undulating gorge walls that make for a very place and is open for tours (though you need
dramatic spot in the Green Mountain National reservations in busy months like October). The
Forest. stately home is flanked
by some 20 miles of
I stopped in the
historic town of carriage roads and trails
Waterbury for a that crisscross Mount Tom.
veggie spinach wrap Across the road lies
at K.C.’s Bagel Cafe. the Billings Farm and
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Museum, a working dairy
Cream Factory is in farm as well as a museum
Waterbury, too. of agricultural life here.
Heading back The story of the
south on Scenic three owners of this
Route 100, I home and farm is truly
connected to State fascinating. The son of
Route 4 east to Charles Marsh, George
Woodstock, my home Perkins Marsh
for four nights. (1801-1882) grew up on
this family farm in
Settled in the
1760s, Woodstock Woodstock. He had
became one of the witnessed the
largest towns in the devastation of the state
state, drawing early after the American
manufacturers, Revolution when settlers
craftsmen and poured into Vermont,
entrepreneurs. As cutting down most of its
the large mills and factories in the mid-1800s forests to pursue farming and sheep herding,
drove out small manufacturers, Woodstock’s resulting in severe erosion and flooding.
population declined. Marsh served several terms in Congress in
the 1840s, traveled Europe as an American
But its illustrious origins remain among its
diplomat, and “saw first-hand how the actions

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