Latest News
The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Monday, October 26, 7PM, at the Old First Church Barn, 1 Monument Circle. The meeting is to give officials and the public a chance to discuss the proposed VILLAGE PLAN. Please note: People wishing to propose possible revisions to the draft Plan are advised to submit them very specifically, offering the language of the proposed revisions, and stating on which pages they should be made. The draft Village Plan is quite long, and general suggestions without proposed language and page numbers will be much harder to incorporate. This is to be the first statutory public hearing for the Village Plan. On acceptance of a final draft, the Planning Commission will present the Plan to the Village Trustees so they can schedule the first of their required public hearings on the plan.
The State of Vermont has been conducting an archeology project on the Battle Monument grounds, seeking to uncover new information about the Continental Army storehouse that was at the heart of the Battle of Bennington. There are excavations and protective orange fencing on the site. The public is welcome to come and observe. Any questions can be directed to Joshua.Bell@Vermont.gov.
The Trustees held their monthly public meeting on Oct. 6. The minutes are posted under the Board of Trustees tab, in the "Trustees Meeting Minutes" section. The minutes in this case include two Addenda: A statement by Marc Baetens and a draft policy statement on tree conservation in the Village by Renny Ponvert. The most recent monthly Treasurer's Report can be found in the "Treasurer's Reports" section of the same tab.
The Village Clerk thanks residents who have sent their email addresses for advance notification of meetings and other developments outside the Board's usual monthly schedule. (Regular monthly meetings will still be "warned" on the Village website, in accordance with Vermont's Open Meeting Law. ) We do not intend to spam residents or sell their email addresses. If you'd like to get these emails, please send your address to the Clerk, Mary Walsh, at mary.williams.walsh@gmail.com.
For Information concerning Vermont's Open Meeting Law, see the Open Meeting Law Notice under the "Other Documents" tab. The law requires any person aggrieved by an alleged violation of the Open Meeting Law to provide the Village a written notice of such allegation before bringing any civil action in court. A sample Open Meeting Law Complaint Form is also posted under "Other Documents."
About Us
Location
Old Bennington is situated on a height of land approximately one-half mile west of the center of the Town of Bennington, which lies in the Walloomsac River valley below. Looming over the Village to the southwest is Mount Anthony. A ridge called Monument Hill elevates the northern third of the Village, but along the eastern edge of the Village the land falls sharply away in a steep slope toward the river below. The remainder of the Village is fairly level. Many large, well-spaced houses are surrounded by lawns and gardens. We still enjoy the luxury of some open land with beautiful vistas.
History
The Village of Old Bennington represents the original center of Bennington. Samuel Robinson and a band of religious separatists from Connecticut and Massachusetts founded it in 1761. Over the past 265 years the focus of industrial, commercial and residential development has shifted to the valley below, and Old Bennington has become a small, incorporated Village within the Town of Bennington. Its character has become a historical, single-family residential community.