Latest News
The Trustees will hold their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 3 at 7:00 pm at the Old First Church Barn. The agenda for the meeting can be found in the Agendas section of the Board of Trustees tab. The most recent monthly Treasurer's Report can be found in the Treasurer's Reports section of the same tab.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on Monday, October 26, to give officials and the public a chance to discuss the proposed VILLAGE PLAN. Unfortunately, the Zoom link for that meeting failed, and not everyone who wanted to attend was able to. Therefore, the first part of the next regular monthly Planning Commission meeting, on Monday, Nov. 9, will be a continuation of the last meeting. Once everybody has made their statements, the Planning Commission will hold its regular meeting.
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 or page numbers will be much harder to incorporate. On acceptance of a final draft, the Planning Commission will present the Plan to the Village Trustees, so that they can schedule the first of their required public hearings on the Plan.
The Planning Commission was asked where details could be found for the Town Plan process in the state and region. Information can be located by visiting bcrcvt.org, or by Googling Bennington County Regional Commission. On the home page click on the programs tab, then municipal and regional planning. Under Planning/Zoning Resources, open The Municipal Plan document. To review the proposed regional plan, go the BCRC home page and click on the regional plan tab.
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 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.