When visiting Vermont, or a new area in Vermont, I recommend starting the day out with flannel because, well, odds are it is going to be cold or get cold, at least at one point in the day. So, when visiting East Barre, I will direct you first to 128 Mill Street, the home base of The Vermont Flannel Company, open 9am-5pm Monday through Friday, and 10am - 4pm Saturdays for the rest of the year.. The store is quaint and stock full of a large variety of flannel wear. After perusing through and finding the flannel that’s right for you, you can take a right out of the store parking lot and head to the Rock of Ages Granite Quarry where, through a guided tour, you can stare down into the sea-green depths of the world’s largest deep-hole dimension granite quarry.
The walls of the quarry look like they are made up of striated tiles. From atop the quarry you can look off at the rolling mountains in the distance, and when you feel you cannot gaze upon nature any longer, if you are a beverage connoisseur, you can travel up the road to Old Route Two Spirits 69 Pitman Rd, Barre, VT 05641. A new distillery, Old Route Two Spirits offers tour shows on how they have perfected their craft of creating gin and rum to be distilled in New England hardwood barrels.
If you would like some reading after a morning of flannel and quarry gazing however, you could head to the Vermont History Center and Leahy Library at 60 Washington Street, Barre, VT. Look at some of Vermont’s oldest maps, broadsides, or at genealogical materials to trace back your family tree.
In the mood for something a little louder, head into town to the Barre Opera House (6 N Main St #4, Barre, VT 05641). Once serving as a soapbox for President William Howard Taft, this site has been around for decades. The upcoming performance is Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Celebration Series on Saturday, September 28th, 2019 (ticket prices vary depending on your purchase method).
At the end of the day, as you head out of town, stop by the Hope Cemetery. In this cemetery you’ll find carved granite masterpieces, and with the added fact that seventy-five percent of all the tombstones were carved by the people in the graves they rest above. It is a pretty unique place to visit.
As you continue out of town, on your left there should be a good maple place, after all, there are quite a few in Vermont, and where else are things as authentic.
Hope your day was Flantastic™!