Saturday, Sept. 9, 10 a.m.—CASTLETON—The Castleton Historical Society offers a pair of September walking tours, one spotlighting each of Castleton’s two most prominent villages. Retired history educator and local history researcher Joseph Doran will lead a history tour of Hydeville, starting at 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 9. This tour will begin at the Lake Bomoseen dam, just north of the intersection of Route 4A and Blissville Road; will progress eastward to the Hydeville green; and will conclude at the old (1898) Hydeville schoolhouse, 1130 Route 4A. Two weeks later, Saturday, Sept. 23 at 10 a.m., Holly Hitchcock, the president of Castleton Historical Society, will lead a tour of Main Street in the historic village of Castleton. Look for details.
Hydeville resident Joe Doran noted that “the last public historical walking tour through Hydeville was in the year 2001.” According to the State of Vermont’s Division for Historic Preservation, “Most buildings in the linear village of Hyde-ville Historic District, located at the outlet of Lake Bomoseen, date from the mid to late 1800s when it was a busy marble and slate processing center. Examples of many period styles can be found here — from the Greek and Gothic Revivals, Italianate, and Queen Anne, to the Colonial Revival … As the primary promoter and later president of the Rutland and Whitehall Railroad (1850), Mr. Araunah Hyde ensured a transportation link between his West Rutland marble quarry and his mill in the village which came to be known as ‘Hydeville.’ … The circa 1850 home of Pitt W. Hyde, brother and co-owner with Araunah, endures as an outstanding Gothic Revival style residence.” Mr. Doran’s expert tour of Hydeville will last approximately one hour.
There is no charge for either tour.
