Events
Events 2026
57th Annual Meeting and Open House
Sunday, September 20, 2-4 p.m.
Exhibits
New
Cabinets of Curiosities
June 21, 2026 – March 14, 2027
Ongoing
The Montvert Hotel and Mineral Springs
Middletown Springs History Timeline, 1770-1970
News
Mount Independence: Strong Ground and the Frontier Militia
by Ennis Duling
Mount Independence in Orwell, Vermont, played a critical role, too often forgotten, in the American struggle for independence. Twice, militiamen from the Vermont frontier, which included the settlement that became Middletown Springs, were called up to help defend the Lake Champlain forts, Mount Independence and Ticonderoga.
In early July 1776, an American army that had been defeated in Canada returned to Fort Crown Point. Rather than defend the Crown Point-Chimney Point narrows on the lake, General Philip Schuyler decided to fortify a rocky peninsula thirteen miles south, known as East Point or Rattlesnake Hill. The location was renamed Mount Independence after the Declaration of Independence was read to the assembled troops on July 28.
Schuyler told George Washington, “Can they drive us out of the strong camp on the east side? I think not. I think it impossible for twenty thousand men to do it, ever so well provided, if the camp consists of less than even a quarter of that number, indifferently furnished, such is the natural strength of the ground.”
Eventually, there were three brigades on Mount Independence and more than a dozen regiments, mostly from New England. More than 5000 men were quartered there, making Mount Independence briefly one of the most populous places in the country.
The troops on Mount Independence were remarkably diverse for the time, including Black and Native soldiers. Polish military engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko designed some of the fortifications. Women camp followers cooked, washed clothing, and nursed the sick.
In the late-October 1776, following the American naval defeat at Valcour Island, the Lake Champlain forts turned back the British advance. Continental Army Colonel Seth Warner of Bennington rallied the militia. Warner owned property in what would become Middletown Springs. If he had survived the war in good health, he might have settled in the frontier community. Instead, he died in Connecticut at age 41.
The American army retreated from Mount Independence in July 1777 at the start of the campaign that led to the battles of Hubbardton, Bennington, and Saratoga. Once again, frontier militia under Warner rallied to the defense of the forts. British and German troops occupied Mount Independence for several months in the summer and fall of 1777.
Today Mount Independence is a Vermont State Historic Site with an excellent museum and six miles of hiking trails.
Ennis Duling, guest speaker at the MSHS Annual Meeting on Sep. 20, has written on the American Revolution for Vermont History, Historical New Hampshire, the Journal of the American Revolution, and the Bennington Museum. He is the author of Thirteen Charges Against Benedict Arnold and co-author and co-editor of Strong Ground: Mount Independence and the American Revolution, published by the Mount Independence Coalition in 2017. He is an active member of the Poultney Historical Society and resides in East Poultney.
Learning to Love History
by Eliza Ruck
Children growing up in small towns often think that history happens ‘out there.’ We children of Middletown Springs, however, are privileged to grow up with a historical society that helps us connect to the history that happened in the same places where we play, learn, and make memories. The historical society is a part of a lot of my childhood memories. I know that spring is really coming when the Maple Festival brings out the traditional maple boiling pot. My parents have pictures of me as a toddler eating strawberry shortcake on the town green, and I will never forget the day I won the Strawberry Festival raffle and brought home a new doll with handmade historical outfits. As I’ve grown up, I’ve felt like I am giving back by volunteering at the Maple Festival, the Strawberry Festival, and other historical society events.
I have always loved seeing the old photos and dresses the historical society keeps and thinking about how people in our own town owned these. A few years ago, a really special opportunity came up: the historical society was given a journal from local sisters from roughly 100 years ago. Their description of our town green, our school, the special events that come with the seasons, and the slow, family life in the mountains was different but still really similar to my own life growing up here. A friend and I were given the chance to read this journal to an audience at the historical society. The experience increased my skills in historical research, public speaking, and understanding Vermont history.
This year, I prepared a presentation for Vermont History Day with my friends Elena Macias and Liliana Williams, about Vermont in the 1960’s. We titled our presentation, ‘Counterculture in Vermont: ‘Invasion’ of the Flower Children.’ The skills I gained working with the historical society helped me when we traveled to Burlington to compete with other students across the state. Our team won first place, and in June, we will travel to Washington, D.C., to compete and share more about Vermont history at National History Day. We are a small town, but the volunteers at our historical society really keep the past alive for future generations.
Dramatic Reading of Lucy and Hazel Grover Diaries from 1907 now on YouTube
To extend the experience of the MSHS Museum exhibit, Childhood in Middletown Springs, 1850-1920, which closed in March 2024, we’ve posted the video of the 2023 live performance of readings from the 1907 childhood diaries of Lucy and Hazel Grover on our YouTube channel.
On January 1, 1907, Lucy Grover (14) and her sister Hazel (10) began diaries in identical composition books. They lived with their parents, Will and Katie Grover, who owned and operated a farm in West Tinmouth about four miles south of the village of Middletown Springs. Their journals give a rare view of Vermont family farm life at the beginning of the 20th century and document children’s work, education and play—themes that ran through the Childhood exhibit.
Young local actors Anya and Ellie play the parts of Lucy and Hazel, respectively. Their performance was under the direction of Melissa Chesnut-Tangerman, a partner in Theatre in the Woods summer camp in Middletown Springs. To see the video, visit the Society’s YouTube channel.