Woodstock

Was chartered by New Hampshire Royal Governor Benning Wentworth in 1761. It was named the Shire Town of Windsor County in 1786 and quickly became a prosperous manufacturing and commercial center. The town has been home to George Perkins Marsh, environmentalist; Frederick Billings, railroad empire-builder; Senator Jacob Collamer, advisor to President Lincoln; and Laurence Rockefeller, conservationist and philanthropist. It was the birthplace of Hiram Powers, noted sculptor of Greek Slave. From1826 to 1856, it hosted one of only six medical colleges in New England, the Vermont Medical College. - Continued on other side - Woodstock was the terminus of the Woodstock Railway, 1877-1933, which connected the town to the Central Vermont Railroad in White River Junction. Travelers coming to Woodstock via the railway established the towns reputation as a tourist destination, still prevalent today. Called the prettiest small town in America by a national publication, Woodstock is famous for the architecture of its houses and churches. It is the site of the first ski-tow in the United States, in 1934, home to the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and remains the only town in America with 5 church bells cast by Paul Revere & Co.