Beautiful Houses in Poultney

Bentley House Bed & Breakfast

I returned to this house after passing it for the first time a few days earlier. It's called the Bentley House and is operated as a bed & breakfast.

Poultney, Vermont, which borders Granville to the north, is a town of about 3,000. Like Granville, its heyday in the second half of the 19th century was built on slate. Granville, Poultney, and a few other towns comprise the "Slate Valley."

This well-designed duo of buildings are across the street from the Bentley House. The structure on the left looks like it would originally have been a carriage house.

C.W. Humphrey House

Perhaps the most beautiful and historic is this house on the opposite corner, originally called the C.W. Humphrey house after the person who built it. It is described as a Queen Anne/Colonial Revival style home. A distinctive feature is the roof made of purple slate. Twin Paladian windows are seen on the left and on the gable to the right. The house underwent a full restoration in 2013, when the name "The Meeting House" was attached to it. At the time it belonged to Green Mountain College and was used as a community center. 

Green Mountain College closed in 2019, after 185 years, a fate that has afflicted many small liberal arts colleges in Vermont and across the country. Green Mountain was known for its sustainability and environmental curriculum. Friends of mine who are farmers (and my massage therapist, who you met in an early post) met there. All of which makes the "First in Sustainability" sign next to the house a bit ironic, especially next to the real estate sign. 

Regrettably, Green Mountain College itself was unsustainable ....



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