Pawlet, Vermont
The Pawlet Town Hall, built in 1881 as the seat of town government, is housed in a Victorian Italianate-style structure with an upstairs auditorium featuring its original` stenciled ceiling and decoratively painted stage. The Pawlet Public Library across the green, once the town’s grammar school, hosts Vermont Humanities programs, talks and community potluck dinners. There are two popular area restaurants, two general stores and a post office within walking distance of the village. The firehouse hosts a number fundraising activities throughout the year, including a game dinner and an auction.
Six miles to the west, the hamlet of West Pawlet boasts some lovely examples of Victorian architecture and is home to the Delaware & Hudson Rail Trail, a popular destination for walking, bicycling, snowmobiling and horseback riding. Once a railroad bed, this recreation trail roughly follows the Indian River – another great place for trout fishing – as it meanders through the area’s verdant farmland. Midway between the two hamlets is the Nature Conservancy’s North Pawlet Hills Natural Area and a trail up Haystack Mountain with spectacular views.
History
Pawlet’s first recorded settlement dates to 1768. Some of the first settlers were involved in the French and Indian War. In 1777, a large encampment known as the Pawlet Expedition was instrumental in turning the tides of the Revolutionary War. Several water-powered mills were built as early as 1768 to process grain, lumber and textiles, and by the mid-1800s, Pawlet and West Pawlet had become a thriving center of industry, shipping its goods to distant markets via rail.
Education
Mettawee School District
Pre-K to grade 6: Mettawee Community School
Grades 7-12: School Choice (state average tuition paid for any private/independent school). Area schools include: Burr & Burton Academy, Long Trail School, Mill River Union High School, Salem NY Central High School, Granville NY High School and others.
Local Attractions
Haystack Mountain , Friends of Haystack Mountain
Dorset Farmers Market (year-round)
Local Businesses
Government
Phone/Internet/Televison
• Pawlet: VTEL telephone, state-of-the-art fiberoptic phone, internet and televison vermontel.com
• West Pawlet Village: Comcast digital cable for high-speed internet and cable television xfinity.com
• West Pawlet (outside of Village): Consolidated Communications for DSL internet and telephone consolidated.com
Houses of Worship
Pawlet Community Church, Pawlet
Mettowee Valley Church, West Pawlet
St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church, West Pawlet
Nearest Medical Facilities
Mettowee Community Health Center
Rutland Regional Medical Center
Rescue squads are out of Manchester VT and Granville NY
Proximity
Pawlet is a 20-minute drive to Manchester, 10 minutes to Granville, N.Y., and within 45 minutes to Rutland.
West Pawlet is less than five minutes to Route 22 in New York’s Washington County.
The Pawlet area is within an hour’s drive to New York State’s Route 87 (the Northway) and a little over an hour to Route 91 between Vermont and New Hampshire. Albany NY, is and hour and a half away. The major metropolitan areas of New York, Boston and Montreal are reachable in four hours or less.
Public Transportation
Airports: Rutland and Burlington VT and Albany NY. Trains: Rutland VT, Whitehall and Albany NY.
Train stations: Whitehall and Albany, NY