Our first full day in Vermont, we decided to stay close to our Ludlow homebase. (We had been in the car for 16 hours the two days before, so we weren't too thrilled to go exploring too far from the house.)
Luckily, we found things to do within 15 minutes of Ludlow.
After much discussion, we all decided to try our hand at gold panning.
We started by stopping by the Tyson Village Store on Hwy. 100 north of Ludlow to buy some pans, and then we headed to Buffalo Brook, the site of the Vermont Gold Rush of 1855.
Some of us enjoyed the search for gold
Some of us found the water much more fun
And some of us couldn't resist climbing the waterfall and exploring.
We thought we were going to have to send in a rescue party to find these two.
When we decided we weren't going to strike it rich, we headed to Plymouth Notch, a small village in Plymouth, Vermont which includes the Calvin Coolidge Historical Site, a national landmark. The entire village and countryside surrounding it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is where Calvin Coolidge was born, raised, sworn in as the 30th President of the United States, and buried in the Notch Cemetery.
When we arrived, the first thing we saw was this gentlemen and his sons sitting under a tree with some sheep. As we got closer, we realized they were shearing the sheep. He was very talkative, and answered many of our curious questions.
He started by showing us how it was done long ago with shears.
Then he pulled out the more "modern" version - powered by his son turning the crank.
This cute little guy felt like a wooly, itchy blanket,
This sheared sheep felt much softer.
Since we live in the dairy state, we thought we would check out the Cheese Factory started by Calvin Coolidge's father in 1890.
It is the 2nd oldest cheese factory in America. It still operates today and gives yummy samples.
Just down the road, we came to the church where Calvin Coolidge and his family attended during his childhood. For the first 22 years of his life, Calvin sat in pew #17 purchased by his grandfather in 1842 for $31. After a renovation in 1890, the president and his family worshiped in a pew which is now marked by an American flag and a brass plate.
The Florence Cilley general store is located on the corner, just across from the Homestead. President Coolidge's father was storekeeper and owner and owned the building until 1917. Florence Cilley ran the general store until 1945. Today it is filled with old-fashioned candy & toys as well as gift items and Moxie, Calvin Coolidge's favorite drink (a little bit root beer and a little bit medicine - not our favorite).
A large room above the general store was used for weekly dances, and in 1924, served as the summer white house for President Coolidge.
President Calvin Coolidge was born in this little house in back of the general store on July 4, 1872. His family continued to live in this simple house until 1876. At the age of four, he and his family moved across the road to the Coolidge Homestead.
It was here, in 1923, that Calvin Coolidge heard about the passing of President Warren G. Harding and was sworn in as President of the United States by his father, Colonel John Coolidge, a notary public.
Coolidge Homestead
Plymouth Notch was one of my favorite places in Vermont because it is so well preserved and reminds us of a man who came from humble beginnings. When he left Washington, he was quoted saying,
"We draw our Presidents from the people... I came from them. I wish to be one of them again."
Upon his sudden death in 1933, President Coolidge's body was buried in the hillside cemetery in Plymouth Notch where seven generations of his family were laid to rest. A simple granite headstone marks his grave.
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