Blacksmiths were once indispensable – Part 1

#Middlebury #ItHappenedInMiddlebury By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD Long before the automobile became the common mode of transportation, horses provided most of the daily power for getting ... Continue Reading →

The Middlebury General Store – Part I

#Middlebury #ItHappenedInMiddlebury   By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD In New England rural life, the general, or country, store served as a major fount of current news, education, gossip ... Continue Reading →

Reverend Nathaniel Smith Richardson

#Middlebury By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD While Middlebury does not have an official “hall of fame” as some of our neighbors do, I have striven over the years to discover and write ... Continue Reading →

Hop Brook Dam – Part 1

#Middlebury #ItHappenedInMiddlebury #HopBrookDam By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the completion of the Hop Brook Dam in Middlebury. While the area ... Continue Reading →

Middlebury’s African- and Native-American residents

#Middlebury By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD Using the United States census as a guide, experts estimate the U.S. population was almost 326 million as of July 1, 2016. People of color accounted ... Continue Reading →

It Happened in Middlebury – Middlebury apple cider making

#Middlebury By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD “By 1775 one out of every ten farms in New England owned and operated its own cider mill.” So states Ben Watson, author of a delightful volume ... Continue Reading →

Middlebury Police Department – Part I

#Middlebury #PoliceDepartment By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD John Adams (1735-1826) said, we are a “government of laws and not of men.” Throughout the ages, police officers have played ... Continue Reading →

It Happened in Middlebury – Lake Quassapaug, Part II

#Middlebury #LakeQuassapaug By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD On Sept. 8, 1946, the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper advertised that 15,000 people were expected at Quassapaug for the ... Continue Reading →

It Happened in Middlebury: Lake Quassapaug – Part I

#Middlebury #LakeQuassapaug   By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD When summer comes to Middlebury, thoughts of warm sunny days bring to mind water sports, beaches and fun times, all associated ... Continue Reading →

It Happened in Middlebury – The Benson family in WW I

#MIDDLEBURY #WWI By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD No one responded to last month’s request for information on Middleburians who served in World War I, but that it is not unusual. Called ... Continue Reading →