Miss Ginger Soulless (aka Paulee Mekdeki) from the Keene Pride Drag Show performs at the Bellows Falls Festival in Bellows Falls on June 11. Photo by Robert F. Smith/The Commons
In Vermont, we generally learn to love the wintery weather (from “Yay my social plans are cancelled and I can read my book!” to “Everybody grab your snowshoes!”) — but snow or not, one thing Vermonters don’t do is wait for somebody else to make things happen.
The village of Bellows Falls (pop. 2,814) is a scrappy, picturesque town right on the Connecticut River, with big plans centered around restoring its train station. Amtrak’s Vermonter line runs is a beloved feature of the Southeastern Vermont landscape, giving us an easy (and admittedly kinda slow) way to get to DC or NYC, complete with scenery and wifi.
Nearby the train station project, on the town’s island, are some ancient (and hard to find) petroglyphs, which the town now has plans to build an Abenaki heritage site around, along with other long-term Island District development projects. (Another petroglyph site in nearby Brattleboro has been purchased by our local Abenaki band, with more big plans!)
Vermont is a place full of folks
who dive in and
make things happen.
“Amtrak’s southbound Vermonter sneaks through the narrow tunnel south of Bellows Falls station on its way to Washington D.C.” @eliots_trains
In 2023, Bellows Falls Pride started an annual LGBTQ whistlestop tour, commemorating the era in the 1970s and 80s when “patrons would travel by train to the only LGBTQ+ friendly destination in the state, for a weekend of dancing and house parties,” according to the Vermont Journal. And the good folks of Bellows Falls have even more plans for their downtown.
So what’s it like to live here?
In small towns with big plans like Bellows Falls, which you’ll find all over Southern Vermont, it’s not unusual for locals to sit on a few different boards or committees.
When something you want doesn’t exist here, you start it.
And when you do (while there are always a few curmudgeons), what you’ll generally find is a townful of folks ready to cheer you on. (And ask you to join another board.)
For a fun little tidbit of undertold history, check out this post from @rocketinvermont about the (female) billionaire of Bellows Falls, and, as Rocket reminds us, don’t forget to build the life you’ll want to have lived.
(Rocket also offers a full tour of BF here!)