Brattleboro is a very nice town to visit (and live in!), but the police department can be rather…read moreheavy handed when encountering jay walkers. My 16-year-old niece was given a ticket for jay walking on July 4th weekend. She was in the cross walk, but crossed before her light was green. The officer demanded her ID, called it in to make sure there weren't any outstanding warrants for her arrest, and gave her a whopping $105 ticket. His actions seemed rather heavy-handed given the circumstances, and it was terribly upsetting, to say the least. Sometimes using the heavy hand of the law is not the best strategy. It is hard to tell from once incident, but given some other well-publicized incidents it seems that the police might need some better training in community policing.

I want to thank the 2 officers who actually came out here today to help me find the source of this…read moreterrible high pitched beeping noise. Usually I don't get taken seriously but you have to know me so it's ok. So I wish I knew their names a tall healthy male and a beautiful healthy female. Thank you for your service.

"The One and Only Brattleboro" - Town motto…read more I spent a pleasant day here in Brattleboro, including taking a tour of the municipal center. The current city hall building was built in 1884 in a Gothic Revival architecture and actually served as the city's high school until 1951. It's right next to the library and there is paid parking behind if you have city business. There is also a Level 2 EV charger. The town is named after Colonel William Brattle, Jr. though there are no records that he ever visited the area. It is located in southeastern Vermont and borders New Hampshire. [Review 18443 overall - 43 in Vermont - 1965 of 2022.]

A ten-minute uphill walk to this tower that mental patients were ordered to build for physical…read moreactivity/to alleviate their illnesses. Sadly, when it was done, many started jumping off the top to their deaths, so of course I had to visit and see what this was like. Parked in the ski slope Farm Retreat parking lot and walked to the trailhead across the street. Worth seeing and hiking up to the tower as it's so quick, though you can't enter the tower/climb up it. Visitors put wildflowers at the base of the tower by the sealed door which was so nice. 5 stars!!!!

Since it was a beautiful day out we decided to take a little hike during lunch and thought that the…read moreRetreat Tower would be the best spot to go. This was the first time we have hiked up to the tower and we have to say that we were not disappointed. The walk itself was fairly low impact and didn't take very long. Once we got to the top we enjoyed sitting by the tower while taking in the serenity of the wood. Overall it was a great experience and we would totally hike here again.

Today's "office" was the Brattleboro library. Easy, clean, comfortable…read more I found a nice spot on the upper floor where I was undisturbed for five hours of emails, quiet Zoom meetings and perhaps a few Yelp reviews got cranked out in between here and there. The library is quite modern on the inside despite being in an older and refined building. A large collection of books including the usual fiction, non-fiction, reference and periodicals. Friendly and helpful staff who helped me get settled. And a free wifi that worked very well. Street parking with meters and you're expected to find a different space after two hours. Okay, I did that. [Review 18442 overall - 42 in Vermont - 1964 of 2022.]

Thanks Jerry. My experience there was really unfortunate. I recieved a threatening notice that…read moreVermont law allowed for a fine of up to $400. for a book that was not returned. There was no further explanation offered, no further elaboration, or justification for that amount. That is the basis of my Yelp. The day I got the notice, I was, ironically, driving to Boston to return books to both the Boston Public Library, and a university library. When I returned to Brattleboro and saw the notice, I came in inquire about the threatening tone of the note. I was assured by reference librarian the that they only sent that after an initial notice had been ignored, and that fine amount was encoded in Vermont law. I had not recieved any prior notice and I asked if there was a record that the first notice was indeed sent to me. The reference librarian then took me back to the office behind the main desk. A woman there looked up my account and told both of us that there had, in fact, been no prior notice sent. There had indeed been an error. I love the charm of the library, but I woud not assume people are out to harm it or inflict financial strain on it. I am curious to know how anyone (particularly a legislator) thought $400 was a good idea, or why it would be used as an incentive to get a book back? That's where I think $25 would do the trick. It seems like overkill and unecessarily threatening.

Rude staff unless you are lucky and are served by the one courteous, helpful, and efficient counter…read moreperson they have, a tall dark haired fellow. Further, this post office is dirty and not well lit. Depressing.

I came on here at the beginning of November to ask for my mail to be held. I was expecting a new…read morephone and had had some bad experiences with mail not showing up when it was supposed to in the last few months. I did everything I was supposed to--came out, asked what to do, filled out a slip. I was as diligently as I possibly could've been. Then, I received a delivery notification for the package I was expecting a week ago. And the package was nowhere to be found. This was exactly why I went through the above process. I went to the post office to check out what happened tonight and was made to feel like it was my fault by the supervisor. He told me that I was somehow supposed to have known that if I have a housemate--I other words, someone else that gets mail at this address--they wouldn't hold my mail in spite of the fact that I'd put a hold in place. When I suggested that I should've been informed of this fact when filling out the form, he said that this would be a waste of resources to tell every single customer this incredibly basic information I could not have known otherwise. He also played up the fact that I'd come in a week after the fact. I came as soon as I found out this happened and was able to, the very next business day. Given that he works a 9-5 he should probably have a bit more empathy about the difficulty someone might have to get things done during the day. I just found out that due to their error, my new phone was not delivered. Try living without a phone these days. I can't just keep going out and buying new ones or calling the police as he suggested I do, especially given I don't have a phone... I've otherwise had good experiences here, but this was awful. Writing this review won't change a thing, but at least my experience is out there. Hopefully management will take note. This is just not an okay way to treat folks and it absolutely is your responsibility to inform us of things we couldn't possibly be aware of.

Closed to traffic but open for pedestrians, the Creamery Covered Bridge was built in 1879 and is a…read moreTown lattice truss design. It does have a vehicle lane (closed to traffic in 2010) as well as a pedestrian lane that was added 40 years later - you can walk both easily. The bright red bridge crosses Whetstone Brook and is a very short distance from the Interstate. You really have no excuse for not stopping to check out this fabulous piece of architecture, Brattleboro's last surviving 19th-century covered bridge. The bridge is the centerpiece of a small park where there is parking and there are some benches. It's a nice stop in any weather. [Review 1674 of 2024 - 160 in Vermont - 22697 overall]

I love covered bridges and this one in Brattleboro VT, built in 1879, didn't disappoint! I love the…read morespruce red wood and the lattice work inside! A nice feature of this bridge is the pedestrian covered walkway along the side of the main bridge which was added in 1920. The bridge is closed to traffic, and had cement blocks at the end, but it is a popular tourist attraction in this cool town of Brattleboro. After we walked and shopped along the downtown area, we spent quite a bit of time exploring this bridge and its history! What a treasure!

Fantastic hidden gem of a hiking trail with dramatic castle ruins steeped in local history and…read moreHAUNTED legend! It's beautiful- and eerie and spooky - especially in the moody fall weather. I love it so much I've been back twice on my visits to New England! The ruins are of the former castle and home to Madame Sherri - a costume designer from Paris that made a name for herself on Broadway. But what she was most known for was her wildly scandalous parties at the castle during the prohibition era! Sadly she eventually lost her fortune, the castle fell to ruins, and she passed away as a ward of the state. The spooky local legend says that if you stand on (or near) the stairs at midnight, a ghost (Mme Sherri?!!) comes and pushes you off!! This was such a popular legend that so many people would come stand on the stairs which sadly caused the top to collapse a few years ago and now you can't climb them at all. I only found out about all this bc I met a lovely local woman at one of my hotels that told me all about it! A fan of the Madame's, Anne Stokes, bought and cared for the entire estate and eventually gifted it to the Forest Society and eventually became the property of the Nature Conservancy who still maintains it thankfully! It's such a wonderful place! The entire protected area encompasses 513 acres and includes numerous trails around the ruins, as well as several ponds, a small brook, and bog lands full of wildlife. Just getting to the trail is quite the adventure - you're taken down eerie, rural New Hampshire backroads - not always the best maintained so be careful, especially with low clearance cars - it's pretty remote and I've never seen anyone else on the trails when visiting lol! The trail to the ruins is very short with hardly any elevation gain, but if you want a longer hike, the ruins trail joins up with the Anne Stokes loop and eventually with the much larger Wantastiquet - Monadnock Trail. There's a large gravel parking lot and lots of info signs at the trailhead with trail maps and info on all the history. Entrance is free but they do have QR codes for suggested donations of $5 to help maintain the ruins and property. There aren't any bathrooms that I could find so plan ahead.

I'm not sure exactly what it is about this spot but it's an awesome ruin of a bygone era sitting in…read morethe middle of nowhere. Anything stone has appeal to me and thus didn't disappoint. I traveled a bit later in fall than I'd hoped but it was a beautiful day and well worth the daytrip from CT. Parking is easy though limited. We arrived early snd also hiked part of the loop so turnover in the lot isn't always quick. Unfortunately there is graffiti marring the stone and the support for the staircase looks to be deteriorating . It's still awesome with a great backstory.

The original monument was installed in 1887 and honors those from Brattleboro who fought in the…read moreCivil War. The monument is about 25 feet tall and pictures a Union soldier in cap and cloak leaning on an upturned rifle. And like another I have seen recently, the butt of the rifle extends beyond the edge of the monument. The statue and the plaque are copper and quite corroded. The plaque on the front reads: This Monument Commemorates The Loyalty and Patriotism Of the Men of Brattleboro, Who Fought for Liberty and the Union In the Great Rebellion of 1861 - 1865 Enlisted 385. Died in Service 31. Erected by a Grateful Town A.D. 1887. On the back, it lists the different battlefields where the Brattleboro soldiers engaged. On the west plaque, a Union Soldier and a Confederate soldier are shaking hands while a kneeling African-American is between them receiving emancipation papers. The monument includes an updated "context" plaque that was added in 2022 that seeks to include those who were initially excluded and add corrective recognition. Interesting that their Civil War Monument has a QR code. It takes you to https://www.brattleboro.org/index.asp?SEC=610715D0-45F2-412D-9162-D3AFE987DD7E&Type=B_BASIC. [Review 18441 overall - 41 in Vermont - 1963 of 2022.]