Bellows Falls
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Bellows Falls

Bellows Falls

Connecticut River village marked by early canals, industrial firsts, and Native American petroglyphs.

Bellows Falls is a village of 3,000, 30 minutes north of Brattleboro along the Connecticut River. It was the location of the first bridge across that long river, one of the first canals in America (to get boats past the falls) and the first commercial plant in the world making paper from wood pulp rather than linen. Above the falls, a set of Native American petroglyphs is carved into the bedrock — the oldest human marks in the village.

Having fallen into something of a commercial slump in the latter half of the 20th century, it is largely a town of well-kept old Victorian homes little damaged by the styles of suburban and retail development that have rendered most of America a wasteland. It has recently revived itself by becoming something of a center for art and folk/alternative music. Amtrak stops downtown (from where an excursion train runs to Chester — a more touristy Victorian town), and Interstate 91 passes close by, but out of sight.

Guide

Getting There

Bellows Falls is unusual for a Vermont village in that it is easy to reach without a car. Amtrak's Vermonter stops at the downtown station once a day in each direction, connecting Bellows Falls to New York, New Haven, Springfield, Hartford and Brattleboro to the south and to Montpelier and Burlington to the north.

By road, Interstate 91 passes a mile west of the village; the closest exits are 5 and 6. From Brattleboro it is a 30-minute drive north up Route 5 along the Connecticut River. Boston is two and a half hours; New York City is four.

Guide

Things to Do

For a village of 3,000, Bellows Falls is unusually rich in historical oddities. The two main draws are the falls themselves, with a set of pre-contact Native American petroglyphs carved into the rocks beside them, and the working canal that bypasses them. Add an Amtrak station that puts you a long block from a 19th-century main street and you have an unexpectedly walkable historic core.