In the 19th century, the economy of St. Johnsbury (pop. 7,600) was based on maple products and the manufacture of platform scales. Fairbanks Scales, founded by the inventor of platform scales, still operates a plant here. Today it is the pleasantly peaceful commercial center of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, at the junction of the US-2 and US-5 highways, the I-91 and I-93 freeways, and the Canadian Pacific and old Maine Central railroad tracks. The economy never regained its Victorian-era prosperity, so the town’s extensive stock of historic landmark architecture has been preserved almost totally unchanged. Elegant (and often empty) four- and five-story brick buildings line the riverfront and railroad line along US-2 and US-5. On the hill above the riverfront, a more genteel commercial district surrounded by massive trees and dozens of grand Victorian homes is highlighted by two of the most fascinating institutions in the state, both funded by the largess of the Fairbanks family.
At the center of town, at 1171 Main Street, stands the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, Art Gallery, and Public Library (Mon.–Fri.; free) in a redbrick 1871 building. The building houses a surprising collection of 19th-century paintings, the jewel of which is Albert Bierstadt’s monumental Domes of Yosemite.
A block east down Main Street, you’ll find my very favorite museum in all New England: the Fairbanks Museum (daily; $5; 802/748-2372), a charmingly quirky Victorian-era center of knowledge established by Franklin Fairbanks in 1889. A pair of menacing stuffed bears greets visitors inside the entrance, followed by a seemingly endless display of taxidermied wildlife—a veritable Noah’s ark of North American fauna. Climb the spiral stairs to the mezzanine of the main gallery, a grand Richardsonian Romanesque space topped by a coffered barrel vault and furnished with fireplaces and other homey touches. You’ll find more fascinating oddities: arrowheads and other anthropological artifacts, rocks and fossils, and art made out of bugs (including a portrait of Gen. Pershing made out of flies and moths!). View exhibits on local history, a set of dollhouse furniture made by author Mark Twain, and a very funny letter written by Robert Louis Stevenson in which he wills his birthday (which he said he was too old to need anymore) to Fairbanks’ daughter (whose own birth fell on Christmas, meaning she effectively missed out).
St. Johnsbury’s eating options include Hilltopper Restaurant (802/748-2241), across the street from the Athenaeum, and Anthony’s Diner (802/748-3613), 50 Railroad Street at the US-5/US-2 junction. For motels, try the Fairbanks Motor Inn ($50–75; 802/748-5666) on US-2 at 32 Western Avenue.
