Poultney, a town of about 3,000 people on Vermont’s western border, is a small but vibrant community with a quaint downtown and a quintessential New England village green. In the heart of the Stone Valley, Poultney is home to some of the state’s earliest marble and granite quarries. Legend has it that its slate industry arose by accident in 1843, while a farmer was showing his land to a prospective buyer. When the buyer kicked a clump of soil, he unearthed a piece of slate, which convinced the farmer not to sell.

Poultney’s stone industry is evident in much of the historic downtown architecture, including the Journal Press Building, built in 1908 to house the town’s weekly newspaper. In fact, Poultney is the birthplace of two famous journalists: Horace Greeley, founder and editor of the New York Tribune; and George Jones, cofounder of the New York Times. The Journal Press Building is now home to Stone Valley Arts at Fox Hill.

Beginning in 1856, East Poultney became one of the country’s largest producers of the melodeon, a small reed organ that was a popular form of 19th-century parlor entertainment. Though the factory closed in 1869, the Poultney Historical Society has maintained the Melodeon Factory as a museum since 1954 and uses it to house several of its permanent exhibits.

Green Mountain College, a private liberal arts school at the base of the Taconic Mountains, was long a fixture in Poultney. After the 185-year-old college closed in 2019, the 155-acre campus was sold in 2020 to entrepreneur Raj Bhakta, founder of WhistlePig whiskey, who has applied for permits to build a hotel and condos.

Poultney’s Lake St. Catherine region is a year-round destination for outdoor recreation, including fishing, boating, swimming, snowshoeing, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.

If you want to visit Poultney, Vermont, here’s a suggested itinerary.

Note: Check websites to confirm business hours for the day of your visit.

The Rail Trail Eatery

Begin your Poultney visit with a breakfast of banana caramel French toast, a freshly baked muffin, an egg sandwich or a sloppy Joe omelette with cheese. Good eats right downtown — what more could you ask for?
143 Main St., Poultney

Hit the Trails

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• Courtesy
• Slate Valley Trail in Poultney

The 19.8-mile Delaware & Hudson Rail Trail runs along an abandoned railway corridor between Castleton and West Rupert and includes the Poultney River Loop, a 3.5-mile flat, multiuse trail around downtown Poultney. For more than 50 miles of free, multiuse trails in the area, explore Slate Valley Trails any time of the year. There are at least eight trailheads in Poultney itself, with ample parking for hikers, cyclists, snowshoers and cross-country skiers.

Lake St. Catherine State Park

Searching for a place to hike, swim, fish, mountain bike or camp? This 117-acre state park has plenty to offer, whether for day use or overnight stays. There’s a sandy beach with a designated swim area; a boat launch with canoe, kayak and paddleboat rentals; an 18-hole disc golf course; a 61-site campground for tents and RVs; and a rustic cabin to rent. Lake St. Catherine’s cool waters provide excellent fishing opportunities — and keep an eye out for white-tailed deer and even the occasional moose, especially around sunset.
3034 Route 30, Poultney

Stone Valley Arts at Fox Hill

Founded in 2013, Stone Valley Arts offers classes, workshops, presentations and events in the visual, performing and literary arts for students of all ages and experience levels. Its store sells one-of-a-kind artwork from local artists and craftspeople — drop by on the weekend or make an appointment.
145 E. Main St., Poultney

Green’s Sugarhouse

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• Dreamstime
• Maple sugaring

Whether you like your maple syrup golden and delicate, amber and rich, or very dark and robust, Green’s can satisfy your sweet tooth. Guided tours are complimentary, especially during sugaring season in March and April. Or just stop by the store for maple candies, maple cream, spices, jams, preserves and more.
1846 Finel Hollow Rd., Poultney

Whaleback Vineyard

No matter whether your taste buds lean toward reds, whites, dessert or ice wines, this family-owned vineyard has a bottle or two to please everyone’s palate. Sample for yourself: Whaleback offers free tastings in a renovated 1800s barn.
202 Old Lake Rd., Poultney

Poultney Pub

Let’s face it: Poultney won’t win any awards for its hopping nightlife. Still, folks looking for rustic grub, local craft brews and live tunes can amble over to the Poultney Pub for burgers, apps, sandwiches, salads and wraps. The pub regularly hosts open mics, bluegrass nights and other musical offerings.
158 Main St., Poultney

From a mild winter to a warm, wet and humid summer, one fruit tree in particular is thriving here. The paw paw tree is native to North America and has been a staple of Indigenous peoples for centuries. It also grows the largest edible tree fruit that are native to the U.S.

Found growing in patches or thickets in the eastern U.S., and the mid-Atlantic area, weather conditions like we’ve had this past year mean this temperate climate version of a tropical fruit can also grow well in our region.

In the landscape, it can be pretty impressive, too. The paw paw tree can grow up to 20 feet tall and get heavy with fruits that look like mangoes. Plus, the paw paw tree’s leaves resemble those of an avocado. If you do plan to plant them, plant two or more to get pollination, as the flowers are not very easily pollinated by bees. (You could also try hand-pollination to nudge them along).

The trees produce large flowers first before the leaves emerge, then the fruits themselves can grow between 2 and 6 inches. The paw paw fruits vary in color from green when they are unripe, and yellowish-green with brown or black spots when ripe, in late August through late September.

When ready to eat, paw paws are soft inside with yellow flesh and large magenta seeds. The texture resembles an avocado or cherimoya, thus one of paw paw’s many nicknames — “custard apple.” You can slice them open and scoop out the flesh with a spoon or use the fruits in baking, but avoid eating the seeds and peel, as they are toxic.

Some have compared the sweet fruit’s taste to that of banana, mango and pineapple, or even a mix of all of those. Our own taste-testers tried some paw paw and weighed in with flavor descriptions likening it to mango or lychee, and even cotton candy, with sweet and floral notes.

Paw paw trees are hardy to Zone Five and they have relatively few pests. Though, once the fruits ripen, you might have to fight off the raccoons!

A question about pests on leeks

A: That sounds like it’s probably the leek moth. They lay an egg that hatches into a little caterpillar that will tunnel down into your leeks, garlic, onions and a lot of other alliums.

You could try a spray like bacillus thurengiensis or BT, like you would for a cabbage worm. But if you’d rather not use a spray, try covering your plants with micromesh right after planting. This closely-woven mesh keeps the moth from ever reaching your plants to lay eggs in the first place, thus eliminating the caterpillars.

A question about lilac blight

A: Your lilac will recover! This year, we’ve had several stressors, including a mild winter, then a wet summer, which allowed several fungal diseases to flourish, followed by warm and dry weather later in the season.

All of those conditions are causing a lot of spring bloomers, like lilacs, to flower again. You might even see forsythias and flowering quince and other shrubs flowering now, too.

Blooming now will not harm the plant but you won’t get as many flowers next year. As for your lilacs, as long as you can see live terminal green buds on the lilacs’ branches, that means that the plant is healthy and it’ll come back next year.

All Things Gardening is powered by you, our audience! Send us your toughest conundrums and join the fun. Email your question to gardening@vermontpublic.org or better yet, leave a voicemail with your gardening question so we can use your voice on the air! Call Vermont Public at 1-800-639-2192.

ESSEX – One week after losing in two overtimes at Colchester, the Essex High School football team found itself in another deadlock at the end of regulation against Rutland on Friday night.

And this week, four extra periods were needed to determine a winner. But Essex refused to leave the field in heartbreak again.

Quarterback Sam Bent opened the fourth overtime with a 2-yard touchdown rush and Joe Reed’s interception sealed the dramatic victory on the Hornets’ Homecoming night, halting Rutland’s perfect season with a pulsating, 40-34 triumph in a Week 6 thriller.

“For me this week, it was not to put pressure on them, it was, ‘Why do you love football? What does it mean to you? And on Friday, go show everyone in the stands how much it means to us,’” Essex coach Ethan Curtis said about the team’s preparations. “I think they did that tonight.

“It plays with your heart, it plays with your emotions,” Curtis added about playing in another overtime game, “but the kids did a heck of a job. I’m so proud of them.”

More: What we learned from Week 6 of the 2024 Vermont high school football season

Bent’s tie-breaking rush gave Essex a 40-34 lead. On Rutland’s ensuing possession, the visitors faced a third-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Sophomore quarterback Giovanni Spallieri, in for injured starter Noah Bruttomesso, had his pass knocked up in the air by Thomas Czaplicki. Reed, an all-state linebacker who switched to defensive end for this game, snatched the tipped pass to close out the victory.

“I don’t know if we’ve had a game like that. I’m definitely going to remember (this) one,” Reed said. “All I had to do was catch it, really. (Czaplicke) tipped that … it was easy.”

Essex improves to 4-2. Rutland falls to 4-1 against Vermont opponents, 5-1 overall.

“Give them credit, they made one more play than we did,” longtime Rutland coach Mike Norman said. “I feel badly for the guys because we lost, but I tip my cap to Essex and move forward.”

More: Live updates, scores, results, stats from Week 6 of Vermont high school football

After a 14-14 game at the end of the fourth quarter, Essex won the overtime coin toss and deferred. Under Vermont rules, each team gets a possession at the opposing team’s 10-yard line. If the score remains tied after two overtimes, teams must go for a two-point conversion if they score a touchdown.

That’s what played out between Essex and Rutland on Friday night. Rutland star running back Jayden Graham, limited on offensive snaps due to an injury suffered last month, rushed for a TD on the first play of OT. Bent countered with his own rushing score on Essex’s opening play.

Essex’s Griffin Randall and Graham traded TD runs in the second OT to force another extra period, tied at 28, following the PATs.

In the third OT, Rutland’s Spallieri found Hank Potter for a 7-yard TD connection on third down and Essex’s Bent dove in from the 1 (both teams missed their two-point attempts).

Tied at 34, Essex started with possession in the fourth OT. On fourth down from the 2, Bent plowed in for the TD, but the two-point try was just short. Essex’s defense, though, rose up for the game’s biggest stop on Czaplicki’s tip and Reed’s pick, setting off a wild celebration.

“I think we showed everyone in the state and especially in the Division I that last week was a fluke,” Curtis said of the 13-10 loss to Colchester. “We are here to play, it doesn’t matter who you are, we are going to go toe to toe with you and we will battle, even if it’s four OTs. We are going to claw, we are going to scratch — we are going to do what we have to do to win.”

Rutland took a 7-0 lead on Grady Gallagher’s 54-yard TD dash halfway through the second quarter. Essex responded with a 75-yard scoring drive engineered by Bent and capped by Randall’s 5-yard rushing score. Tied at 7 at the break, Randall (37 carries, 158 yards, 3 TDs) gave Essex a 14-7 margin with 4:04 left in the third quarter on another five-yard TD run.

Rutland leveled the game midway through the fourth on Wood’s 98-yard, juggling catch-and-run TD from Spallieri.

Bent, who took over under center for Carter Crete, finished with 96 yards and three scores on 15 carries.

Essex travels to Middlebury next Saturday in Week 7. Rutland plays at BFA-St. Albans on the same night.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.