Six Vermont historic sites are free to visit on Bennington Battle Day

Bennington Battle Day is coming up on Friday, and that means free admission at six state-owned historic sites to honor the Revolutionary War defeat of the British that played out 247 years ago.

Most state offices, as well as Burlington city offices and Vermont state courts, will be closed on Friday in recognition of the state holiday.

On Aug. 16, 1777, Vermont’s Green Mountain Boys, the New Hampshire militia and volunteers from Massachusetts turned back British troops who were trying to capture supplies being stored at a military depot in Bennington. The battle was fought just over the border in New York. Today, a 306-foot high monument stands on the former site of the depot, second only to the 555-foot high Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., as the tallest unreinforced masonry building in the world.

In addition to the Bennington Battle Monument State Historic Site, the other state historic sites with free admission this weekend are:

More: Bennington Battle Day celebrates the battle that didn’t happen in Vermont

Bennington Battle Day events

There are also events planned for the weekend at the Bennington, Calvin Coolidge and Mount Independence sites:

• At 10 a.m. on Friday, the Bennington Battle site and Vermont Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) will dedicate a Revolutionary War 250th Patriots marker in Monument Circle.
• On Saturday, the Bennington Battle site will hold a 5K and Kids Fun Run at 8:30 a.m., and present a Moodus Drum and Fife concert at 12 p.m.
• At 10 a.m. on Saturday, the Mount Independence Site will stage the Mount Independence-Hubbardton Military Road Car Tour to drive the 1776 trek taken by Revolutionary War soldiers, which you can join. The event is co-sponsored by the Crown Point Road Association.
• On Saturday, the President Calvin Coolidge site will hold two events: The Vagabonds Reenactment at 2 p.m. portrays the 1924 arrival of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone at the home of President Coolidge. At 7 p.m., as part of Silent Film Night, a showing of Harold Lloyd’s 1925 comedy, “The Freshman,” in the historic Wilder Barn.
• At 2 p.m. on Sunday, the Bennington Battle site will present History in Style, a 19th-century fashion show.

For more information, visit www.historicsites.vermont.gov.

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT.