Castleton Woman’s Club

  • August 18, 2018 marks the 80th Anniversary of The Castleton Colonial Day Historic House Tour. It was started in 1938 by the Castleton Woman’s Club to raise funds for community improvement projects.  What had begun as a local fundraiser has now evolved into a community celebration of Castleton’s special heritage.

 

  • Several of Thomas Dake’s original buildings are included in the present day tour including his first house in Castleton built in 1811 for his bride, Sally Hemming. Dake motifs include spiral staircases, vaulted stair and entrance combinations, and decorative friezes among others. Two of his masterpieces are the pulpit in the Castleton Federated Church (1833) and the Langdon-Hitchcock House (1823).

 

  • Proceeds from this annual community event has resulted in dozens of flowering fruit trees planted on Main Street, hundreds of scholarships awarded to local high school students seeking to further their education, restoration of an historic carriage and period clothing representing the finest of eighteenth century and early-nineteenth century fashions thus casting a light on the lives of those former local and regional residents. For one day each year, Castleton celebrates the stalwart folks who settled in and built Vermont.