East Middlebury Village is located 4 miles south and east of the central business district (downtown) of the Town of Middlebury, of which it is a part. Located just off of US Route 7, the village is the gateway to the Green Mountains. It is just 38 miles from Burlington, 29 miles from Rutland, and 21 miles from the Crown Point Bridge to New York State.
East Middlebury was developed in the nineteenth century around saw and gristmills and an iron forge. By mid-century, when the first church (c. 1850) was constructed, the village of East Middlebury was at the height of its industrial and commercial prosperity. There has been modest residential development since that time with many of the homes and buildings being historically significant and listed in the Vermont State Register of Historic Places.
East Middlebury is unique in that it is a lengthy linear village centering on Vermont Route 125 and parallel to the Middlebury River. Route 125 is one of only two designated Vermont Scenic Highways. Additionally making East Middlebury unique is the fact that it is the home of the Waybury Inn. This inn was shown on the Bob Newhart TV series. The inn opened in 1818 and originally was a boarding house for nearby factory employees. It was also a stagecoach stop and the local center for social events, complete with a ballroom. Today it is still well known for its food and lodging, as well as for its numerous weddings on its lawns. Additionally giving the village of East Middlebury a unique identity is the fact that it has its own Post Office and zip code.
There are numerous businesses in East Middlebury. Addison County Commission Sales, Goodro Lumber, East Middlebury General Store, Down Home Deli, Brown Novelty Company, Otter Creek Engineering, and numerous B&Bs, just to name a few. There is also some great hiking and backpacking nearby, which include the Abbey Pond Cascades, as well as the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail in nearby Ripton. Oh, and don’t forget in the winter we have some great downhill skiing right up the road at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl as well as, numerous cross country skiing locations and snowmobile trails nearby.
The serene village of East Middlebury is a great place to live and definitely a place worth visiting. There is plenty to see and do with warm and friendly people to welcome you. With the thousands of acres of forest, cliffs, vistas, lakes and streams, there is something for everyone nearby.
-- Narrative by Tom Scanlon
