Grafton, Vermont

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Grafton is a small town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. It has about 645 residents as of 2020 and covers about 38 square miles, mostly land. The village sits in the Saxtons River valley.

History
- In the early 1800s, sheep farming and wool mills along the Saxtons River helped the town grow. A soapstone quarry on Bear Mountain was also important.
- Grafton became a busy stagecoach stop that linked the Green Mountains with Albany, New York.
- The Old Tavern opened in 1801 and is now The Grafton Inn, one of the oldest continually operating inns in the country.
- Before the Civil War, about 1,500 people lived here. The town suffered losses in the war, and many local graves mark the battles. Afterward, the population declined. The soapstone quarry closed in the late 1800s, and by the Great Depression the town had fewer than 400 residents.

Restoration and modern life
- In the 1960s, the Windham Foundation began restoring the village. It bought the Old Tavern and many homes, started the Grafton Village Cheese Company, and built a cross-country skiing center at Grafton Ponds with a popular summer mountain-biking program for children.
- The restoration drew new residents from New York and Boston, helping keep Grafton alive as a welcoming rural community.

Name and location
- The town was founded as Thomlinson in 1754 and renamed Grafton in 1791 after Grafton, Massachusetts, following a high bid.
- The village of Grafton sits slightly southeast of the town’s center in the Saxtons River valley.