Architecture in Fayston, Vermont

By

Ryan Bidlack

Fayston History• Chartered February 27, 1782• First settler, Lynde Wait, on what is now the Bragg Farm• Fayston is said to have the highest average elevation of any town in

Vermont. • By 1860 1/3 of Fayston’s population were Irish born immigrants. The Irish

were drawn to Fayston due to the inexpensive land and a likeness to their homeland.

• Lumbering was a flourishing business in Fayston with 7 mills in 1891, but the mountainous terrain made it difficult to move the logs long distances, and logging began to dwindle into the 1900’s.

• In 1960 the town hit a population low, with only 158 residents. But with the increasing popularity of skiing the town population began to grow again, and in 1960 Mt. Ellen ski area opened.

• Fayston is now home to two ski areas, Mad River Glen, and Sugarbush North (Mt. Ellen).

• Since then the towns population has steadily grown, now reaching 1,200 full time residents.

Fayston Town Map

Bragg Barn• Located on Bragg Hill Rd, Fayston, VT• Willis Bragg purchased the parcel of land that had once been his great-

grandfathers farm. Using spruce cut from palmer hill he constructed a house and the still standing barn, which was completed in 1909. It was one of the largest barns in the Mad River Valley.

• The Bragg barn was a functioning dairy barn into the early 1980’s. • It was built with function in mind, using wide spruce boars for siding, and

just enough windows to provide working light.• Today the barn is used for storage and is a historic landmark. The barn is

now a tourist attraction. People take pictures of it with the amazing view of Mt. Ellen in the background. Sugarbush also uses the barn in there advertising, and it has been on its share of Vermont postcards and posters.

• The Bragg barn has withstood the test of time very well, having survived for 97 years already. With basic repairs it should have no problem withstanding many more decades.

Bragg Barn

Bragg Barn

Bragg Barn

Bragg Barn

Bragg Barn

Bragg Barn

Mad River Glen Base Box• Located off Rt. 17 on the App. Gap• Built in 1948 as the base lodge for a new ski area catering to a growing industry. In

1955 the building was expanded to meet the needs of the ever growing crowds. In 1960 the building was expanded yet again, this time to make room for the addition of Gen. Starks Pub.

• It is part of the only cooperatively owned ski area in America today.• The MRG base box is a meeting place for many residents of Fayston and

surrounding towns. Many people will meet here for a day of skiing, eat lunch at the cafeteria, and end the day of skiing with drinks in Gen. Starks pub.

• The building is well built for its purpose, with an open interior to allow the movement of many people, large windows facing the ski slopes, and large exterior decks to allow people to sit outside well they enjoy a relaxing rest from the slopes.

• The exterior of the building is sided with painted shiplap, giving it a slightly rustic appearance. The large windows provide solar heating and a great view of the ski slopes.

• The interior is purposefully built, with hard cement and carpeted wood floors designed to take the abuse of hundreds of pairs of ski boots, and exposed wooden beams, giving it a rustic look and providing a place to hang your coat to dry while you eat lunch.

MRG Base Box

MRG Base Box

MRG Base Box1st addition

MRG Base Box1st addition

MRG Base BoxOriginal building and 1st addition

MRG Base Box2nd addition (Gen. Starks Pub)

Fayston Municipal Building• Located at 866 North Fayston Road, North Fayston VT• This building houses the Fayston historical society, Town offices,

Town clerks office, and is the town hall.• Most of the town meetings are held in this building, helping keep the

small town image. Voting ballots are also set up here for the Fayston residents.

• The interior of the building is well suited to its purpose, one side of the building contains offices for the historical society, the town clerk, and storage for the town records. The other half of the building is a large open room that is used for town meeting every year, and is the location of ballots for voting.

• The building blends into North Fayston quite well, it is set back from the road, and it isn’t the “normal” square building.

Fayston Municipal Building

Fayston Municipal Building

Fayston Municipal Building

Fayston Municipal Building

Fayston Municipal Building

Fayston Elementary School• Built in 1962 for the sum of $50,000. The Fayston elementary school was the first

school in the state to be built under an all female school board. The board consisted of Erlene Bragg, Augusta Graves, and Hanne Williams.

• The 1st of two additions to the school was a new Gymnasium / cafeteria. With the number of students growing there was a need for more classroom space and a larger gymnasium to hold the now larger classes. So a new gym was built and the old one was converted into classrooms.

• In 2006 with the student body now near 100, there was the need for more classroom space yet again. This time a new addition was built with the sole purpose of housing several new classrooms.

• The Fayston school is a very important building to the town, as it is where many of the towns children begin there education. In the 80’s and 90’s there was discussion about merging the Fayston and Waitsfield elementary schools to provide the Fayston students with larger group of peers in there learning environment. But as the town grew rapidly it became obvious that the merge would overcrowd Waitsfield's school.

• The building fits in nicely with the fabric of the town, its cedar shake siding giving it a rustic look, while it has state of the art learning facilities inside.

• There is a Bell in the bell tower that was part of the original build, put there to help the school look like the old single room school houses that it was replacing. It has become a tradition for the graduation 6th graders to each ring the bell as part of their graduation ceremony.

Fayston SchoolOriginal building

Fayston SchoolOriginal building

Fayston School

Fayston School1st addition

Fayston School2nd addition

Fayston School

Bibliography

• Article contributed to the Waitsfield Fayston telephone company's Vermont Bicentennial edition by Reba Hall

• Mad River Glen website www.madriverglen.com/ski_museum

• http://www.central-vt.com/towns/history/HstFays.htm

• Central Vermont chamber TDS Telecom, Northfield VT © Central VT Chamber, 2002