South Strafford, Vermont

The Justin Smith Morrill Homestead is the historic Carpenter Gothic home of United States Senator Justin Smith Morrill (1810–98) in Strafford, Vermont, and was one of the first declared National Historic Landmarks, in 1960. It is located at 214 Justin Morrill Highway, south of the village green of Strafford. The homestead is a Vermont State Historic Site owned by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, a state agency, and is open for tours from May to October.

The Strafford Village Historic District encompasses the historic village center of Strafford, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1768, the village center was developed in the 1790s, and saw most of its growth before 1840, resulting in a fine assortment of predominantly Greek Revival buildings. Notable exceptions include the 1799 meetinghouse, and the Justin Smith Morrill Homestead, a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture built by native son Justin Smith Morrill. The district, centered on the town green at the junction of Morrill Highway and Brook Road, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Strafford is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,094 at the 2020 census. The town of Strafford was created on August 12, 1761 by way of a royal charter which King George III of Great Britain issued to Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire. The town was named after the Earl of Strafford. Its town house is one of the most famous in Vermont, sitting atop a hill at the end of the historic town common. Strafford was one of thirteen Vermont towns isolated by flooding caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011.

The Cumberland County, until 21 March 1778, known as the Unity County, was a county in Vermont Republic. It was established on 17 March 1778, being formed from the counties of Cumberland and Gloucester from the state of New York, United States, that were acquired by Vermont. It existed until 1781, when it got partitioned into three other counties: Orange, Windham, and Windsor.

The Elizabeth Mine was a copper mine located on the town line between the Town of Strafford and the Town of Thetford, in Orange County, Vermont. The ore deposit was discovered in 1793, but mining did not start until 1809. Open pit mining and from 1886 underground mining was conducted. The mine produced up to 8,500,000 pounds (3,900,000 kg) of copper (1954) and was closed in 1957. Due to acid mine drainage the west branch of the Ompompanoosuc River was polluted. Since 2000 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources have been developing a plan to clean up the area.

The Windsor-Orange-2 Representative District is a two-member state Representative district in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is one of the 108 one or two member districts into which the state was divided by the redistricting and reapportionment plan developed by the Vermont General Assembly following the 2000 U.S. Census. The plan applies to legislatures elected in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. A new plan will be developed in 2012 following the 2010 U.S. Census. The Windsor-Orange-2 District includes all of the Windsor County towns of Norwich and Sharon, and the Orange County towns of Strafford and Thetford. As of the 2000 census, the state as a whole had a population of 608,827. As there are a total of 150 representatives, there were 4,059 residents per representative (or 8,118 residents per two representatives). The two member Windsor-Orange-2 District had a population of 8,617 in that same census, 6.15% above the state average.

Gile Mountain in Windsor County, Vermont, sits along the border between the towns of Norwich and Sharon; its summit is in Norwich. The mountain reaches a height of 1,873 ft (571 m) above sea level. Relatively unimposing considering its height, the true summit cannot easily be seen from the surrounding territory, despite the prominent fire tower atop its summit. The tower is easily reached by taking Turnpike Road from Norwich to the parking area near its terminus. From there, the Gile Mountain trail leads west 0.7 miles (1.1 km) to the summit, passing under power lines. The summit area contains an old ranger cabin, since converted to a shelter-type structure (though camping is not allowed), and the tower itself. From the top views are expansive, and on a clear day one can see Mount Ascutney to the south, the Green Mountains from Killington Peak to Mount Mansfield to the west, Mount Cardigan, Smarts Mountain, and Croydon Peak to the east, and Mount Cube and Mount Moosilauke to the northeast with many of the White Mountains beyond. Dartmouth College is also visible, about 7 miles (11 km) distant.

Downer State Forest, also known as Charles Downer State Forest, covers 705 acres (2.85 km2) in Sharon, Vermont in Windsor County. The forest is managed by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation. The forest was established in 1910 by a gift from Charles Downer to establish a forestry demonstration area. Activities in the forest include hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, horseback riding, hunting and wildlife viewing. It is also managed for timber resources. The Vermont Association of Snow Travelers grooms the forest road as a snowmobile trail in the winter.

The Beaver Meadow Union Chapel, now also known as the West Norwich Union Church, is a historic church on the north side of Beaver Meadow Road in Norwich, Vermont. Built in 1915, it is a well-preserved example of vernacular ecclesiastical architecture of the period. It is of national significance as the origin point of the Home Prayers program, essentially a mail-order ministry inspired by the catalogs of Sears, Roebuck. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

The Beaver Meadow School is a historic school building at 246 Chapel Hill Road in Norwich, Vermont. Built in 1922, it is a rare late example of a one-room schoolhouse, made further distinctive by the survival of its original schoolroom interior. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

Sharon is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. It had a population of 1,560 at the 2020 census.Sharon is the birthplace of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and as such is an important historical site for members of that religion. The town is also home to The Sharon Academy, an independent middle and high school.

The Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial is a granite obelisk on a hill in the White River Valley near Sharon and South Royalton in the U.S. state of Vermont. It marks the spot where Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805. The monument was erected by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which recognizes Smith as its first president and founding prophet. The LDS Church continues to own and operate the site as a tourist attraction.