Chartered in 1761, six miles north of Manchester you will find the quintessential town of Dorset. Picturesque with its white clapboard and green shutter building designs, the quiet hub of the town green, historic inns, and the state’s oldest country stores, you will find Dorset brimming with vibrant arts and outdoor living.
The arts have defined the town’s image since the early 1900s and are represented by the Dorset Theatre Festival and Dorset Players. Renowned painters, sculptors, potters, woodworkers, and writers have found Dorset to be an artistic haven and inspiration for more than a hundred years.
Outdoor activities are prevalent each of the four seasons. During the summer, swimming can be enjoyed in sheltered streams, swimming holes, and the popular Dorset quarry, which is America’s oldest marble quarry. Hikers can spend many hours exploring trails and beautiful vistas in the valley and the Green Mountains. Cycling, birding, fishing, golfing, and farmers’ markets in the warmer months, along with snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter are popular pastimes in Dorset.
As Tyler Resch says in his book, Dorset: In the Shadow of the Marble Mountain, “For a century now, and with increasing acceleration, people have been attracted to Vermont and to places like Dorset for their enduring values and their welcome sense of rural isolation.”