Travel New England: Peru, Vermont

Peru is a sleepy village off of Route 11 in Southern Vermont. Known best for Bromley Ski Resort, Peru is home to an annual old-style country fair complete with a pig roast.

Originally chartered as Bromley in 1761, the name was changed to Peru in 1803. The reasoning behind the change was the hope that the exotic name - Peru in South America - would attract more settlers. Though the town reached a population of over 500 residents through much of the 1800s, Peru is currently home to about 350 residents.

The original J.J. Hapgood General Store Structure.

One of Peru's links to its long history is the J.J. Hapgood General Store. The store - which opened in 1827 - still operates today. The store is now owned and operated by Juliette Britton. Britton revived the old store in 2014 as a grocery full of local goods, continued the store's wood-fired pizza oven, and expanded the menu. The old store was raised in 2013, and the Britton's rebuilt the store from the ground up. Today, the store is a community gathering place, home to a guest house, and even had a visit from Paul McCartney.

Peru Congregational Church - Doug Kerr, 2010

The Peru Town Fair began in 1978 as a large tag sale. Since then, it has expanded to include numerous local arts and crafts, music and dancing, and a well-known pig roast. The Fair is held annually on the last Saturday in September attracting hundreds of visitors to the Southwestern Vermont hamlet.

All photos taken by post author on August 20, 2005 - unless otherwise noted.

Sources & Links:

How To Get There:

Comments

Petroleum Club Road (former California State Route 33 and US Route 399 past the Lakeview Gusher)

Petroleum Club Road is an approximately 5.3-mile rural highway located in the Sunset Oil Field of western Kern County. This corridor was constructed as a frontage road of the Sunset Railroad and would be the site of the Lakeview Gusher in 1910. Petroleum Club Road was the original alignment of California State Route 33 and US Route 399 between 1934-1938. In 1938 the West Side Highway was constructed west of Lakeview Gusher and still serves as the current alignment of California State Route 33. Part 1; the history of Petroleum Club Road Petroleum Club Road is the original highway which linked the oil communities of Maricopa and Taft. Both cities were developed around the early boom of the Sunset Oil Field. The early Sunset Oil Field can be seen centered along Cienega Canyon Road southwest of Buena Vista Lake in Township 11 North, Range 23 West on the 1898 Kern County Surveyors map . In 1901 Post Office Service would be established at the Su...

Kuakini Highway (former Hawaii Route 11 in Kailua-Kona)

Kuakini Highway east of Palani Road in Kailua-Kona is the original alignment of Hawaii Route 11. The highway upon being commissioned in 1955 began at the Palani Road (then Hawaii Route 19) and followed Kuakini Highway southeast towards Holualoa. Hawaii Route 11 was shifted to an extension of Queen Kaahumanu Highway during the late 1970s which bypassed downtown Kailua-Kona. This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series. A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking here . Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 11 and Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona Hawaii Route 11 is part of Mamalahoa Highway (the Hawaii Belt Road) and is the longest Hawaiian State Route at 121.97 miles. The highway begins at the mutual junction of Hawaii Route 19 and Hawaii Route 190 in Kailua-Kona. From Kailua-Kona the routing of Hawaii Route 11 crosses the volcanic landscapes of southern side of ...

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926. Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California. The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant. However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes. The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield. In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range. ...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog