The Town of Tunbridge has always
been a place of excitement for me. The town is home to the
Tunbridge World's Fair, once of such sleazy reputation that parents
ordered their children to stay away (once so wild and wooly that
"sober" individuals were turned out as "nuisances"). The fair has
cleaned up its act of late, and over the past several years has
become one of THE annual events to attend in Vermont.
Tunbridge, VT is the only
town in the US, with this name. It was likely named for one of the
most prominent members of British establishment at the time the
town was created: Viscount Tunbridge,
Also there lies an odd coincidence: the discovery of mineral
springs in the 1600s made England's Tunbridge a fashionable resort
for the titled and wealthy, and such springs were discovered in
Vermont's Tunbridge in the 1800s, making it a similar destination
for many years. Two mineral springs exist in the town. One of which
is a white sulphur spring located on "Spring road," one and a half
miles from Tunbridge Center, this spring was once valued for its
medicinal properties.
Here’s a little more:
Orange County
Chartered:
September 3, 1761
(New
Hampshire Grant)
Area: 28,665
Acres = 44.79 Square Miles [ Size Rank: 67* ]
Coordinates
(Geographic Center): 72°29''W 43°53'N
Altitude: 600
feet ASL
Population (US
Census, 2000): 1,309 [ Population Rank: 117* ]
Population Density
(persons per square mile): 29.2 [ Density Rank:
145* ]
The entire center of
Tunbridge Village, including the fairgrounds was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1994. Officially the
district listing is "Roughly, along VT 110 and adjacent rds.
including Town Rd. 45 and Spring and Strafford Rds."
Cache is a a typical Tunbridge setting in a PB jar... but I had
trouble getting consistent coords.