Vermont History at Billings Farm and Museum
19th-Century Agriculture and Rural Life in the Green Mountains
Jul 5, 2009
The first place most visitors head for at the Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock, Vermont, is the big dairy barn. Here at the heart of the farm, they will meet the herd of 60 Jersey cows, and their calves – which may be only days old – in the barn’s nursery.
One of Vermont’s oldest farms, the Billings property has been farmed every year since its founding by some of the Connecticut River Valley’s first settlers, in the 1790s. In the 1860s it was sold to Frederick Billings, a Vermonter who had made his fortune in railroads (think Billings, Montana).
From Sheep to Cows in Vermont
Frederick Billings' years in the west had given him a great appreciation for the natural landscape of forests, much of which had been lost in Vermont to the close grazing of sheep. For most of the century, sheep farming predominated, and by 1840 the 1.6 million of them outnumbered both cows and people, almost completely denuding vast areas.
Hoping to encourage Vermonters to shift to cattle, Billings purchased Jersey cows and bulls and began to build his herd. Jerseys have a high 5% butterfat content in their milk, and by 1880 the farm produced 5,000 pounds of butter annually. At the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, a Billings Jersey won best in the fair; Billings Farm had become a showcase for farm management.
The farm did not abandon sheep entirely; Billings added Southdowns, a breed valued for both wool and meat, in hopes of introducing sheep with a broader marketability than Vermont’s former Merino wool herds. Along with the by-then-famous Jerseys, the more than 700 Southdowns contributed to the farm's reputation as a leader in Vermont agriculture. Today’s visitors can see the small Southdown flock, whose wool is used in various craft workshops.
Hands-on Activities at Billings Farm
These hands-on activities are part of the Billings Farm’s mission to teach visitors about Vermont’s rural heritage, while preserving this important property as a working farm. The farmhouse, built for the farm manager in the 1890s, plays an important role, too. Furnished as it would have been in the 1890s, the house has a fully operational creamery, where butter and ice cream making are demonstrated.
In the summer, children and adults are invited to join Time Travel Tuesdays, preparing seasonal foods, doing laundry with an old fashioned ringer, churning butter and relaxing over period games and pastimes. The cost is included in the general admission (which is free to families staying at the Woodstock Inn & Resort, a short walk from the farm).
A daily schedule of activities includes a chance to meet cows and other livestock up close, as well as period arts – stenciling, cornhusk and clothespin dolls or wool crafts – that children can take home. On the schedule may be horse-drawn wagon rides, tours of the heritage gardens or other seasonal activities. Woodstove cooking demonstrations might include baking buttermilk biscuits or Shoo Fly Pie. At 3:30 pm daily, visitors are invited to the barn for milking time.
A Visit to the Billings Farm
A large museum is interesting to all ages, filled with old-fashioned farm and home implements, as well as exhibits on ice harvesting, maple sugaring and other rural activities, often illustrated by videos that show the early equipment in use.
The Billings Farm and Museum is open daily, May through October, 10:00am to 5:00pm; November-February weekends, 10:00am to 3:30pm and Christmas and February vacation weeks, 10:00am to 3:30pm. Guests staying at the Woodstock Inn have free admission to the Billings Farm.
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