Middletown Springs gets ready to write its next chapter

MIDDLETOWN SPRINGS, Vt. (WCAX) - As part of this week’s “Vermont’s Own,” where we’re visiting every town and city across the state in the coming years, we head to Middletown Springs.

The Rutland County town has a population of 794 according to the 2020 Census. It was established in 1784 and was known as Middletown for about 100 years. The “springs” was added in 1885 after mineral springs were rediscovered, leading to an influx in resort visitors for a few decades. As Cat Viglienzoni reports, the town is now on the verge of a new chapter in its history.

Before the Middletown Springs library opens for the day, you can find library director Kimberly Bushnell inside shelving books and getting displays ready for readers.

She’s been in charge of this cozy space for about 15 years now. The latest in a long line of librarians -- tasked with making a lot happen -- with a little.

“We’ve had a library since about 1900 or something, but back then, it was in peoples’ houses and it moved from one person’s house to the next,” Bushnell said.

It later found a home at the Historical Society until 1975 when it moved to its current location, the former Episcopalian church. But in another year, Bushnell says the library is turning a new page. “We’re really limited in terms of scope or size of what we can do,” she said. Bushnell says renovating the building wasn’t an option.

Library Board Chair Kristal Hier says they’ve outgrown the space. “There’s always this push and pull of we don’t have a lot of space, so we have to weed things, which means letting go of things that are still good,” she said.

But their prayers were answered when the former Catholic church was looking for a buyer, as well as a savior in the form of a $100,000 anonymous gift. A state library grant for capital improvements is also on the way. All told, they’ve catalogued nearly $1.5 million for the project. Taxpayers aren’t on the hook.

“It’s been stressful and tenuous and ‘Will it happen or won’t it happen,’ but everything {knocks on wood} has really been falling into place,” Hier said.

The library is only moving about 50 meters down the road to the former church. Right now, the building is a blank page waiting for the town to write out the next lines of history. But there are plenty of novel ideas being edited right now -- private rooms for telehealth or job interviews; a community kitchen; a tool library; and triple the space for books and people.

“You get a couple people trying to do different things in this space at the same time, it is a little zooey,” Bushnell said of the current location.

So, while both women say it’ll be bittersweet to close the book on the current location the next volume in this particular series -- includes something Bushnell says in 15 years she’s always wanted. “The new building -- I have a door on my office which just... It makes me feel like I really will have arrived,” she said.

Because the two buildings are so close by, some people have suggested the idea of a human chain to help facilitate the moving of books next year. There’s probably a more efficient way to do it, but Bushnell says she likes the idea of involving the community.

On next Wednesday’s installment of “Vermont’s Own,” we’ll visit the town of Swanton.

If you have an idea for your town, don’t be shy, send us a note about the places, people, and events that embody the place you call home.