Autumn Travels - The Molly Stark Trail

BENNINGTON, VT – Whenever autumn returns to New England, even those of us who live far away from places where a main street and a mountain view are only seen on postcards, take notice of what’s around us. That’s why when I was growing up in Berkshires we’d all pack into the station wagon on some fall afternoon and take a trip somewhere, just to see what attracted so many people. The following is about one of those places that I revisited recently. Actually, it’s more than just one place… it’s a road, with a story of its own.

Anchored at either end by the bustling towns of Brattleboro and Bennington, the Molly Stark Trail sweeps through the heart of southern Vermont, offering stunning views of the Taconic and Green Mountain Ranges along the way. Traveling east from Bennington, the 48-mile Route 9 corridor climbs into the Green Mountain National Forest, ascending nearly 2,000 vertical feet.

From there, the byway passes through the scenic towns of Woodford and Searsburg, and drops down into the Deerfield River Valley, home of the Somerset and Harriman Reservoirs, and the historic town of Wilmington, (site of the Molly Stark statue). Continuing to the east, the highway passes Molly Stark State Park and then reaches the famous overlook at Hogback Mountain. A final winding descent out of the mountains leads through the hill farms and forest of Marlboro and into Brattleboro, where the Molly Stark Trail meets the Connecticut River Byway.

No matter how far along you are, whether you're just passing through, or out for a scenic drive,  you're never far away from the trail's historic namesake. There's the Molly Stark Inn, Molly Stark Elementary School, The Molly Stark State Park... So, that begs the question – who is Molly Stark?

For the casual traveler, who might not have the time to stop and ask, this might finally satisfy that long suppressed lust for the truth. I stopped at the Pettee Memorial Library in Wilmington to see what I could find out. One man, who was reading a detective novel simply said, “Mollly Stark? She's a war hero.” The lady behind the checkout desk immediately asked where I was from. It became apparent that the story of Molly Stark was something that was ingrained in them. They were almost surprised that someone would bother to ask about her. Finally, I was set up with a few dusty magazine articles and a newspaper story about the Revolutionary War heroine. 

The Molly Stark Trail is named for the wife of New Hampshire's General John Stark, who led the revolutionary efforts in the Battle of Bennington (August 16, 1777),  which many historians argue may have been the most important battle in America's fight for independence. Born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, Molly was the daughter of the first postmaster of New Hampshire. She moved with her family to Dunbarton, New Hampshire, and in 1758 married General Stark. She gained historical standing because of her husband's battle call of “There are your enemies, the Red Coats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow!" before engaging with the British and Hessian armies. But more importantly, she's known for her deeds as a nurse to her husband's troops during a smallpox outbreak and for opening their home as a hospital during the war.

Molly Stark is honored throughout Vermont and New Hampshire with schools and other public buildings that bear her name, and that little slice of highway that bisects Vermont, called the Molly Stark Trail. In 1936, to much pageantry, Vermont's legislature dedicated the road to promote both patriotism and tourism. Route 9 is the descendant highway of the road taken by General Stark and his troops on their victory march home from the Battle of Bennington.  In July of 2003 it was finally recognized as Vermont's third officially designated Scenic Byway, joining the Connecticut River and Lake Champlain Byways.