By Lois De Heer
The General Wait House is the oldest piece of history we have connected to our town. It was built by our town’s founder, General Benjamin Wait, in 1793 up in the meadow off what is now Old County Road. The first shelter he had in 1789 upon arrival for his family to live in was a log cabin built very near where the Wait House stands now, while plans were being made for the organization of the town of Waitsfield and the building of this, his more comfortable new home.
The very first Town Meeting was held in this new home as were many other Town Meetings and the first church services were held in his barn.
We are honored to have this home of our founder and are thankful it was not destroyed over the past 227 years. After General Wait’s death in 1822 and his wife’s in 1827, it was moved to its present site on Main Street (Route 100) in the 1830s. The Historical Society has a list of occupants of the home from that time to present. There are some descendants of those families still living in our town today.
The “History of Waitsfield 1789-1908,” a book written by Matt Bushnell Jones, has town and genealogy information you may wish to read about. It can be purchased through the Waitsfield Historical Society and it is also on the website, waitsfieldhistoricalsociety.net.
Thanks goes to Ruth and Fletcher Joslin who started the Waitsfield Historical Society in 1970 and were the driving force in finding a permanent home for the society. With their enthusiasm, they drew many people’s interest in the society. When the Wait House was going to be sold by the owners in the 1990s, (a descendant of the Joslin family), the historical society started a fundraiser to help the town purchase the house.
TOWN APPROVES PURCHASE
Besides the town vote approving the purchase of the Wait House, there are about 300 names on a framed certificate of recognition of those who generously donated toward the purchase and renovation hanging on the wall in the meeting room. Many are descendants of former townspeople and realized the importance of preserving history.
The town received an Agency of Transportation Enhancement Grant of $200,000 to prepare the General Wait House to become a welcome center with restroom facilities. They considered it an ideal area for travelers to stop and collect information about all The Valley has to offer as they approach it from the north.
When the Wait House restoration was completed in 1997, the upstairs was prepared for offices to be filled and they were. Nonprofit organizations moved in and most all are still there: Mad River Valley Planning District, Mad River Path Association, Friends of the Mad River, Vermont Land Trust and a newer one, Art & Play Therapy. The house really looks lived in with the cars in the parking lot and people coming in and out. All the organizations are also able to use the meeting room on the first floor which in the renovation was kept in its original condition as much as possible as was the entire main floor. We have the Burley Partnership Architect firm to thank for that. Surely, General Wait would be pleased.
Many Vermont towns, as in other states, have one or more historical buildings still intact and well kept for our present and future generations to enjoy. Some of these buildings are town-owned and some are private but are for the public to visit, research and learn about town history. This is always a plus for towns, as it brings people to enjoy many of the amenities they have to offer.
With the historical society housed in the General Wait House, it has brought many visitors from across the United States in the past few years to research family information. Many are Wait family descendants and are anxious to see the house and request any information we may have on their family. We have received many donations of Waitsfield history over the past 50 years now stored in our archival room and on computer, which makes this possible for our society members to help researchers. In our museum room there is an ongoing display, along with framed early maps hanging on the wall of original Waitsfield property owners handwritten in each lot, which has helped many people find information. It is extremely rewarding to see folks leave the Wait House with an addition to their years of research.
We are often asked for suggestions of places to eat and even to stay overnight. The information area with the brochures in the entrance hall is pointed out which leads them to discover all that our Valley and surrounding area has to offer.
The historical society office and museum is open to the public on Wednesday from 2 to 5 p.m., May through October, and 2 to 4 p.m., November through April or email
We are proud to say we are celebrating our 50th anniversary this year, 1970-2020!
Lois De Heer is president of the Waitsfield Historical Society.
