History of the Jay Peak Area
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JAY PEAK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
BROCHURE FROM THE 1920'S
(Before Skiing)
JAY PEAKChamber of Commerce
Sponsoring the Upper Missisquoi Valley of Vermont
Rarest of Restful Recreation Regions
Matchless Paradise for the Sportsman and the Lover of the Great Outdoors
(issued by the Jay Peak Chamber of Commerce); no date, probably 1920's; brochure measures 6" X 3.25"; opens to 12" X 12.5"; illustrations, map, and local ads; brochure promotes the region long before it became a ski resort; town profiles of Lowell, Westfield, Troy, Newport Center, Jay, and North Troy; features a poem by Florence A. Kendall entitled "Jay Peak"; travel and tourism interest.
The following is taken from the inside of this unique brochure of the area before skiing.OUR UNIQUE STORY
Jay Peak, majestic mountain of the North from all points of the compass, beckons you from afar to its scenic charms and caressing breezes at the end of the Long Trail. Jay Peak can be reached from the western part of the state via Hazen's Notch. From the south it is approached by highway leading from Westfield and Troy. From the North and east it i sbest reached from North Troy. The Village of Jay is picturesquely located near the foot of the mountain.
A good automobile road extends from the village to the bas of the mountain, thence a well-defined and easily ascended trail leads to the summit. From this altitude of more than 4000 feet is seen a score of villages and many lakes, including Champlain, Memphremagog, Eden, Carmi, Crystal and Brome. Within scope of vision are the Adirondacks, the White and the Green Mountains, while Mount Royal and the city of Montreal is discerned 90 miles distant. From no other mountain top in the state is there found in all directions such widely extended range of view.
The territory contibuting to the membership of the Jay Peak Chamber of Commerce embraces the villages of Lowell, Westfield, Jay, Troy, North Troy and Newport Center. These villages are delightfully istuated in the fertile valley of the upper Missisquoi, twenty miles in length, south to north from Lowell to the Canadian Border.
The valley is traversed by good automobile roads, the main highway being one of the principal routes from southern New England to the Canadian metropolis. On either side, the valley is flanked by serried upland and majestic mountain ranges.
Scores of brooks and streams rush down the mountainsides and furnish excellent facilities for trout fishing, while down the rocky gorge of the Missisquoi flows the resistless torrent to dash over the rocks of the Big Falls in magnificent cascade.
Gold has been panned on the gravel bed streams of Westfield and Troy has in the past produced great quantities of high grade iron. Outcroppings of chrome, galena and copper are also noted.
TROY - Junction of the great trunk roads from Montreal and Quebec. Birthplace of J. Clement Brown, noted inventor of labor saving packeting machines. Original home in Orleans County of the coarse boot industry. Contains emmense beds of iron ore and is the site of numerous waterfalls.
LOWELL - On the old Hazens military Road. Birthplace of Major-General Caldwell. Contains largest deposits of chrysotile asbestos in the United States. Hazen's Notch, famous mineral springs, the Long Trail, Lake Eden, within easy access.
WESTFIELD - On the main highway from Burlington to North Troy and Newport, and in the western shadow of Jay Peak. Birthplace of the late United States Senator Carroll S. Page and ex-Attorney General T. Jefferson Boynton of Massachusetts. Beautiful mountain and valley scenery. Balance Rock, a natural wonder.
NEWPORT CENTER - Center of a large farming and dairying district. Lake Memphremagog, Sugar Loaf Pond, Owl's Head and Jaay Peak close at hand. Twenty minutes to Troy Big Falls, also the 60 mile sail on Lake Memphremagog.
JAY - On the western slopes of Jay Peak and the magnificent Green Mountain range. Contains deposits of chrome ore, has charming scenery of every description, from the peaceful rill to the foaming mountain torrent. New road at base of Jay Peak easy of ascent.
NORTH TROY - Official Terminus of the Long Trail. On the Boston to Montreal motor highway. It is the gateway to Canada. Has the largest veneer manufacturing plant in New England. It is a well kept, modern village with churches, high school, public library, bank, community hall, water and lighting systems, fire department, customs house. Jay Peak, Potton Springs, Fullington Pond, Sugar Loaf Pond, and Brome Lake are within close reach.
Map of the Area in the 1920's. Note that the road toJay Peak does not go over into Montgomery and there is no interstate 91.
Following is the list of lodging facilities of the day.......
NORTH TROY VALLEY HOUSE
Seven rooms, one bath, hot and cold water.
Meals all hours. Garage in connection.
Price $2.50 per day.
MRS HOMER BEERS
Four Double rooms, one single room.
Bath, hot and cold water. Garage in Connection.
Prices $2.00 for supper, lodging and breakfast.
Garage 50c.
Lunches put up to order.
MRS. CHARLES LUCIER - FRONTIER LODGE
Four single rooms, two double rooms, to baths, hot and cold water.
Electric lights.
Prices $1.50 for supper, loedging and breakfast. Garage 50c.
Some discount for large parties.
F.M. HAMMOND
Two double rooms. Bath. Price $2.00 per night.
Tourists welcome at
LONG VIEW FARM, W.H. WARNER, PROP.
Tel. 49.5 North Troy, VT
Hot and cold water. Good spring water.
Bath. Single rooms, $1.50; double $2.00.
Meals if desired at reasonable rates.
Two and one-half miles from North Troy, 15 miles from Newport.
Maple products at all seasons.
GRAYHOLM - WESTFIELD
Ten rooms and bath - $2.00 single and $3.000 double.
Breakfast 75c. Dinner $1.25. Supper $1.00.
Special Sunday dinners at special prices. Information Bureau.
MAPLELAWN - NEWPORT CENTER
Managed by Mrs. C.W. Morse
Terms: Rooms 1.00 Meals-Supper and Breakfast 50c, Dinner 75c.
Phone 177-2
JAY PEAK
A poem by Florence A. Kendall
Moulded by the Master's hand,
High above the rest you stand
Like a sentinel on high.
Loved by every native son
Who has eyes to gaze upon
This beauty 'gainst the sky.
O'er your head and round your feet
All the season's storms have beat,
Calm and steadfast, stand you there.
Moonlight evenings, sunny days,
Spring and Autumn go their ways,
Yet you never change or care.
Many come to climb thy side,
Feast their eyes on beauty side,
Spreading out both far and near.
Inspiration there, they gleen
As they view the distant sheen
Of the lakes and rivers clear.
O may those who gaze on you
Learn a lesson great and true,
For this world of toil and strife.
Teach them how to raise above
Petty discord, and with love
Gain a broader view of life.
Covered Bridge at the Venner Plant in North Troy, 1907
Seven rooms, one bath, hot and cold water.
Meals all hours. Garage in connection.
Price $2.50 per day.
MRS HOMER BEERS
Four Double rooms, one single room.
Bath, hot and cold water. Garage in Connection.
Prices $2.00 for supper, lodging and breakfast.
Garage 50c.
Lunches put up to order.
MRS. CHARLES LUCIER - FRONTIER LODGE
Four single rooms, two double rooms, to baths, hot and cold water.
Electric lights.
Prices $1.50 for supper, loedging and breakfast. Garage 50c.
Some discount for large parties.
F.M. HAMMOND
Two double rooms. Bath. Price $2.00 per night.
Tourists welcome at
LONG VIEW FARM, W.H. WARNER, PROP.
Tel. 49.5 North Troy, VT
Hot and cold water. Good spring water.
Bath. Single rooms, $1.50; double $2.00.
Meals if desired at reasonable rates.
Two and one-half miles from North Troy, 15 miles from Newport.
Maple products at all seasons.
GRAYHOLM - WESTFIELD
Ten rooms and bath - $2.00 single and $3.000 double.
Breakfast 75c. Dinner $1.25. Supper $1.00.
Special Sunday dinners at special prices. Information Bureau.
MAPLELAWN - NEWPORT CENTER
Managed by Mrs. C.W. Morse
Terms: Rooms 1.00 Meals-Supper and Breakfast 50c, Dinner 75c.
Phone 177-2
JAY PEAK
A poem by Florence A. Kendall
Moulded by the Master's hand,
High above the rest you stand
Like a sentinel on high.
Loved by every native son
Who has eyes to gaze upon
This beauty 'gainst the sky.
O'er your head and round your feet
All the season's storms have beat,
Calm and steadfast, stand you there.
Moonlight evenings, sunny days,
Spring and Autumn go their ways,
Yet you never change or care.
Many come to climb thy side,
Feast their eyes on beauty side,
Spreading out both far and near.
Inspiration there, they gleen
As they view the distant sheen
Of the lakes and rivers clear.
O may those who gaze on you
Learn a lesson great and true,
For this world of toil and strife.
Teach them how to raise above
Petty discord, and with love
Gain a broader view of life.
Covered Bridge at the Venner Plant in North Troy, 1907
JAY PEAK - A BRIEF HISTORY
by Bob Soden
Lyndonville had Burke. And Ludlow had Okemo. Now Jeffersonville was in the running with Sterling. Kiwanis Club President Harold Haynes had done all he could to see that North Troy would "get a piece of the pie". The year was 1955, and the "pie" was $10 million dollars in Vermont ski tourism. In Newport and Richford, two intrepid news-papermen, the Gilpin brothers, had been editorializing for years about the need to develop Jay Peak as a seasonal complement to Lake Memphremagog. Tourism would grow, they predicted. So the stage was set. Would it be the big time this time?
The Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA) began campaigning for the long sought-after "missing link", the Jay-Richford road, to connect Franklin and Orleans counties and northwestern and northeastern Vermont; and the creation of a Jay Peak state park. The year was 1950. Then along came Korea.
By 1953, when concerns on foreign shores had lessened somewhat, and folks began to look forward again, Harold Haynes decided to make sure Jay Peak wouldn't miss the boat. There might not be another. He began boosting the idea. "Sparking it," as he tells it. Along with his neighbor Roy Barnett, and entrepreneurs Saul Sokol and Paul St. Marie of Newport, and Wendell Chaffee of Montgomery Center and others. The Kiwanis Club credo in practice.
Orleans County Senator Fred Crawford and Franklin County Senator Frank Branon also saw the benefits that would accrue to all, and led delegations to the legislature to achieve it.
In May of 1953, Vermont Governor Lee Emerson approved a Joint Resolution, introduced by Senator Crawford, to study the development of Jay Peak. A special committee, appointed at the time, reported its findings in December of 1954. The recommendations were positive. The state agreed to purchase 2,000 acres for a state park, which would form Jay's cornerstone.
Jay Peak was incorporated in January 1955. Much work still lay ahead. Perry Merrill, Vermont State Forester, would lead the effort to acquire the rights-of-way for an improved road to the ski area. Father George St. Onge of North Troy, would use his considerable promotional talents to help raise capital for the young corporation. The general sale of Jay Peak shares was opened to the public in November. Charles Lord, of Stowe, renowned for his expertise in ski hill design, was enlisted to survey Jay and recommend layouts for trails and lifts.
The necessary funds were raised, and the Pomalski Co. of France was contacted in the spring of 1956 to supply Jay's first ski lift. Jay Peak president Harold Haynes and Perry Merrill directed the clearing of the "Open Slope" and the "Poma" line in July. Congenial Don McNally, of Derby, was named Jay's first mountain manager. In December, Walter Foeger arrived to set up his ski school. Elinor Huckabone of North Troy provided accommodations with a bed and breakfast network amongst local homeowners. The official opening was held at the bottom of the "Open Slope" on Sunday, January 6, 1957. Jay Peak was on its way. It would be the big time this time!
Would it be the big time this time? Problem was, you couldn't get there from here. They'd gone and built a ski area, but you couldn't get there. Hard to sell lift tickets like that. Or ski lessons, for that matter. Well, maybe it was the fault of the Green Mountains. That is, they'd put the border too far south and Jay Peak just went too far north. But in the end six men, a high school Ag teacher, a livestock feed salesman, a state forester, two newspaper editors, and a third generation farmer, would save the day. Sadly, two of them, however, would not live to see it.
In 1956, Franklin County and the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, the Jay Peak Ski Area was about to be launched and three separate road projects were underway to provide access.
It was a Tale of Two Counties. Franklin and Orleans (in the Northeast Kingdom). So near, and yet so far. Rent by an unremitting ridge. Plenty of folks had never even visited their sister county back then. Why in 1956, if you lived in say, North Troy in Orleans County, and you wanted to visit say, East Berkshire in Franklin County (on the west side of Jay Peak) you'd a thought it'd be a trip of only 15 miles, as the crow flies. Turns out you couldn't go over the mountain, you had to go around it. The northern route, the choice of the Missisquoi River, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and Route 105, took a slow stately stroll through Canada, around the sprawling northern flank of Jay Peak. Total on the meter for the northern route - 30 plus miles, with a couple of border crossings thrown into the bargain.
Alternatively you could take the southern route, first on Route 118 southeast to Montgomery Center, then a gravel road south to Belvidere Corners and Eden in Lamoille County, then blacktop again on Route 100 northeast to Troy and then gravel again north to North Troy. Total on the meter for the southern route - 40 plus miles. Either way it was an uncomfortable trip of an hour or more. An expedition really. Unless you were a crow.
On June 11, 1956 sod was turned with an official ceremony. A wooden stage had been built in a field above Pond's farm. The Jay Peak parking lot lay far away, up and over the hill, 3 ½ miles distant by way of the old twisted coach road. Gov. Joseph B. Johnson was on hand and, perhaps inspired by the unselfish spirit of cooperation and the natural beauty he saw about him, spoke of the area as a "Garden" and the nearness of a place called Eden. It was reported that some spectators at the groundbreaking noticed a large garter snake sunning on a nearby rock.
The cooperative worked actively throughput the summer and fall, but was hampered by a lack of real heavy-duty earth-moving equipment. They struggled heroically on. When snow began falling they were still short of their goal. But they had made terrific gains. Unpaid, these men from Montgomery, Richford, East Berkshire, Enosburg, Jay, North Troy and Westfield had already wrought a miracle. In a short time they would reach their goal. Route 242 exists today as testament to what a few men can achieve through dreams and sweat - and cooperation. Guess Carl had held up his end of the load. Yes, it would be the big time this time! It was a trip of only 7 miles from Montgomery Center to Jay Peak, and you could get there from here.
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