Granite Center of the World - Barre, Vermont
Posted by: 
Vermontish
N 44° 12.754 W 072° 31.257
18T E 698046 N 4898471
Impressive granite welcome
Waymark Code: WM7HYG
Location: Vermont, United States
Date Posted: 10/29/2009
Views: 13
No painted wood welcome for this place, no siree.
Granite being a considerable portion of Barre's history and continued existence, we have here a monument quality welcome, complete with engraved logos of the Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis and JayCees. Let's hope they never change their meeting times.
Originally chartered as Wildersburg, the previous home in Massachusetts of some of the incorporators.
Those people left for one reason or another, or were just outnumbered by later settlers. By 1793 a move was afoot to change the name of the town, because "the name of the township has ever sounded uncouthly to the inhabitants and settlers and it is also disagreeable on account of its length."
The widely accepted story about the new name is that two Massachusetts men living in the Vermont town, Joseph Thompson of Holden and Jonathan Sherman of Barre, were equally determined to have the new name honor his former home, and it was decided that the victor in a wrestling match would choose the new name. After considerable tussling (the Marquess of Queensbury Rules wouldn't be written for another 72 years) Sherman came out on top and said, "There, by God, the name is Barre. " Only one thing casts any doubt on the story: the minutes of a town meeting on September 3, 1793 state that it had been decided that the man who gave the most money to the construction of a new church would decide the name. Ezekial Dodge Wheeler was the high bidder at £62, but neither he nor his money have been mentioned since.
However the issue was decided, the name of the Massachusetts town honors Issac Barre, a staunch friend of the colonies in England. During army service in Canada, he developed "many friendships with American gentlemen," and later, as a member of the House of Commons, was a voice for equitable treatment for the colonies.
By the way, "Barre" rhymes with "carry."
Type of community: Town
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Visit Instructions:
More pictures of the sign would be great. Try and take a picture of yourself with it if you can!