Permanent Must-see Exhibits
Chester A. Arthur: Vermont’s Other President
Displayed in the 1953 reconstruction of the boyhood home of Chester A. Arthur, the exhibit panels examine the life and career of the 21st President of the United States, who was born in Vermont on October 5, 1829. The family remained in Fairfield until 1832.
North Fairfield Baptist Church
5964 Duffy Hill Road, Fairfield, Vermont
Located about a mile northwest of the boyhood home site is the location where the church of William Arthur, the father of Chester A. Arthur. William Arthur, raised in Ireland as a Presbyterian, joined the Free Will Baptists and spent his life serving as a minister. The present brick church building was constructed circa 1840, replacing the structure where the Reverend Arthur preached until 1832.
The building, which has no electricity or plumbing, was donated to the State of Vermont in 1970 by the Vermont Baptist State Convention, through the efforts of Lieutenant Governor Consuelo Northrop Bailey.
Outdoor Sites
Chester A. Arthur Granite Monument
Adjacent to the boyhood home is the granite monument dedicated to honor Chester A. Arthur. The monument was placed in 1903 by Robert Todd Lincoln to mark the location of Arthur’s home. The monument reads:
On this spot stood the
cottage where was born
Chester A. Arthur
the Twenty-first President
of the United States.
Erected by the State of Vermont.
At the time the monument was dedicated, the location was incorrect believed to have been the site of Chester Arthur’s birthplace, but was later identified as the site of the boyhood home. Robert Todd Lincoln, a resident of Vermont, had served in President Arthur’s Cabinet as Secretary of War. The granite to create the monument is mined at the E.L. Smith Quarry in the town of Barre, in Washington County, Vermont. Barre Gray granite is sought worldwide for its fine grain, even texture, and superior weather resistance.
President Chester A. Arthur Nature Trail
Created in partnership with the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, the students of Fairfield Elementary School with the assistance of the Franklin-Grand Isle Country Forester laid out the President Chester A. Arthur Nature Trail. The nature trail explores the woods to the south of the reconstructed boyhood home through the transitional forest that was an open pasture at the time Arthur lived here. Aspen, birch, sugar maple, red maple, red oak, and hemlock trees populate the forest. Interspersed are stone remnants of walls created by farmers clearing their fields and stumps of harvested timber. A boardwalk allows access over the seeps of groundwater that naturally accumulates at the surface of the earth. Treasure boxes are placed along the trail; please leave your own non-living treasure such as a poem, observation, or unique items found along the trail.
Partnerships
Fairfield Town Hall Museum
25 North Road, Fairfield, Vermont
The Fairfield Town Hall has a small museum dedicated to the life of President Chester A. Arthur as a boy in Vermont and his rise to President of the United States.
Please call the town hall for times of availability: 802-827-3261