Green Mountain House

Wardsboro, Windham County, Vermont

"Green Mountain House, Box 86, W. Wardsboro 05360. 896-8491. On rte. 100, 5 mi. north of Mount Snow. Approximately 5 mi. of trails. Lodging and meals available. Rentals and minor repairs. Guided tours Saturday mornings. Instruction and movie. Box lunches available." -Vermont Ski Guide, 1976

Location: Rte. 100, Wardsboro, Vt. 05360

Directory listings: 1974-1979

Known operators: parents of Marian Rice

Today: the Green Mountain House burned down in May 1979

Green MTN house UVM

The Green Moutain House, circa 1920s

Photo by Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company, from the Penobscot Marine Museum; UVM Landscape Change Program

History

The Green Mountain House was operated between 1970 and 1979 in West Wardsboro, Vt. Between 1974 and 1979 it was listed in directories as offering 5 miles of trails, lodging and meals, guided tours on Saturdays, and rentals. The most complete history we have available comes from Marian Rice's food blog Canned where she provides this story in Feb. 2011:

"When I was in high school, my parents bought a beautiful lodge in West Wardsboro, Vermont – the Green Mountain House – these days it would have been called a rustic bed and breakfast, then it was more like a skiing dormitory. My dad purchased it with two friends sometime around 1970 but eventually bought them out when their visions inevitably clashed. There was one thing I loved about the Green Mountain House (besides the barn and adjacent stream, Grout Pond and Fat City) – the 12 inch cast Iron skillet that came with the purchase of the house and which I stole – that plus my lovely Stickley hutch and armloads of old books which, ditto.

As it turned out, stealing from GMH was a good move. Ending an era, it burned down in May 1979. But most of the relics we lifted under our parents’ less than watchful gaze, live on."

A 1977 article from Ski magazine reads: "Founded in 1895, this country inn was a stagecoach stop and hosted such illustrious visitors as Daniel Webster and later Norman Rockwell. Today, it probably looks very much the same with its 'old attic' furniture. The atmosphere is unpretentious and informal, and goes over best with high school and college groups--especially ski tourers, since the inn offers trails, equiptment, and even low-cost trail lunch. Hearty 'all you can eat' meals are served family-style."

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See the full listing of directory entries for the Green Mountain House here.

View Marian Rice's full blog posting about the Green Mountain House here.