Outdoor and artistic culture takes center stage in Cavendish, Vermont
Cavendish is a township in southeast Vermont, a mostly rural and wooded area that includes the villages of Cavendish and Proctorsville. An outdoorsy spirit suffuses the area that's home to about 1,400 residents. “I think it’s sort of a common philosophy around here that we are stewards of our land,” says Danny Kogut, an associate broker with Williamson Group Sotheby’s International Realty, who has sold homes in this part of the state for the past 15 years. “Vermont is sort of indicative of that.” Proximity to a few larger towns provides residents with necessities beyond what the villages offer. The area also has a well-established arts culture. Russian writer Aleksander Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel laureate who was sentenced to the gulag and exile, lived in Cavendish for 18 years.
Diverse home styles amid woodland and fields and condos in Proctorsville
The median single-family home price in Cavendish is about $280,000. Ranch-style homes, Craftsmen and Victorian designs are common. A handful of unique stone homes, in expanded Cape Cod styles, lie on the outskirts. Within the villages, homes sit relatively close together on wide lots with sidewalks along the streets. A handful of condos are available in and around Proctorsville, which have sold for between $130,000 and $430,000.
Much of the rest of the township is a mixture of farmland and forest. Tall trees line the narrow roads, with deciduous foliage exploding into colors in fall. Homes out in the country may have outbuildings and sizable acreage. While far from an annual occurrence, significant flooding has occurred here, including in 1973 and 2011. The town has regulations concerning flood hazard areas. Cavendish has a CAP Index Crime Score of 1 out of 10, lower than the national average of 4, indicating significantly lower than average crime.
Local outdoor recreation spots highlight stewardship and community
Outdoor recreation is plentiful here, with hiking, camping and skiing areas. Trails crisscross the area, some through private land, which is permissible so long as hikers leave the trails as clean as they found them. “You can hike through the woods for hours, even days, and not pass the same place twice,” Kogut says. Proctor Piper State Forest can be used for hunting, fishing and snowmobiling. Mount Ascutney, one town over in West Windsor, has a summit trail and a volunteer-run ski area. “It works as a community effort,” Kogut says. “And it offers a way for families who can’t afford $3,000 skiing to bring their family and have fun on the mountain.” Okemo Mountain Resort, in Ludlow, is another skiing option. Green Mountain National Forest, with segments of the Appalachian and Long trails, is about 35 miles from Cavendish.
A highly rated elementary school and options at Green Mountain Union High
Cavendish Town Elementary School in Proctorsville serves kindergarten through sixth-grade students. Niche gives the school an A-minus and rates it second in their ‘standout elementary schools in Vermont’ list. Green Mountain Union High School, in Chester, scores a C and serves seventh through 12th grades. Green Mountain students can also avail themselves of online options, dual enrollment courses, programs run via the River Valley Technical Center and the school’s new wellness program.
Cavendish Community Fund and Hall Art Foundation put on events
The Cavendish Community Fund sponsors summer concerts and the Raise the Roof series, which includes music and theater productions at Proctorsville’s Gethsemane Episcopal church. The Fund also sponsored a biography of Solzhenitsyn written by a local author, Margo Caulfield, who heads the Cavendish Historical Society. “There’s a very strong and vibrant arts and theater community,” Kogut says. Hall Art Foundation in nearby Reading screens films, hosts artist talks and puts on benefit concerts. Proctorsville also hosts a weekly farmers market.
Restaurants and shopping in Proctorsville and beyond
Singleton’s General Store in Proctorsville keeps locals stocked with essentials. A Shaw’s supermarket is about 8 miles away in Ludlow. Also in Proctorsville, Murdock’s on the Green offers local beer and farm-to-table food in a former wool mill, while Castle Hill Restaurant offers fine dining. Residents can visit Vermont Apple Pie Bakery for dessert. In West Windsor, the Brownsville Butcher & Pantry has become a community destination and gathering place. “You can walk in for a quart of milk and be there for 45 minutes just talking,” Kogut says.
State highways cross the town, with Amtrak and Interstate 91 close by
Vermont Route 131 runs through Cavendish and intersects with Vermont Route 103 near Proctorsville. Interstate 91 is accessible about 13 miles away in Weathersfield, while Windsor, about 19 miles away, has an Amtrak station served by the Vermonter line. Burlington International Airport is 106 miles north. Springfield Hospital is about 15 miles away.
