A Walk Through Time in Historic Downtown Van Buren

with Dayton Grandmaison from Friends of the Gayety Theatre

Saturday, May 6 at 1:00 PM

Estimated duration: 90 minutes

Van Buren is a historic St. John Valley town that was settled around 1790 by French-speaking Acadian refugees. They were later joined by French-Canadian settlers and Anglo-American settlers. For many years, Van Buren was a thriving mill town and the community was home to a small college for more than 30 years. In the 1950s, Van Buren boasted numerous stores and three movie theatres! Things have changed, but much of Van Buren's rich history remains . . . And it's time to share and explore that history. We'll be taking a leisurely walk through downtown Van Buren with several local historians, and we'll be stopping at 8 to 10 spots to talk, to share information and anecdotes, and probably to ask questions (questions from the public will be welcome). A videographer will accompany us to record everything, both for further research efforts and for posterity. After the walk, we hope to have an informal gathering at a local establishment to continue our chat and to share refreshments (which may not be provided free-of-charge).

Accessibility: The entire walking route will be a fairly-short section of Main Street in downtown Van Buren. There are no steps on the route; it is mostly very-level terrain (there are several corner curbs on the route, but those curbs should be accessible otherwise).

Starting point: The intersection of Main Street and Franklin Street

Ending point:

For questions about this walk, please email janeswalkme@gmail.com.