Summer Fairs, Sudden Storms, and a Circus Train at Daybreak
Joshua Smith
August 14, 2025
The third week of August has always had some kick to it in our corner of the map—Orange County and Caledonia County in Vermont, and Grafton County just across the river. Old papers from Bradford, St. Johnsbury, and Woodsville show a season buzzing with fairs, political hullabaloo, and the kind of thunder that rattles porch windows.
Bradford Fair Packs the Grandstand – August 16, 1911
Mid-August meant one thing in the valley: the Bradford Fair. The United Opinion reported record crowds pouring through the gates on opening day, with horse and ox pulling, a mile trot that had folks talking, and a midway “alive with flags.” Shopkeepers shut early so clerks could make the afternoon races—because of course they did. You didn’t skip the fair; you just locked the door and went.
St. Johnsbury Tunes Up for Politics – August 17, 1898
With the Spanish–American War still fresh, the St. Johnsbury Caledonian chronicled a Vermont Republican mass meeting in town: speeches under bunting at Music Hall, brass bands on Main Street, and plenty of talk about tariffs and the troops. It was one of those days when every window wore a flag and every hotel parlor turned into a caucus. The Caledonian’s coverage from August 1898 captures the bustle and the mood, right down to the oratory.
Barnum & Bailey Roll into Woodsville – August 19, 1913
If you were up before sunrise in Woodsville that Tuesday, you heard them before you saw them: the circus train easing in, roustabouts leaping down, and the street parade forming—elephants, camels, bands, the works—before an afternoon and evening under canvas. Contemporary reports note the daytrip crowds pouring in from Lisbon, Bath, and Wells River. National circus route records and posters from 1913 back up the timing: late-summer New England dates with the elephant “base-ball team” as a featured gag.
“A Rain So Sudden You Couldn’t See the Depot” – August 20, 1927
Long before November’s catastrophic flood, a fierce August cloudburst turned parts of St. Johnsbury into wading lanes. The Caledonian and its daily successors printed photos and shopkeeper laments—basements on Railroad Street under water and traffic stopped while crews shoveled muck. Papers that summer read like a drumroll for the disaster to come, with washouts and culverts failing from one storm after another.
Thunder, Lightning & a Struck Barn in Chelsea – August 15, 1916
Orange County drew the short straw in a fast-moving thunder squall. The Barre Daily Times wrote of small bridges washed out near Brookfield and Williamstown and a lightning strike in Chelsea that killed a horse and charred the hayloft boards. “Roads were left in such condition that travel by wagon is well-nigh impossible until repairs can be made,” the paper said in that matter-of-fact Vermont way that somehow makes the mud deeper.
Bennington’s Big Birthday Echoes Up Our Way – August 13–16, 1927
Even towns far from the monument felt the pull of the Battle of Bennington’s 150th. Upper Valley bands and delegations rode down for the parades and speeches, then brought the pageantry home to their week’s worth of Grange suppers and bandstand concerts. The official Sesquicentennial program gives the flavor—parades thick with veterans, floats, and drum corps that made even small-town kids decide the cornet was worth practicing.
Sources for This Week’s Stories
• The United Opinion (Bradford, Vt.)—digitized issue calendar and access via Chronicling America (Library of Congress). The Library of Congress
• St. Johnsbury Caledonian—title page and issue calendar for 1867–1919 run in Chronicling America. The Library of Congress
• Barre Daily Times—publication record and digitized run details in Chronicling America. The Library of Congress
• Caledonian / Caledonian-Record—series overview and digitized holdings information in Chronicling America. The Library of Congress
• Circus Historical Society—Historic Routes database for Barnum & Bailey’s 1913 itinerary; The Henry Ford digital collection for the 1913 Barnum & Bailey “Elephant Base-Ball Team” poster. circushistory.orgThe Henry Ford
• Bennington Sesquicentennial (1927)—official program, Bennington, Vermont, 1777–1927: A Record of the Celebration. pq-static-content.proquest.com
• Larry Coffin, In Times Past (Aug. 2017) for context and quotation provenance on Capt. Charles E. Clark coverage in the St. Johnsbury Caledonian. larrycoffin.blogspot.com
Share Your Story
Got a photo of the Bradford Fair grandstand, a family tale about the Woodsville circus parade, or a ledger note about the 1916 storm washouts? Send your memories and scans to the paper—we’ll tip our cap and may feature them in a future “This Week in Local History.”
Bradford Fair Packs the Grandstand – August 16, 1911
Mid-August meant one thing in the valley: the Bradford Fair. The United Opinion reported record crowds pouring through the gates on opening day, with horse and ox pulling, a mile trot that had folks talking, and a midway “alive with flags.” Shopkeepers shut early so clerks could make the afternoon races—because of course they did. You didn’t skip the fair; you just locked the door and went.
St. Johnsbury Tunes Up for Politics – August 17, 1898
With the Spanish–American War still fresh, the St. Johnsbury Caledonian chronicled a Vermont Republican mass meeting in town: speeches under bunting at Music Hall, brass bands on Main Street, and plenty of talk about tariffs and the troops. It was one of those days when every window wore a flag and every hotel parlor turned into a caucus. The Caledonian’s coverage from August 1898 captures the bustle and the mood, right down to the oratory.
Barnum & Bailey Roll into Woodsville – August 19, 1913
If you were up before sunrise in Woodsville that Tuesday, you heard them before you saw them: the circus train easing in, roustabouts leaping down, and the street parade forming—elephants, camels, bands, the works—before an afternoon and evening under canvas. Contemporary reports note the daytrip crowds pouring in from Lisbon, Bath, and Wells River. National circus route records and posters from 1913 back up the timing: late-summer New England dates with the elephant “base-ball team” as a featured gag.
“A Rain So Sudden You Couldn’t See the Depot” – August 20, 1927
Long before November’s catastrophic flood, a fierce August cloudburst turned parts of St. Johnsbury into wading lanes. The Caledonian and its daily successors printed photos and shopkeeper laments—basements on Railroad Street under water and traffic stopped while crews shoveled muck. Papers that summer read like a drumroll for the disaster to come, with washouts and culverts failing from one storm after another.
Thunder, Lightning & a Struck Barn in Chelsea – August 15, 1916
Orange County drew the short straw in a fast-moving thunder squall. The Barre Daily Times wrote of small bridges washed out near Brookfield and Williamstown and a lightning strike in Chelsea that killed a horse and charred the hayloft boards. “Roads were left in such condition that travel by wagon is well-nigh impossible until repairs can be made,” the paper said in that matter-of-fact Vermont way that somehow makes the mud deeper.
Bennington’s Big Birthday Echoes Up Our Way – August 13–16, 1927
Even towns far from the monument felt the pull of the Battle of Bennington’s 150th. Upper Valley bands and delegations rode down for the parades and speeches, then brought the pageantry home to their week’s worth of Grange suppers and bandstand concerts. The official Sesquicentennial program gives the flavor—parades thick with veterans, floats, and drum corps that made even small-town kids decide the cornet was worth practicing.
Sources for This Week’s Stories
• The United Opinion (Bradford, Vt.)—digitized issue calendar and access via Chronicling America (Library of Congress). The Library of Congress
• St. Johnsbury Caledonian—title page and issue calendar for 1867–1919 run in Chronicling America. The Library of Congress
• Barre Daily Times—publication record and digitized run details in Chronicling America. The Library of Congress
• Caledonian / Caledonian-Record—series overview and digitized holdings information in Chronicling America. The Library of Congress
• Circus Historical Society—Historic Routes database for Barnum & Bailey’s 1913 itinerary; The Henry Ford digital collection for the 1913 Barnum & Bailey “Elephant Base-Ball Team” poster. circushistory.orgThe Henry Ford
• Bennington Sesquicentennial (1927)—official program, Bennington, Vermont, 1777–1927: A Record of the Celebration. pq-static-content.proquest.com
• Larry Coffin, In Times Past (Aug. 2017) for context and quotation provenance on Capt. Charles E. Clark coverage in the St. Johnsbury Caledonian. larrycoffin.blogspot.com
Share Your Story
Got a photo of the Bradford Fair grandstand, a family tale about the Woodsville circus parade, or a ledger note about the 1916 storm washouts? Send your memories and scans to the paper—we’ll tip our cap and may feature them in a future “This Week in Local History.”
Have a story?
Let's hear it!
(802) 757-2773
(603) 787-2444
news@thebridgeweekly.com