Welcome to our F.A.Q. page. Don't see what you are looking for? Please contact us if you need additional information.

• •       Where are you located?

             We are located at 75 S. Main St., Northfield, VT, next door to the Brown Public Library, near the downtown district.

• •         When are you open? Do you have staff?

             The Society has no paid staff, only very dedicated volunteers!  If you want to plan a visit for research purposes, please call or email (best way to reach us) for an appointment: 802-485-4792, or nhscurator@gmail.com. Also, when we are open, hours can unexpectedly change, so best to call or email ahead of time if you are planning a visit.

•          How can I do research at the Society?

 We welcome researchers at the Society and do have a small office space set aside for that purpose. We do not loan out materials, but you are welcome to come to the Society to do your research. The Society has Wi-Fi for Internet access. We do not supply computers for research, so you would need to bring your own laptop or other electronic device. If your request is small, such as copying or scanning a page or two from a book, we can usually do that for you and either mail or send via email to you. The same applies for other material, such as ephemera, that we have in our archive collection. We have no set fees for scanning or copying, but we always welcome donations!

•          Do you do genealogy research?

             It depends. We have a Society board member who is an accomplished genealogist, and any requests we receive we pass along to her. It is strictly up to her discretion as to whether or not to do any research on a request. You can email us your request and it will be passed along; she will, in turn, get back to you to let you know if she can or cannot handle your request. Also, be aware that any genealogy requests need to be related to persons who lived at some point in time in Northfield. The more information you can supply about the Northfield connection, the better. We do not handle general genealogy requests.

            We also have a subscription to Ancestry.com. You may make an appointment to use this resource at the Paine House. (We do not give out the username and password for off-site use.) 

•         How are you organized and funded? How can I join?

             The Society was founded in 1975 as a result of writing the town history by a committee of dedicated volunteers who wanted to record Northfield’s history for future generations. The Society is managed by an elected Board where members serve for two and three year terms. Funding of the Society comes mainly from membership dues and donations. We would love to welcome you as a new member or a renewing member. You don’t even have to live in Northfield! Click here for more details.

•         Do you have a newsletter and can I read it online?

             The Society publishes the Dog River Crier twice a year, May and October. Members receive a copy as part of their membership. You may now view issues online as pdf files.   

•        I’d like to make a donation. How do I do that?

             If you would like to make a monetary donation, please send to the Northfield Historical Society, PO Box 422, Northfield, VT, 05663. Make sure to include your name and address so we can thank you! If you would like to make a donation of any objects, letters, ephemera, photographs, scrapbooks, audio/visual material, etc., please contact us first. All non-monetary donations need to relate to Northfield in some way. When you call or email about what you would like to donate, we can explain our collection policy to you in more detail, or you can read it here. We do not provide appraisals for donated items.

•        Do you have any permanent exhibits?

            Our exhibits change out each year, with some older exhibits remaining while new ones are created. Volunteers handle all the work (and there is a lot) that goes into creating new and re-furbishing older exhibits. We do not charge an admission fee, but cash donations are always welcome!

•          Do you have a photograph collection and can I obtain copies of images?

             Yes, we have a photo collection of over 6000 images, so far! We have cataloged and scanned most of the images into Past Perfect, a museum and archives collection management software product. Depending on your intended use, we can make copies of images available to you. Please contact us for more details.

•         Do you have Northfield house histories?

             We do not have house histories except for a few notable houses, and even those are not complete. If you have a Northfield house and want to know more about it, the best place to start is in the Northfield Town Clerk’s office of land records. (We do not keep land records at the Society.) Visitors who are interested in researching house histories are welcome to use the (small) office in the Town Municipal Building that holds these records during regular business hours. The town clerk does not do research for you. This research can sometimes take hours, so be prepared to spend time looking at the records that are available for public viewing.    

In 1980, the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation published the Vermont Historic Sites and Structure Survey: Town of Northfield, Washington County. This 2-volume set surveys some of the homes in Northfield and provides some historic background information. A paper copy is available at the Society and online.

•          How many cemeteries does Northfield have, and is there an index of who is buried where?

 Northfield has 11 cemeteries (listed in alphabetical order). Some are family plots rather than cemeteries used by the general public. All cemetery records are located in the Town Clerk's office (except where noted in the list below), next door to our building. There is a small space that researchers can use if spending time there. Records cannot be removed from the Town Clerk's office. There is no master index to all the graves. Best to contact the Town Clerk's office to ask what the record availability is for any of the cemeteries.

ALDRICH CEMETERY

Located on West Hill, Northfield

Inactive cemetery

Records availability unknown

CATHOLIC CEMETERY (“OLD CATHOLIC CEMETERY”)

Located on King St., Northfield

Owned by the Town

Inactive – Records owned by St. John’s Catholic Church

CALVARY CATHOLIC CEMETERY

Located on N. Main St., Northfield

Owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington

Managed by St. John’s Church, Northfield

Contact the Church for records

ELMWOOD TOWN CEMETERY

Located on Cemetery St., Northfield (near the Northfield School campus)

Owned by the Town

All lots sold

Records in Town Clerk’s office

FOUR CORNERS CEMETERY

Bean Road, Northfield (aka Devils Washbowl Road)

Inactive cemetery

Records availability unknown – cemetery not maintained so is disappearing

LOOMIS CEMETERY

Located on Berlin Pond Road, Northfield

Inactive cemetery

Records availability unknown

MOUNT HOPE TOWN CEMETERY (AKA CENTER VILLAGE CEMETERY)

Located on S. Main St., Northfield, south of Norwich University

Records kept in Town Clerk’s office

Active with lots for sale

NORTHFIELD FALLS CEMETERY

Located behind St. Jacob’s Church, Route 12, Northfield Falls

Ownership and records turned over to the Town of Northfield

NORWICH [UNIVERSITY] CEMETERY

Located on Dole Hill, Northfield

Owned by the Norwich Cemetery Association

Active – lots are for sale

Records kept at Norwich University

RICHARDSON FAMILY CEMETERY

Given to the Town in 1818

Located on land now owned by Norwich University, in the middle of a soccer field

Town still owns the cemetery, which is a small family plot

Restored by the Northfield Historical Society and Norwich University in 2010-2011. Three of the original stones have been moved to the Northfield Historical Society and copies have been put in place in the actual cemetery.

ROBINSON CEMETERY

Located off Route 64, Mill Hill

Inactive Cemetery

This cemetery has been documented and that information is available at the Northfield Historical Society