Discover Granby
​“Granby, fragile and unique, set apart from the rushed pace of the surrounding metropolitan areas, with its forests and streams, its splendid special life of wilderness. Make sure it will always have a future; that those of you who care will keep Granby on the map.”
--- from Thru the woods... Down the river... Over the Hill...Granby, VT, published 1990
Demographics
Granby is one of Essex County, Vermont's least populated incorporated towns. As of the 2020 census, 81 people lived in the Town, slightly fewer than the 88 counted in the 2010 Census. The population density is 2.1 inhabitants per square mile. The racial makeup is predominately white (98%) with the remaining 2% being composed of Black or African American, Native American, Asian, and individuals of two or more races.
For most of its early history, the population of the Town was concentrated on the ridge tops, especially along Porrell Road. In recent years, most of the Town’s population has been concentrated in the valleys and along the hillsides.
Granby is also an aging town, even more so than the rest of the state. The median age is 62.6 years, significantly higher than the county average of 51.5 years and the median age for the state at 42.8 years (2021 ACS Estimates). Contributing to the high median age is the fact that there are less than ten children (ages 0-18) in town and there have been no in-migrations to the town since 2021. The average household size in Granby is two people, according to local information. This is on par with the county average of 2.2 people and the state average of 2.3 people. The Vermont Department of Health offers a roadmap to an “age-friendly state”, a program called Age Strong Vermont, that offers ideas for how to prepare a community to best serve older adults which in turn supports all people.
Granby is at least a 25-minute drive from the next closest village center with amenities. This requires residents of Granby to have a private vehicle to get them any goods or services needed. There is no public transportation
available.
Recreation
Granby is rich in natural resources, which provides excellent outdoor recreation opportunities, including hiking, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, bird watching, wildlife viewing, hunting, and fishing.
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NEK Gravel Rides encourages and helps plan people’s riding on Vermont’s best dirt roads. The website shows all the dirt roads within an area for people to ride on. As outdoor recreation continues to grow, supporting an organization like NEK Gravel to continue marketing and advertising dirt roads and bike routes could also support Granby's well-being.
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VAST Snowmobiling is a popular winter activity. Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) manages the statewide network of trails for snowmobiling. Within Granby, one main trail line is managed and maintained by the Lunenburg Polar Bears Snowmobile Club. The Polar Bears Snowmobile Club helps coordinate with various stakeholders, obtain permission from landowners, and maintain and groom the trail network. The club also maintains a winter parking area for camp owners in the Mt Tug and Old Pond Hill Road area. The map shows where the corridor trail is in Granby and how it connects to the rest of the network, primarily in the Victory State Forest to the south.
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Victory State Forest is primarily located in the Town of Victory to the west of Granby with one small protrusion of the State Forest dipping into Granby. Victory State Forest is managed by the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation. The state forest is open to dispersed recreation such as hunting, trapping, wildlife viewing, snowmobiling, hiking, snowshoeing, and horseback riding. Portions of the forest are open for primitive camping. VAST trails run through the property and the Vermont Horse Council assists in the management of a multi-use trail open to horseback riding. Gravel roads within the forest are open for horseback riding as well as bicycling.
Cultural and Historic Resources
The cultural, historical, and scenic resources are a foundational element in connecting the community of Granby. These resources also play into Granby’s sense of place and understanding of its past. Preserving the historical elements in town, augmenting the cultural resources, and shifting perspective on the uses of historic and cultural spaces can be the impetus for sustained preservation of these resources.
Cultural Resources:
Starting in 1959, Granby began hosting a vibrant and robust community event called Holiday in the Hills. The event was the Town’s initiative to bring attention to the lack of electrical infrastructure in the community. With Victory by its side, Granby invited politicians and the press to this annual festival in order to try and put pressure on the power companies. In 1963, the lights went on in Granby and Victory! Granby continued hosting Holiday in the Hills well into the 1980s.
In the '90s, the event was reinvented as the Victory Granby Holiday in the Hills Historic Preservation Group hosting small gatherings. A new iteration of this community event started up in 2021 called Salute Granby with over 250 people in attendance. The community event celebrates the history of the Town. The Schoolhouse, Town Hall, and Granby-Victory Congregational Church were open and hosted historic information panels, activities, food, and music. A cookout was hosted at the Rogers Rangers pavilion. Tours of the Cow Mountain Pond trail were provided.
Historical Resources:
The Granby Town Hall was built in 1891. The main level of the building provides community meeting space. The basement level houses the Town Clerk’s office and vault space, an ADA-accessible bathroom, and a small area for meetings.
The Granby-Victory Congregational Church was built in 1845. The church is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the building, church cemetery, and gravesites. In 2007, the roof was replaced, and the building was freshly painted. When it came time to repaint the Granby-Victory Congregational Church, residents came out to give a helping hand. Ongoing projects include stone cleanings. The church is in need of a new coat of paint.
The Granby Schoolhouse was built in 1885 and closed its doors to elementary students in 2006. The Town is still exploring a new use for this building. In the survey that circulated as part of this Town Plan community engagement efforts, ideas for the schoolhouse include a museum with historical displays, a general store, a coffee shop, a library, a community meeting space where events, workshops, concerts, and dances can happen, host a food shelf, offer the space as a local pub or thrift shop, provide a space where there is good internet so people can work or study or connect to the world, and use it as an AirBnB or VRBO. There are many possibilities. As the Town invests in repairs and updates for the building and site, it may be advantageous to “pop-up” the space with some of these ideas to see how the community responds to them. For a few months the building could be set up as an artist’s studio and offer classes and workshops, transform for a few months into a library with a small cafe, and transform again into a small general store or thrift shop.