About Heart of the Village Inn

The main house originally included multiple rooms for a large family and a piazza wrapping around the front. The carriage barn was built a year later, on a pile of stones for a foundation — as many Vermont barns were built in those days. The original footprint of the perennial garden graces the view from the dining room windows today.

Elaborate for its day, the house featured gumwood wainscoting, a paneled staircase, and a cistern to collect rainwater. A pump and gravity system brought water to the ground-floor bathroom and hall sink. Some say it had the first flush toilet in town, located in the cellar. English tiles featuring historical scenes frame the fire grate in the library, and locally manufactured wooden blinds grace windows on the main floor — all beautifully preserved today.

The Van Vliet family resided here until 1915. Dr. Walter H. Ranks, a UVM medical school graduate, then lived and kept his office here until 1917. His daughter Helen and her husband René H. Gadue ran an antique shop in the carriage house until the early 1990s.

Following extensive renovations in 1996, the property became a Bed & Breakfast. The building remains nearly in its original footprint, retaining remarkable historic integrity. The Inn gained immediate popularity and was successfully operated as a traditional B&B until 2015, when current proprietors Rose and Anatoly transformed it into a modern, vibrant inn for the 21st-century traveler.