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More Than a Place to Do Business: Discover Life in the Springfield, Vermont Region
When people think about what makes a community successful, businesses and jobs are usually part of the conversation. But they are only part of the story.
People also want to know: What is it like to actually live there?
Can I find a great place to eat? Where can I hike, bike, ski, kayak, or spend an afternoon outside? Are there festivals and community events? Is there a thriving arts and cultural scene? Can I shop locally? Is there history worth exploring? Most importantly, does this feel like a place where I could belong?
In Springfield, Vermont, and the surrounding communities, answering those questions is increasingly important to our region's future. At the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, we believe community, tourism, economic development, and quality of life are interconnected. Creating a region where people want to visit helps create a region where people want to live—and a place where people want to live is a place where businesses can grow.
Start With Springfield
Located in southeastern Vermont along the Black River and the Connecticut River, on the New Hampshire border, Springfield offers something increasingly difficult to find: a small-town Vermont lifestyle with convenient access to larger communities, recreation, employment, education, healthcare, and transportation.
Springfield's history is everywhere. For generations, this was a community of inventors, machinists, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and craftspeople. The town's industrial heritage helped establish Springfield as one of America's important precision-manufacturing centers.
That spirit of ingenuity hasn't disappeared. You can still see it in our businesses, historic downtown, industrial buildings, community organizations, makers, entrepreneurs, and residents working to create Springfield's next chapter. But Springfield is also a great starting point for discovering an entire region.
Adventure Is Right Outside the Door
One of the greatest advantages of living in or visiting southeastern Vermont is how quickly you can get outside. Hiking, mountain biking, fishing, paddling, camping, skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, golfing, hunting, and scenic drives are all part of life here.
The Black River winds directly through Springfield, while the Connecticut River Valley, nearby mountains, forests, lakes, and state parks provide countless opportunities to explore. You don't necessarily have to plan an expedition. Sometimes recreation means taking a walk after work, putting a kayak in the water, riding a local trail, spending an afternoon fishing, or driving a few minutes to find a quiet place in the woods.
Here, outdoor recreation isn't something you save for vacation. It can be part of everyday life.
Explore Our Downtowns and Shop Local
Some of Vermont's best discoveries happen when you get off the highway. Springfield and the surrounding communities are filled with independent businesses, restaurants, shops, farms, markets, makers, and service businesses that give our region its personality.
Grab breakfast at a local restaurant. Meet a friend for coffee. Browse a locally owned shop. Visit a farm stand. Find Vermont-made products. Stop for dinner. Discover a business you didn't know existed. Every dollar spent locally helps support jobs, families, community organizations, events, and the businesses that make our towns distinctive. That's why the Chamber encourages visitors and residents alike to look local first.
Come Hungry
Food has become an important part of the Vermont experience, and southeastern Vermont has plenty to explore. Our region offers everything from casual breakfast and lunch spots to pubs, cafés, bakeries, farm products, markets, takeout favorites, and restaurants perfect for an evening out. And because we're in Vermont, food often connects directly back to the land.
Maple syrup, apples, vegetables, meats, baked goods, cheeses, berries, and other locally produced foods remind us that agriculture remains an important part of both Vermont's economy and its identity. Food isn't simply something to eat while you're visiting. It's one way to experience the community.
A Region That Knows How to Celebrate
Vermont's seasons give us plenty of reasons to get together. Throughout the year, Springfield and neighboring communities host festivals, concerts, markets, holiday celebrations, outdoor events, community gatherings, and traditions that bring residents and visitors together.
Fall is especially hard to beat. Cooler temperatures arrive, hillsides explode with color, farm stands fill with seasonal products, and communities celebrate the harvest. In Springfield, events such as the Springfield Apple Festival bring together local businesses, vendors, food, entertainment, history, families, and visitors for something bigger than simply an event.
They create community. And that's one of the things small towns still do exceptionally well.
Arts, Culture and a Little Vermont Weirdness
We mean “weirdness” as a compliment.
Some of Vermont's greatest cultural treasures exist because someone became fascinated with an idea and refused to stop pursuing it. Springfield has a particularly good example.
On Breezy Hill, amateur telescope makers created Stellafane, a gathering whose roots stretch back to the Springfield Telescope Makers and Russell W. Porter in the 1920s. What began with a small group of enthusiasts became an internationally known gathering of amateur telescope makers and astronomy enthusiasts.
That combination of curiosity, craftsmanship, creativity, and determination feels very Springfield. Throughout the region, you'll also find local artists, musicians, galleries, museums, historical societies, libraries, performances, concerts, and community organizations that keep our cultural life active.
You don't need a major metropolitan area to find interesting people doing interesting things. Sometimes you need to know where to look.
History Is Around Every Corner
If you enjoy history, take a little extra time. Springfield's story stretches from early Vermont settlement through agriculture, transportation, manufacturing, innovation, wartime production, aviation, astronomy, and modern economic transformation.
Historic sites such as the Eureka Schoolhouse, built around 1790, and the nearby Baltimore Covered Bridge offer a glimpse into Vermont's early history. The historic Revolutionary War Crown Point Trail bisects the Town and just across the Connecticut River is Historic Fort Number 4. And if you are into cemeteries, Springfield has 7 dating back 300 years.
Springfield's historic machine-tool industry tells another story entirely—the transformation of a rural Vermont community into an internationally recognized center for precision manufacturing.
Then there is Springfield Hartness Airport, whose history connects aviation with James Hartness, one of Springfield's remarkable industrial innovators, a former governor of Vermont, and a place Charles Lindbergh liked to land.
These aren't isolated stories. Together, they tell the story of a community that has built, invented, and experimented for generations.
Don't Stop at the Town Line
One of Springfield's greatest strengths is its location within a collection of distinctive Vermont communities. Explore Chester and its classic village atmosphere—Head toward Ludlow and the Okemo Valley. Discover Weathersfield, Perkinsville, and Ascutney. Travel south toward Bellows Falls and Rockingham. Cross the Connecticut River into neighboring New Hampshire communities.
Each town has its own history, businesses, restaurants, recreational opportunities, events, and personality. That's why we encourage visitors to think regionally. Stay a little longer. Take the back road. Visit another downtown. Try another restaurant. Walk into that shop you've driven past three times. You never know what you'll find.
What If You Didn't Have to Leave?
Here's where tourism and economic development connect.
A visitor comes to Vermont for a weekend. They discover a restaurant they love. They drive through a neighborhood. They hike a trail. They notice an interesting commercial building. They talk with local business owners. And eventually a different question emerges:
What would it be like to live here?
For some people, that question becomes: Could I raise my family here?
For others: Could I work remotely from here?
And for an entrepreneur: Could I start my business here?
For an established company: Could Springfield be our next location?
Those questions matter. The people who visit Vermont today can become tomorrow's residents, employees, entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, and community leaders.
Quality of Life Is Economic Development
For years, economic development was often discussed primarily in terms of buildings, infrastructure, taxes, industrial parks, and jobs. Those things still matter enormously. But communities are also competing for people.
Employers need workers. Businesses need customers. Schools need families. Restaurants need diners. Organizations need volunteers. Towns need residents willing to become part of their communities. That makes quality of life an economic-development strategy.
Trails matter.
Restaurants matter.
Festivals matter.
Arts and culture matter.
Historic preservation matters.
Housing matters.
Beautiful downtowns matter.
And creating communities where people feel welcome matters.
See What We're Building
Springfield and southeastern Vermont aren't trying to become somewhere else. Our opportunity is to build on what already makes this region distinctive: our history, landscape, businesses, creativity, affordability, outdoor recreation, independent spirit, and strong sense of community.
Come for a festival.
Come for the foliage.
Come for the history.
Come for the outdoors.
Come for lunch and stay for dinner.
Explore our downtowns. Meet our business owners. Take the scenic road instead of the fastest one. And while you're here, look around. You may discover that Springfield isn't simply a great place to visit. It might be a great place to build what's next.
Start Your Visit With Us
The Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce is here to help you discover Springfield and the surrounding region. Whether you're looking for things to do, places to eat, local businesses, upcoming events, recreational opportunities, relocation information, or resources for starting or moving a business, start with the Chamber.
Visit Springfield. Explore the region. Support local. And discover what life in southeastern Vermont has to offer.
