The Old Red Mill in Jericho Vermont

Chittenden Mills, the Old Red Mill in Jericho Vermont, dates back to the early 1800s and many businesses have been housed here. Up till the 1880s, it was a grinding mill with stones. After that, it was modernized with a new process of reduction rollers to grind grain into flour. The flour produced here supplied much of Northern Vermont.

Jericho's old red mill — Old Red Mill in Jericho Vermont

There once was a covered bridge where I was standing to photograph the mill, up until the Flood of 1929. How cool of a shot would that have been!

Snowflake Bentley

Wilson Alwyn “Snowflake” Bentley grew up in Jericho Vermont and started his investigation into snowflakes at age 15. By the age of 20, he had progressed enough to capture his first image of a snowflake. The year was 1885 and in January. He did this work outside, Brrr…

Also, just so you know… Bentley was a local farmer, self-taught in photographer and science.

His idea was that no two snowflakes were the same. His laboratory was his farm in Jericho. To prove his theory, he found a way to photograph snowflakes, thus recording all the different complex crystalline shapes. In over 4,000 glass plate images, never once did two snowflakes show up the same.

I think about the perseverance to keep pushing to find an answer on how to accomplish his theory. He was not shooting digital, he recorded on glass plates which was “high tech” in the 1880s. Can you imagine what his farmer neighbors must have thought?

Are you were wondering why am I talking about Mr. Bentley? Today the Old Red Mill is the home of the town’s historical society with a big portion of the collection dedicated to Snowflake Bentley.

Would any of us today, in this immediate gratification world, even be doing photography if you had to develop glass plates? Tell me what you think in the comments…

Finding the Old Red Mill

If you are coming up Route 89 North, get off at exit 12 and follow Route 117 into Jericho Vermont. There are several scenic smaller roads that take you into Jericho town center. Here is a Google map.

Or use your GPS to take a side road like Barber Farm Road which will take you to Jericho Center, then up to Schillhammer Road, or any of the others. Most all of them lead to the Old Mill Park on the Brown River.

Photographing the Old Red Mill

I’ve only found a couple of pleasing views. The first is from the street bridge as mentioned above. I’ve even shot a vertical panorama (seen to the right).

You can also come around the end of the bridge and try getting a shot from an abutment wall. It was all snow-covered and I wasn’t really comfortable not knowing what was under the snow, so I didn’t get too close to the edge.

I have gone around the back of the mill and photographed the mill with the river flowing by. I used Photoshop and Topaz to give it a painted, digital art effect. I think the moody look works well.

In the Spring through the fall, you might get down really low on this wall with a wide-angle lens and try that. To me, the river with tumbled boulders is the best shot.

I found a safer way to view the Mill

I became an FAA-certified drone pilot and I happened to have my drone with me Spring of 2023 when Lisa and I were stopping at the Snowflake Bently museum. Lisa went in to add to her snowflake collection while I stayed out in the cold to see if I could get the shot I’d always wanted.

I launched my drone and was standing at the railing as my drone (flying camera) descended below the level of the bridge below me. It made me nervous because I was trying to make sure I didn’t land in the river or an errant gust of wind knocking the drone into the abutment of the bridge.

I took nine shots that were overlapping. This way when I got home I could use software to put them together and make a complete shot of the Mill, the cascading river, and the boulders below..

The Jericho Vermont Old Red Mill is an iconic historic building located in Jericho, Vermont. View this in my Gallery..

Getting out and exploring is what brings these things to our notice. If you never heard of Snowflake Bentley, think about all the other wondrous things you might be missing out on.

Lisa scanned the Gazetteer and some of the nearby things are, the National Guard Museum just West on Route 15. Also, there is an unlisted covered bridge in Westford. Go over 15 to Route 128 North and you’ll find the Browns Covered bridge (hint it’s not in the Gazetteer) It’s just off the main road in Westford, so keep your eyes open.

Enjoy your travels and remember, Not all who wander are lost…

Jeff and Lisa “Foliage” Folger You can purchase Jeff’s images by visiting
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