By Armita Mirkarimi, Staff Writer
From a hill farmer’s ingenious solution for winter income to a mountain lodge where hikers walked through the front door to reach the Long Trail, two new Vermont Roadside Historic Site Markers tell stories of local innovation and outdoor adventure.
The markers for Prosper Ski Hill in Woodstock and Long Trail Lodge in Killington are among 15 new green and gold signs being installed statewide in 2025, bringing the total number of Vermont’s iconic roadside markers to 335.
“The Vermont Roadside Historic Site Markers provide summaries of history worth remembering,” said Laura Trieschmann, State Historic Preservation Officer. “The markers are sharing history that has often been overlooked or forgotten, stories important to our understanding and respect of the past.”
The Prosper Ski Hill marker tells the story of Rupert Lewis, a resourceful hill farmer who created what would become Vermont’s earliest ski tow in 1936. Faced with the challenge of making money during the winter months when farming was impossible, Lewis saw an opportunity in the rolling terrain his family had owned since 1856.
“He had the ingenuity to realize that this would be a good winter crop,” said Leslie Piastro Askwith, Lewis’s granddaughter, who helped spearhead the community effort to secure the marker. “Both of his daughters were going to college, so he needed to pay for that.”
Lewis built every part of the operation himself, scavenging materials except for the rope, which was his only expense. Using a 15-horsepower motor and posts he erected himself, he created a ski tow that drew visitors to the hillside farm. His wife Ruth opened their home to serve food and hot cocoa to skiers, with help from neighbors.
The modest ski cabin Lewis built in 1936 still stands today on National Park Service property, complete with its original fireplace. The Woodstock History Center has given tours of the historic lodge over the years and contributed to maintenance efforts. The marker application was a true community effort, involving the Woodstock History Center, local historian Charles Degener, current property owner Daniel Quinn, and members of the Lewis family. Degener, who serves as Woodstock Township clerk, wrote his thesis on the ski cabin’s historical significance.
Meanwhile, the Killington marker honors the Long Trail Lodge, a unique structure that existed from 1923 until it burned in 1968. What made this lodge extraordinary was that Vermont’s famous Long Trail ran directly through the building — hikers had to walk through the lodge to continue their journey.
“The original path of the Long Trail went right through the building,” explained Amy Peacock, who chairs the history and archive committee for the Green Mountain Club’s Killington section. “It was really just special, and the Green Mountain Club at the time was ahead of the times, really working to get people out in the woods and appreciating the mountains.”
The lodge was designed by Vermont architect Paul Fair using entirely local materials — wood harvested on site and huge boulders built into the structure itself. The building represented an early example of Vermont’s commitment to outdoor recreation and environmental appreciation.
Getting recognition for the site has been a long-term project for the Green Mountain Club. Peacock worked with David Wright, whose family has a long history with the lodge, and who had spent about a decade seeking recognition for the site. The application process required extensive documentation and research to back up historical facts.
“I found it incredibly fun, digging into Vermont history and being able to back up all these facts,” Peacock said, though she noted the challenge of managing input from multiple stakeholders while staying within the marker’s 765-character limit.
Both markers exemplify the community-driven nature of Vermont’s historic marker program, which was established by the state legislature in 1947. Anyone can submit an application, from family members to historical societies to interested community members.
“We don’t expect anybody to be giving us a perfect marker text from the start,” Trieschmann said. “Sometimes I get text that’s five pages long, and I’m like, ‘Beautiful, but that’s not gonna work,’ so I can take it and cut it down, highlight the main points, and then work with them.”
The markers serve as more than just historical footnotes. “You’re not just driving by any old building,” Trieschmann explained. “There’s something special to be told by all of these, and there’s something to be learned and something to be proud of.”
The 2025 markers recognize Vermont’s contributions to rebellions and wars, outdoor recreation, economic identity, and education, with subjects ranging from Revolutionary War heroes to the author Ralph Waldo Ellison, who penned “Invisible Man” while visiting Fayston.
For both local markers, the stories reflect quintessentially Vermont values: resourcefulness in the face of economic challenge, innovative use of the landscape, and community collaboration to preserve important history for future generations. The Green Mountain Club hopes to eventually add interpretive signs and clean up the Long Trail Lodge site, though those plans require approval from Killington Resort, which owns the property.
The markers are manufactured by the same Ohio foundry that has been producing them since 1947, maintaining the distinctive green and gold design that has become synonymous with Vermont’s commitment to preserving “stories worth remembering.”
A commemoration event for the Prosper Ski Hill marker is planned for June 26, organized by the Woodstock History Center. A dedication ceremony for the Long Trail Lodge marker is scheduled for Sept. 27 at 1 p.m.