By Linda Tancs

The spirit of rural life is alive and well in Woodstock, Vermont, at Billings Farm & Museum. The farm was established by Frederick Billings in 1871 as a model farm run by the Billings family, their farm managers and their farm staff. It remains one of the oldest registered Jersey dairy farms in the country. It features Jersey cows, of course, as well as sheep, horses, oxen, pigs and chickens, all of which you can experience with hands-on activities and events. Farm life exhibits will explain what farming was like in the 1890s. You can also explore the restored 1890 Farm Manager’s House, where interpreters will answer questions about the home. The Billings estate passed on to three generations of Billings women and ultimately to Billings’ granddaughter, Mary Rockefeller, and her husband. The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park adjoins the farm site, and both locales share a visitor’s center.