Morrisville, at the Junction of VT Routes 100, 12 and 15, is the commercial center of Lamoille County. The Town of Morristown was chartered by the independent Republic of Vermont in 1781.

The village of Morrisville had its beginning when John Safford built on a bluff overlooking the Lamoille River in 1796 and built a mill on the river itself.  Much of Main Street in the Village consists of lots he sold off. Two of Safford's mills are standing today near the lower end of Main Street.

While most of the original structures built on lower Main Street during the early nineteenth century have been replaced with more modern buildings, many of the older structures were moved to other locations within the present village. 

To get a sense of the vitality of this town of 5,000 just walk up Main Street to the traffic light, and turn left onto busy Portland Street. You'll note that there are “ears” on about a half dozen turn of the century commercial buildings, a decorative feature of the period unique to Morrisville.  These are mounted on the street side of the pitched or angled roofs where they meet the sidewalls of the buildings. 

Walk away from Main and Portland Streets into the residential areas of Morrisville to find varied architecture of all periods, especially on Park, Maple, Court, Summer, Union, Congress, and Winter Streets, and Harrison and Cherry Avenues.  Since Morrisville grew quickly between 1872 and 1895 to fill these streets, most homes are Victorian, and reflect the extravagance of style of the period.

Dining in Morrisville
There are many restaurants in the Village of Morrisville, and several are worth mention here.  First is the Bees Knees, located near the bottom of Main Street, a cozy café with casual fare, and live music, and serves as a community gathering place and art gallery.  The Thai Orchid is midway down Portland Street, across from the Bijou multiplex.  Melbens features contemporary American fare, with seafood a specialty, and is located at the former railroad depot near the end of Portland Street.  Bonz is another contemporary restaurant, located adjacent to the Bijou theatre.  The Green Dragon is a Chinese restaurant at the corner of Portland and Main Streets.  Thompson’s Flour Shop is a bakery which serves fine sandwiches, muffins, and other in-house baked goods.  Just outside the village area in the busy north end are Hilary’s Restaurant, and the Charlemont. 

Recreation in the Morrisville Area
Morrisville is located in the middle of the northern Green Mountains.  There are broad fertile valleys along the Lamoille River and its tributaries, and major lakes within a few minutes of driving.  There are extensive green forests everywhere to allow for a wide range of seasonal recreation throughout Lamoille County.  These include superior skiing at nearby Mount Mansfield, Spruce Peak, and Madonna Mountain in Stowe and Jeffersonville.  There are also ice rinks for skating, an organized hockey program for local youth, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and winter hiking during the winter months. 

The summer provides opportunities for a much different kind of recreation, including boating and canoeing on local waterways; walking, hiking, jogging, road and mountain biking, and horseback riding on local trails, with the promise of a vastly expanded 92 mile network of rail trails across the top of northern Vermont, with Morrisville at its epicenter. Opportunities for fishing and hunting in the region also abound.