Downtown Bennington Historic District, Historic district in Bennington, Vermont, US

Downtown Bennington Historic District covers the commercial core of Bennington along US Route 7 (North and South Streets) from Elm Street to the Walloomsac River, and along Vermont Route 9 to Silver Street. Its buildings date mainly from the second quarter of the 19th century to the early 20th, and include the 1846 Greek Revival town hall, the 1936 Colonial Revival county courthouse and the 1914 Classical Revival former post office, now the police station.

The area took its name from Benning Wentworth, the New Hampshire governor who chartered the settlement in 1749, establishing what would grow into an important regional center. The place expanded over the centuries as business and industrial activities moved in, shaping the local economy.

Bennington was the first town chartered in what is now Vermont, granted in 1749 by New Hampshire governor Benning Wentworth, and the district's name and street pattern trace back to that grant. The original town center sat on a hill at Old Bennington; the downtown crossroads grew later as the commercial core.

It is best to visit during daylight hours when museums and shops are open and you can see the building facades and street layouts clearly. Most shops and services concentrate on just a few streets, making it easy to explore the area on foot.

The district's southern end reaches Elm Street, while its northern boundary is the Walloomsac River, whose water power drove the industries that made this crossroads flourish in the 19th century. The district was listed on the National Register in 1980 and enlarged in 2008.