Main Street Bridge

You are standing in the center of the Main Street bridge. Look around you. 

Montpelier sits in an ancient river valley surrounded by mountains. European settlement, agriculture, and industry have impacted this land and have, in turn, been impacted by it. 

Below you is the Winooski River. Montpelier sits at the confluence of four rivers which flow to Lake Champlain. The name, Winooski, was derived from the Abenaki word winoskitegw, meaning “land of the wild onion.” These rivers served as a travel corridor for Native people for more than 11,000 years. 

Montpelier was built on the floodplain. On several occasions, most notably in 1927 and again in 2023, the rivers have flooded their banks and inundated the city. Note: Click on the photograph to enlarge it or zoom in. 

In 2024, Montpelier's historic downtown bridges were illuminated for the first time. The goals were to to focus attention on the rivers, add warmth and beauty to the cityscape, draw visitors from near and far, and celebrate the resilience of Vermont’s capital city.