Bill Wilson House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Wilson House
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| Location | 378 Village St., East Dorset, Vermont |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1852 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 95001427 |
| Added to NRHP | December 13, 1995 |
The Bill Wilson House is a special old hotel located at 378 Village Street in East Dorset, Vermont. It was built in 1852. This house is important because it is the birthplace of Bill Wilson. He was a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, a well-known support group.
Today, the house is a non-profit bed and breakfast. It has 14 guestrooms and a conference room. It is a place where people can attend helpful seminars and meetings for support groups like AA and ALANON. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. This means it is recognized as an important historical site.
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About the Bill Wilson House
The Bill Wilson House is one of the biggest buildings in East Dorset. It stands at the corner of Village Street and Mad Tom Road. It is a large, two-story building made of wood. The front of the house faces west toward Village Street.
There are three parts of the building that stretch along Mad Tom Road. The front has a porch with a simple Greek Revival style. This porch goes around part of the north and south sides. A smaller, two-and-a-half-story section connects the main house to a large carriage barn. This barn is now used as a meeting space and a comfortable lounge area.
History of the House
The building first opened as a hotel in 1852. This was in a small Vermont village known for its marble quarry. William (Bill) Griffith Wilson was born here on November 26, 1895. He was born on the ground floor, behind the hotel's bar, during a snowstorm.
When Bill was two years old, he moved to Rutland. Later, at age 11, Bill and his sister, Dorothy, came back to East Dorset. They lived with their grandparents, the Griffiths. In 1987, the building had been empty for several years. A person named Ozzie Lepper bought it. He wanted to make it a special place to remember Bill Wilson.
Since then, the building has been fixed up many times. It is now a working guest house and a place for conferences. Bill Wilson is buried nearby in a cemetery. His wife, Lois, and the Griffith family are also buried there. People believe that Room 9 of the hotel is where Bill and Lois stayed during one of their visits.
Griffith Library and Other Memories
Close to the Bill Wilson House is the Griffith Library. This is where Bill lived with his sister and grandparents as a child. Today, it is a museum and a library. It is dedicated to Bill Wilson, who wrote many books about helping people.
Bill had many important childhood experiences at this house. For example, he built a boomerang and a radio from scratch. He also met his future wife, Lois Wilson, at the nearby Emerald Lake.
Before the Bill Wilson House became a memorial, Bill and Lois Wilson often visited East Dorset. They would stay at the Aerie Inn, which is in the same area. The Wilsons spent their summers at the Aerie Inn from 1960 until Bill's passing in the early 1970s. They did not have children, so they became very close to the owners of the Aerie Inn. They always chose to stay in room 6, which has been kept just as it was. The Aerie Inn became run down over time. However, in 2003, it was bought by new owners. They wanted to keep the memory of the Wilsons alive.
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