Cumberland County Courthouse Site (Westminster)
Westminster, Vermont, USA
Court House / Westminster Massacre marker, US Route 5, Westminster, VT 05158, USA
MARKER
VISITOR INFORMATION
Verify Courthouse Hill’s current monument position and safe public approach. Distinguish the courthouse site from the old cemetery, the town hall and the meetinghouse. Map point reviewed October 3, 2026: Visitor reference is the photographed Vermont highway marker for the Cumberland County courthouse and Westminster Massacre. Its text places the former courthouse northward of the marker. This pin represents the roadside marker rather than the original courthouse, cemetery or town hall. Visitor information reviewed October 3, 2026: Roadside historical sign points north toward the former courthouse. It does not give an exact courthouse or cemetery footprint. No parking or toilets are verified; confirm a safe public approach.
Visitor amenities reviewed October 3, 2026: No confirmed information was found for visitor parking and public restrooms. The NO entries reflect unverified provision, rather than confirmed absence. Check locally before relying on facilities.
Free exterior historical marker; no separate ticket or staffed hours. View only from authorized public areas and follow any posted property-access rules. Associated buildings, grounds, museums or tours may have separate hours and admission.
Peak visitation season unconfirmed. No reliable site-specific monthly attendance pattern was established.
May-June or September-October for a lawful daylight view of Westminster's courthouse-site interpretation. Confirm the intended marker and any historical-society interior access separately before travelling.
HISTORIC SITES NEARBY
Nearby Historic Sites
miles
Landmark
WHO WAS HERE
0
PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE
About Cumberland County Courthouse Site (Westminster)
Westminster’s Cumberland County courthouse was the setting of the March 1775 Westminster Massacre and a January 1777 convention declaring the territory’s independence. The original courthouse has disappeared. Later monuments and historical mapping recall its role in the political history of the region that became Vermont.
A highway marker commemorates the courthouse and massacre nearby. That marker, the courthouse-area monument, and William French’s grave memorial are separate features. None should be treated as a surviving 1777 convention room.
History happened here at Cumberland County Courthouse Site (Westminster)
Disputes over land and government divided the New Hampshire Grants before Vermont became a state. In March 1775, protesters occupied Westminster’s courthouse and confronted authorities, leading to the violence remembered as the Westminster Massacre. The event linked a local legal building with broader resistance to the existing political order.
In January 1777, a convention at the courthouse declared independence for the territory later called Vermont. This was separate from Vermont’s subsequent admission to the United States. The vanished courthouse therefore belongs to both the 1775 confrontation and the creation of an independent political community. Later memorials preserve those associations, while the nearby grave of William French commemorates an individual victim at a different location.
PEOPLE WHO DIED HERE
PEOPLE AT REST HERE
EXTERNAL LINKS
Research reviewed October 2, 2026. Event IDs 78a1cf2b-c4d8-4829-9c0e-db81811af1cb; Events Latest 10PM.csv rows 279.
https://www.westminstervthistory.org/
https://vermonthistory.org/westminster-courthouse
Map location reviewed October 3, 2026. Visitor reference is the photographed Vermont highway marker for the Cumberland County courthouse and Westminster Massacre. Its text places the former courthouse northward of the marker. This pin represents the roadside marker rather than the original courthouse, cemetery or town hall.
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=94378
Visitor classification and amenities reviewed October 3, 2026. Destination: Cumberland County Court House / Westminster Massacre highway marker.
Prose batch 2 researched October 3, 2026. Fast pass; proofing pending. Courthouse, roadside marker, and French grave distinguished. Exact original footprint needs proofing.