Huntington's Pavilion, E. Thetford, VT

We often think of the boom years of square dancing taking place starting in the late 1940s and early 1950s, but there is a long history of halls for square dancing before then. This is a series of dance posters from the Pavilion dance hall in East Thetford, Vermont, a region where nearly every town had at least one dance hall many years ago.
     This hall was originally built in 1932. The 1938 hurricane that devastated much of New Hampshire and Vermont destroyed the building but the floor survived and a new building appeared around it.
     In the early 1960s, the barn changed ownership and ceased holding dances. It was purchased in 1972 by Anne and John Scotford; at nearby Dartmouth College, John was a graphic designer and Anne was a photo archvist. After his death in 2000, Anne and her adult children decided to bring the barn back as a public venue.
     A story in the local newspaper, the Valley News, celebrated the return of the barn
     The following comments are by two of the daughters.

Merit Scotford, August 16, 2022
     We only know the history before my parents bought it from the posters. It was built in 1932 as a dance hall. There's a poster from 1939 (?) that says "we're back" but I don't know who the owner was at that point. It was used for dances and rollerskating(!) until sometime in the 1960's. Grandad's Workshop used it for a while and some kind of distributor of fruits and veggies was there just before they bought it in 1971. There was an insulated room taking up most of the west side when they moved in. Daddy used that as a dark room.
     My Dad was delighted to have room to store all of his collections and have room for a woodworking shop there as well. He filled it to the rafters with building materials, discarded items from the college, useful things that he knew he would need someday, etc. The 12 foot table that we use for refreshments was stored on top of the rafters down near the stage. That was fun to get down!
     At some point he took down the benches that lined the walls and made them into shelves. He cut holes in the floor under the table saw and the radial arm saw to make the sawdust disappear. They used the hall as a garage in the winters and the salt damaged the floor so that's why that piece by the stage had to be replaced.
     After I learned to contra dance I teased him about turning it back into a dance hall. He said that would be fine when he was finished with it. So when he died in 2000 my sister Martha and the rest of us spent the next 8 summers finding homes for all the stuff. When it was finally cleared out our mom paid to have the floor sanded and refinished and new benches built.
     There had been Ladies and Gents restrooms in the back corner, (one holers) but Daddy had filled them in and used the space for storage. Except for a hidden pipe with a funnel on the end for his personal use! We did some research and Mom bought the composting toilet and had it installed and the restroom renovated with sink and overhead water tank. She wanted to make two restrooms because she couldn't imagine men and women sharing a bathroom but we convinced her it was okay these days.
     Mom also upgraded the electrical system and added many lights inside and out. She bought the mud rugs to put by the doors and contributed the long tablecloth for the table. She was delighted to have it used by people having fun.
     The disco ball was given to me by our friends Bonnie and Lynn Irwin, avid dancers!

Martha Scotford: There is a wonderful photo of the dancehall floor with an upright piano on it — all that was left after the hurricane - no walls, view to the RR tracks. The original posters are now with the Thetford Historical Society.