Fayston

Tucked into the spine of the Green Mountains in Washington County, Fayston was chartered in 1782 and named after an early settler. The town's terrain is steep and forested, with the Mad River running along its eastern boundary. For most of its history, Fayston was a sparsely settled farming community where the rugged landscape limited agricultural ambition.

The ski industry transformed Fayston in the twentieth century. Mad River Glen, which opened in 1948, brought winter visitors and a certain countercultural reputation. The resort is famously cooperative-owned and still prohibits snowboarding, a rarity in American skiing. Today Fayston is home to about 1,270 residents, many of whom were drawn by the mountains, the trails, and the character of the Mad River Valley.

Fayston operates under a selectboard with decisions made at annual town meeting. The town's identity is shaped by its geography — steep, wooded, and independent — and its residents tend to take their civic responsibilities as seriously as they take their skiing.