Tunbridge

Chartered in 1761, Tunbridge is best known for the Tunbridge World's Fair, held annually since 1867. The fair — officially the Union Agricultural Society Fair — is a four-day event each September that mixes livestock judging, agricultural exhibits, and the kind of unvarnished rural entertainment that has earned it a reputation as one of New England's most authentic country fairs. Locals will tell you it gets lively after dark.

Tunbridge lies along the First Branch of the White River in Orange County, and its population of about 1,171 is spread across a landscape of dairy farms, hay fields, and wooded hillsides. Four covered bridges still stand in town, a concentration that speaks to both the town's history and its commitment to preservation. The selectboard governs local affairs, and town meeting each March is where residents handle the serious business of budgets, roads, and school funding — the same practical democracy that has sustained this community for over 260 years.