Editing Weathersfield, Vermont (section)

===Romaine Tenney===
In September 1964, a Weathersfield bachelor farmer named Romaine Tenney burned himself and his farm rather than allow construction of [[Interstate 91]] which was then proceeding through the [[Connecticut Valley]]. The state transportation agency had offered landowners compensation, but could also seize land by [[eminent domain]].  Many landowners resisted, including one who shot a hole through a surveyor’s hard hat. Tenney happened to be the last local holdout. Finally, he was given an ultimatum to leave. That night a fire ravaged the barn, sheds, and farmhouse.  Although Tenney’s body was not identified, it was evident he had nailed his bedroom door shut from the inside. The day after his memorial service, construction on the highway resumed. Tenney was memorialized as the subject of poems, ghost stories, and songs. Tenney’s legacy has become a source of pride for some, despite its horror. It is a display of New England "flint", a story preserved by the Weathersfield Historical Society. The farm eventually became a [[park and ride]] at Exit 8 ([[Vermont Route 131]]), where commuters could park their cars and board buses. In March 2020, the last vestige of the farm, a dying [[rock maple]] tree was removed. The [[Vermont Agency of Transportation]] acknowledged the site’s significance as the Romaine Tenney Memorial Park with a lawn, pavilion, memorial plaque, and picnic table.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/us/vermont-farmer-tree.html |title=Goodbye to a Yankee Farmer, the Ghost of Exit 8 |first=Ellen |last=Barry |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 27, 2021 |accessdate=May 30, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://newengland.com/yankee-magazine/living/new-england-environment/eminent-domain-romaine-tenney-farm/ |first=Howard |last=Mansfield |title=I Will Not Leave: Romaine Tenney Loved His Vermont Farm To Death |work=[[Yankee (magazine)|Yankee]] |date=March–April 2013 |accessdate=May 30, 2021}}</ref>