Brookwood Estate sits at 2 School Street in North Springfield, Vermont, and folks may notice it right away because it's a big, square brick house from about 1800, first built as a tavern and then made into a home, and now it's a small senior living place for up to six residents. The house has kept a lot of its old style, with wide clapboards painted white on the outside, a tall slate-hipped roof, a molded wood cornice running around the top, and five big blind arches across both street fronts that give it that Federal look older folks remember from history books, and while it's seen some changes over the years-like the shed wing replaced with a kitchen and garage in the 1950s and the barn long gone-the inside still has neat things like original tavern shelves set in the old barroom's wall, a coved ceiling from when there was a ballroom upstairs, paneled doors, chair rails, old window trim, and a curved rail on the staircase. The house has a garage in the one-story wing on the north side, some garden space, a health room with a jacuzzi and sauna, and common rooms used for reading or visiting.
Brookwood Estate helps adults 55 and older who want to live on their own but might need extra help with things like bathing, dressing, taking medicine, and getting around, and the place is set up for folks with diabetes or high blood pressure, making special meals when needed, and has staff-including a mobile barber-ready to step in when help's needed at any hour. Home-cooked meals get served daily in the dining room, and the menus use good ingredients and try to fit special diet needs. Brookwood runs daily activities like crafts, music, exercise, movie nights, and animal visits, along with plenty of chances for relaxing outside or just gathering in the living rooms for games and books. Residents take part in outings to church, errands, or doctor's visits using the home's transit service.
The community holds onto its history but puts care first, letting people stay even as care needs increase-that's called aging in place-and for those who need more, there's a memory care program and nursing services. Families can visit, and the staff works to keep everyone social, whether it's through holiday events or quiet afternoons with friends. Since opening in 1995, Brookwood Estate's been licensed by Vermont Department of Social Services, is owned by Ms. Jennifer Bibeault, and the staff of about a dozen people all pitch in. It's not a big, fancy place, but it's calm, familiar, and set up to make aging gentler for people who still like a bit of company in a house that's seen a lot of stories.
