The development of the village was encouraged by its location at the west end of the trail over the Green Mountains as it entered into the Otter Creek Valley.

In 1810, Jonathan Foot built a “place of entertainment” (the Waybury) that also served as a stagecoach stop for traffic coming over the mountain pass.

The building was a circular brick construction located just west of the Waybury and across the street (the site of St. Barnabas Chapel.

Among its duties, the Prudential Committee establishes water rates for residents and businesses in East Middlebury.

As factories and small businesses have left East Middlebury, it continues to be a place next to the river and below the Green Mountains.