In 1977, the late Jake Burton Carpenter opened his first workshop on Main Street in Londonderry, VT. A small team of local residents helped him fabricate his first snowboards, and from these humble beginnings as a backyard hobby grew one of the world’s most popular winter sports.
On Tuesday morning, Oct. 3, Vermont’s Division for Historic Preservation helped recognize this milestone by teaming up with Burton Snowboards and The Londonderry Arts & Historical Society to dedicate a Vermont Roadside Historic Site Marker at Williams Park, 2242 Main Street in Londonderry. Donna Carpenter (Owner & Chair of Burton Snowboards), Vermont’s Kelly Clark, 5-time Olympian and winningest snowboard athlete – and many snowboard enthusiasts and officials were on hand to mark Jake’s contribution to snowboarding and the town of Londonderry.
Jake Burton Carpenter is no longer with us, as he passed in 2019. Nor is Jake’s original Burton factory, as some years ago the building was lost in a fire. However, many people who have played important roles in the history of Burton Snowboards still remain in Londonderry. To name a few: Jake’s first employees, Mimi and Mark Wright (Mimi also won a challenge to create Burton’s distinctive “snow-capped mountain” logo.); Lyle Blaisdell who played a major role in the development of halfpipes; Hobie Chittenden known in the early days as the “halfpipe acrobat”; Ross Powers, winner of a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics at Nagano, Japan, and a gold medal at Salt Lake’s Winter Olympics in 2002. Plus Hubert Schriebl who has spent decades as one of the ski industry’s most prolific photographers.
Following the dedication of the new Vermont historic marker, a reception was held nearby at The Londonderry Arts & Historical Society, 2461 Middletown Road in Londonderry. Here, people were able to revisit Burton’s early days at a special exhibit, “First Tracks” with memorabilia and photos from the late 1970s that highlight “pioneers” of the sport and capture the progression of Burton boards from their earliest days.
About Burton
In 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter founded Burton Snowboards out of his Vermont barn and dedicated the rest of his life to snowboarding. Since its founding, Burton has played a pivotal role in growing snowboarding from a backyard hobby to a world-class sport by creating groundbreaking products, supporting a team of top snowboarders, and pushing resorts to allow snowboarding. Today, Burton designs and manufactures industry-leading products for snowboarding and the outdoors. As a sustainability leader within the outdoor and winter sports industries, Burton is the world’s first snowboard company to become a certified B Corporation®. Privately held and owned by Donna Carpenter, Burton’s headquarters are in Burlington, Vermont with offices in Austria, Japan, Australia, Canada and China. For more information on Burton, head to www.burton.com and follow our line at facebook.com/burtonsnowboards and @burtonsnowboards on Instagram.
