Londonderry marker to recognize birthplace of Burton Snowboards

In 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter opened his first workshop on Main Street in Londonderry where a small team of local residents helped to fabricate his first snowboards.

From these humble beginnings, a backyard hobby grew into one of the world’s most popular winter sports. The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation will help to recognize this milestone by dedicating a Vermont Roadside Historic Marker at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at Williams Park, 2242 Main St. in Londonderry.

Donna Carpenter, owner and chair of Burton Snowboards and Vermont’s Kelly Clark, five-time Olympian and winningest snowboard athlete, as well as many snowboard enthusiasts and officials, will be on hand to mark Carpenter’s contribution to snowboarding, as well as to the town of Londonderry.

Although Carpenter died in 2019 and the original Burton factory was lost in a fire some years ago, some folks who remain in Londonderry also played important roles in the history of Burton Snowboards: Mimi and Mark Wright were the first employees and Mimi won a challenge to create Burton’s distinctive snow-capped mountain logo; Lyle Blaisdell played a major role in the development of half-pipes; Hobie Chittenden was known in the early days as the “half-pipe acrobat;” and Ross Powers won a bronze medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Another resident of Londonderry is Hubert Schriebl, who spent decades as one of the ski industry’s most prolific photographers.

Following the dedication of the marker, a reception will be held nearby at The Londonderry Arts & Historical Society, 2461 Middletown Road. People will be able to revisit Burton’s early days via 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.