Beginning in Brattleboro, and reaching out into southern New Hampshire and Vermont, The Words Trail sets out to build community through collaborative humanities activities.  The Words Trail involves local teachers/schools and community members researching, organizing, and sharing the history of the written word in its many forms in the Central Connecticut River Valley.  The research is focused on particular places, and will then be shared via audio recordings for walking, biking, and driving tours, as well as in handmade books, curricular materials for local schools, a website, and lectures and other public events.  These materials will bring to light the writings and history of less documented groups, including Abenakis, African Americans, and women, as well as homesteaders, spiritualists, and abolitionists, in addition to more prominent local authors such as Rudyard Kipling and Saul Bellow.  The collaborative research, public events, and tours will enable a more rooted connection to the history and places we share as a community today.