First settled in 1785 by migrants from Connecticut, Massachusetts and towns in Vermont, Northfield has seen the arrival of Irish settlers in the 1840s, Welsh immigrants in the 1850s and 1860s, and Italians, Spaniards and Scots from 1890. French Canadians began arriving in the town from the 1880s. The Northfield Municipality includes Northfield Town and Northfield Village, which was incorporated in 1855 and is the commercial, industrial and residential center of the municipality.
The main sights of Northfield Village includes the Village Common, which is the town's center with restaurants and shops. From mid-May through mid-October, the Northfield Farmers Market takes place every Tuesday afternoon. South of the Village Common is Norwich University, and just outside the village is Northfield Falls and six covered wooden bridges. East of the town center are hiking and biking trails in the Northfield Village Forest. Montpelier is just 10 miles north of Northfield and features the Vermont State House, Vermont History Museum and the T. W. Wood Gallery & Arts Center.
Right in the center of Northfield is the Margaret Holland Inn, steps from the Methodist Parish and St. Mary's Episcopal Church. The hotel is two blocks south of the town's well-groomed main square, Depot Square. Shops and banks line the square, as well as restaurants such as China Star and Subway. The Margaret Holland Inn is in a colonial-style home built in the 1850s and operating as an inn since 1928. The four-room property features free daily breakfast and a small on-site boutique.
The Northfield Inn is a bed and breakfast located between Norwich University and the Village Common. Guests can relax on the porch overlooking gardens, a pond and apple orchard, or walk to nearby biking and hiking trails in the Northfield Town Forest. The Victorian building is set on a mountainside and is decorated with antiques, oriental rugs, brass beds and carved wood furniture. Each morning a formal breakfast is served on crystal and china, and snacks, fresh fruit and home-baked pastries are available throughout the day.
