Bill Wilson House
Encyclopedia
The Bill Wilson House in East Dorset
, Vermont
is the birthplace and living memorial of Alcoholics Anonymous
co-founder Bill Wilson. With 14 guestrooms and a conference room the non-profit bed and breakfast is a center for recovery seminars and regular AA
and ALANON meetings.
marble quarry village. The owners were the Griffith
family. William (Bill) Griffith Wilson
was born on November 26 of 1885 on the ground floor behind the bar of the hotel during a snow storm. After 2 years he moved to Rutland, Vt. until the divorce of his parents. Then, at the age of 11, Bill and his sister, Dorothy, returned to East Dorset to live with their maternal grandparents, the Griffiths. In 1987 the building had been vacant for several years and Ozzie Bonnie bought it in order to turn it into a living memorial to Bill W. Since then the building underwent constant renovations and is now a functioning guest house and conference center. Bill W. is buried close by in a cemetery next to his wife Lois and the Griffith family.
Room 9 of the hotel is believed to be the room where Bill
and Lois stayed during one of their visits.
lived with his sister and his grandparents. Today it is a museum and a library dedicated to Bill Wilson who is the author of the book Alcoholics Anonymous
, the 12 steps and many other books about recovery from alcoholism
.
The Griffith Library is a museum and living memorial for Alcoholics Anonymous
co-founder Bill W. Here Bill W. lived as a young boy with his grand parents after his parents divorced and both moved away. It is at this house where he had many important childhood experiences such as building a boomerang from scratch and building a radio. At the nearby Emerald Lake
he met his future wife Lois Wilson (activist)
.
Dorset, Vermont
Dorset is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,036 at the 2000 census. Dorset is famous for being home to America's oldest marble quarry and for being the birth place of Alcoholics Anonymnous co-founder Bill W...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
is the birthplace and living memorial of Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
co-founder Bill Wilson. With 14 guestrooms and a conference room the non-profit bed and breakfast is a center for recovery seminars and regular AA
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
and ALANON meetings.
History
The building was constructed and opened as a hotel in 1852 in the small VermontVermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
marble quarry village. The owners were the Griffith
Griffith
-People:* Griffith * Griffith * Griffith Borgeson , American race car historian and editor-in-chief of Motor Trend magazine* Griffith Brewer, pioneer English balloonist and aviator* Griffith Davies , actuary...
family. William (Bill) Griffith Wilson
Bill W.
William Griffith Wilson , also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous , an international mutual aid fellowship with over two million members belonging to 100,800 groups of alcoholics helping other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety...
was born on November 26 of 1885 on the ground floor behind the bar of the hotel during a snow storm. After 2 years he moved to Rutland, Vt. until the divorce of his parents. Then, at the age of 11, Bill and his sister, Dorothy, returned to East Dorset to live with their maternal grandparents, the Griffiths. In 1987 the building had been vacant for several years and Ozzie Bonnie bought it in order to turn it into a living memorial to Bill W. Since then the building underwent constant renovations and is now a functioning guest house and conference center. Bill W. is buried close by in a cemetery next to his wife Lois and the Griffith family.
Room 9 of the hotel is believed to be the room where Bill
Bill W.
William Griffith Wilson , also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous , an international mutual aid fellowship with over two million members belonging to 100,800 groups of alcoholics helping other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety...
and Lois stayed during one of their visits.
Griffith Library
Nearby stands the Griffith Library where BillBill W.
William Griffith Wilson , also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous , an international mutual aid fellowship with over two million members belonging to 100,800 groups of alcoholics helping other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety...
lived with his sister and his grandparents. Today it is a museum and a library dedicated to Bill Wilson who is the author of the book Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
, the 12 steps and many other books about recovery from alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
The Griffith Library is a museum and living memorial for Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
co-founder Bill W. Here Bill W. lived as a young boy with his grand parents after his parents divorced and both moved away. It is at this house where he had many important childhood experiences such as building a boomerang from scratch and building a radio. At the nearby Emerald Lake
Emerald Lake State Park
-External links:*...
he met his future wife Lois Wilson (activist)
Lois Wilson (activist)
Lois Wilson was the co-founder of Al-Anon, a support group for the friends and family of alcoholics. She was the wife of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill W....
.