Picture perfect

Northern Vermont town is a beauty in photographs, movies, or in person

Snowshoe Farm, run by Ron and Terry Miller, has more than 30 alpacas. The farm sells alpaca fiber and yarn. (Corey Hendrickson for The Boston Globe)

PEACHAM, VT.
DISTANCE FROM BOSTON: 185 miles
POPULATION: 665
WEBSITES: www.peacham.net, www.travelthekingdom.com
ODD FACT: In the Old Burying Ground, one of several cemeteries in town, some of the graves from the early 1800s mark entire families killed by spotted fever.

Peacham is the kind of town that feeds flatlanders' fantasies of Vermont: rolling green hills, white clapboard church, old red barns, rambling country store. It's no wonder this town is said to be one of the most photographed in the state. Located in the Northeast Kingdom, the remote corner of Vermont not far from the Canadian border, Peacham draws a number of artists and writers as residents or summertime visitors. Several movies have been filmed here, including "Ethan Frome," "Where the Rivers Flow North," and "The Spitfire Grill."

Twice a year, on July 4 and in the autumn, the town of Peacham throws a big party. This year, Peacham Fall Foliage Day (www.peacham.net/fallfoliage index.php) falls on Oct. 2, with historical exhibits, demonstrations at the blacksmith shop, food, tours, and music. A ghost walk leads visitors through the Peacham Cemetery as members of the Peacham Historical Association dress up in costume and deliver speeches and sing songs to tell about the lives of some of those buried here. The Peacham Cemetery (Academy Hill Road) is worth the visit. Shadowed by tall maples, it offers a glorious view of the nearby hills. One of the most poignant tales in the cemetery is found on the gravestone of a three-generational family from the 1800s: a grandmother, her daughter, and her 8-year-old grandson froze to death one early spring as they walked into town. In the cemetery's newer section, one grave is marked by a stone bench with carved statues of dogs at each end. The Peacham Historic House (153 Church St., www.peachamhistorical.org), run by the Peacham Historical Society, is open Sundays through Sept. 28 from 2-4 p.m. This year's main exhibit is called, "When Sheep Ruled Vermont." Ashbel Goodenough Blacksmith Shop (Church Street, www .peachamhistorical.org) is a functional blacksmith shop, open on special occasions.

Visit more than 30 alpacas, including some crias, as the babies are known, at Snowshoe Farm Alpacas (Great Road, 802-592-3153, www.alpacas-snowshoe farm.com) on a dirt road outside the center of town. Ron and Terry Miller, who breed alpacas for a living, sell alpaca fiber and yarn. This is a working farm, so visit with the knowledge that the owners may be busy tending their flock. (And if you go, watch out for the electric fences.) Old Shaw Farm (168 Peacham-Groton Road, 802-592-3349, www.oldshawfarm.com) is an organic farm run by Peter and Maryellen Griffin, a young husband and wife who are Ivy League graduates, and their children. They have a farm stand with seasonal offerings. See the second largest bog in Vermont, the Peacham Bog Natural Area (Groton State Forest, www.vtfpr.org/lands/vtna.cfm#peac), 748 acres visited by moose, bobcats, and fishers.

Peacham Store (641 Bayley Hazen Road, 802-592-3310) is an old-fashioned Vermont country store, complete with rambling porch, in the center of town. The store serves sandwiches and soups for lunch - on a recent day, vichyssoise was on the menu - and provides a few spots to eat on the porch. The store is also known for its sinful desserts; last year, Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine found its way to Peacham and recommended the maple pumpkin cheesecake. Otherwise, unless you bring a picnic, you'll have to head outside town for dining. Danville, seven miles north, has a handful of options. The Creamery Restaurant (46 Hill St., 802-684-3616), in a house off Main Street, is popular. The Danville Inn (86 Route 2 west, 802-684-3484, www.thedanville inn.com) serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner on various days; call for times.

The Peacham Store (see Fuel) looks like it hasn't changed much since it was built in 1824. But inside, you'll find a trove of books, maple syrup, and eclectic offerings, including hand-painted sap buckets and buttons made of granite. Next door, the Peacham Corner Guild (643 Bayley Hazen Road, 802-592-3332), open from June through mid-October, sells crafts and delicacies made by local residents and tourist and historical booklets about Peacham. At Blackbeary Cabin Farm (1026 Stevenson Road, 802-592-3364, www.blackbearycabinfarm.com), you can buy rustic log furniture, from Adirondack chairs to kitchen tables, built by Sean and Jen Surat, a husband-and-wife team, from timber on their land. They tend to work with pine, hemlock, spruce, and cedar, stripped of bark with a hand peeler. Country Home Provisions at Still Run (107 Still Run, 802-592-3219, www.paintedpine man.com) sells handcrafted home furnishings such as linen cupboards, pottery, wrought iron signs, and Shaker boxes.

The Peacham Store (see Fuel) rents four rooms upstairs ($85-$95 a night), from one with a king-sized bed and decorated in 1930s style, to smaller rooms with sloped ceilings. A few miles outside town, in West Barnet, Harvey's Lake Cabins & Campground (190 Campers Lane, 802-633-2213, www.harveyslakecabins.com, campsites $22-$32 a night, cabins $60-$135 a night, $400-$895 a week) rents comfortable cabins and campsites along a quiet lake where you can swim and fish. Some of the cabins were built from lumber cut on the property. In Danville, the Danville Inn (see Fuel, rooms $68-$78 a night) has four frilly rooms inside an old Victorian house. If a romantic weekend here sweeps you off your feet, the owner is a justice of the peace. For more options, consider staying in St. Johnsbury, 17 miles away.