 By 1859, when Weston's population was 950, industries included ten sawmills, a gristmill, two tanneries, one wood-turning mill, one machine shop, one axe shop, one carding machine, in addition to shops for blacksmiths, carpenters, tinsmiths, wheelwrights and shoemakers.Vermont's oldest professional theatre, the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, was founded in 1935.The Vermont Country Store, a catalogue, retail, and e-commerce business, was established here in 1946 by Vrest and Ellen Orton.