Vermont house

Sleepy Hollow Farm // c.1780

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Without question, this property is the most photographed site in the tiny town of Pomfret, Vermont, if not the state. The property dates to the late 18th century when John and Samuel Doten moved to the newly settled town of Pomfret Vermont, overlooking the growing town of Woodstock in the valley below. The two brothers acquired vast farmland on the hills of Pomfret and each built farmhouses adjacent to eachother, with Samuel getting elevated land and John developing the land sunken off what is now known as Cloudland Road into this stunning property. Sleepy Hollow Farm remained in the Doten family for centuries until the 1950s, when the owners sold the property to move to Woodstock and work for Laurance Rockefeller, the famous philanthropist and conservationist, who later donated his Summer home in Woodstock to the National Park Service. The property sold numerous times in the late 20th century, and is presently owned by Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and his wife, Billie. They are clearly great stewards to the property’s rich history and various outbuildings, and must not care too much to have swarms of photographers at the end of their driveway year-round!

Hezekiah Porter House // 1822

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Hezekiah Porter (1783-1851) built this house in 1822 for him and his family, right in Thetford Center, Vermont. Porter was born in 1783 in Hebron, Connecticut, where he presumably learned the clothier trade, before moving to Thetford in 1806. Porter later operated a brickyard, serving as contractor to the Thetford Center Methodist Church, Town Hall and several other brick homes in town dating from the 1820s and 1830s. Porter lived on this large property with his wife and ten children until his death. The property was later occupied by Hezekiah’s son, Amos P. Porter. In 1888, Amos farmed about 200 acres and had 7 cows, 50 Merino sheep and 18 Jersey cattle!

Child Farmhouse // c.1835

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Constructed out of stone quarried from nearby Lyme, New Hampshire, the Child Farmhouse is one of a handful of stone houses in East Thetford, Vermont. This house is a particularly fine example of a Cape Cod with Federal detailing, as translated into granite construction. The home features stone lintels over the door and window openings. It was built for Bela Child (1786-1866), likely after the death of his first wife, as a new home for his second. The family operated a massive farm along the Connecticut river.

Turner House // 1825

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In New England, brick houses are more scarce for the simple fact trees are everywhere, brickyards were not. As towns and cities developed all across the region, some towns found they had a lot of clay in their soil, perfect for the manufacturing of brick. In Thetford, a man named Hezekiah Porter was the first to start a brickyard, manufacturing bricks for construction projects around the area. By the 1820s, a couple brick houses were built in the Thetford Hill area of town including the Hosford House, one of the earliest. Thomas Turner, a builder constructed the Hosford House and this home nearby for his own use, both utilizing Porter’s bricks. This fine Federal home was likely a great advertisement for Turner’s building skills.

Burton Hall, Thetford Academy // 1845

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Burton Hall was constructed in 1845 as a boy’s dormitory for Thetford Academy on a lot given by Orange Heaton (who lived nearby), just north of the original Academy Building. The structure was named Burton Hall in memory of Asa Burton, one of the Academy’s founders. The structure was sold by the Academy by about 1860 for $200, to a J.H. Huntington, who moved it across the street to its present site to replace his house which had burned the year prior. In the late 1930’s, Dwight Goddard, the owner of the home at the time, gifted the building back to the Academy since which time it has been known as Goddard Hall.

Fun Fact: Buildings historically were much more likely to be moved than demolished as the cost of building materials was much more than labor. Today, the opposite is true so many developers and owners prefer to demolish.

Hosford-Slade House // 1821

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Is there anything better than a brick Federal style house?

This house in Thetford, Vermont was built for Heman Hosford in 1821 from bricks produced by Hezekiah Porter, who established the earliest known brickyard in Thetford. Hosford sold the house to Enoch Slade in 1837 and it remained in the Slade Family for over seven generations. He became a prominent citizen of Thetford, was a surveyor and for many years justice of the peace, and in the latter part of his life was generally known by the title of “Squire Slade.” He was a supporter and trustee of Thetford Academy, in which his children and grandchildren were educated. He was a member of the Congregational church and an earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party. The brick gable front home features a louvered sidelights and fan over the front door and in the gable.

White-Heaton House // 1795

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This transitional Federal house in Thetford was built around 1795 for an Isaac White. The house was later owned by Orange Heaton (who’s name perfectly fits the color of the leaves in the photo). The design is refined, yet stately with the enclosed, gabled, projecting entrance porch. Louvered panels and an elliptical louvered fan frame the door.

Latham-Kendrick Houses // 1817

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This unique double-house was constructed in 1817 for Capt. William Harris Latham and Dr. Thomas Kendrick, brothers-in-law, merchants and partners in a store which stood until it was destroyed by fire about 1845. Latham served as a Captain in the War of 1812, and later was an important benefactor of the nearby Thetford Academy, donating money and building materials for the original construction. Wallpaper from this house depicting the City of Leon was donated by a previous owner, Mrs. Charles Vaughan, to the Currier Gallery in Manchester, NH. The homes are an excellent example of the Federal style with a vertical board at the center of the main house facade demarcating the property line. Blind fan transoms and multi-light double-hung windows add a lot of charm to the historic homes.