This stunning Gothic Revival style house in Richmond, Vermont, was built around 1850 for Orson Goodrich (1808-1877), likely after the death of his first wife, Ann in 1849. Goodrich was a farmer who had a large property off the Main Street, which likely ran all the way to the Winooski River. The house is an excellent example of Carpenter Gothic, a wooden Gothic Revival home with decorative bargeboards at the roof (which look like icicles in the snow), pierced wooden columns at the porch, and a lancet window at the second floor gable end. The home was such a statement piece, that the home was one of a handful of buildings portrayed in the 1857 Map of Chittenden County, Vermont.
This handsome house in the small town of Richmond, Vermont, was built in 1902 for F. H. Goodwin, a partner of the Richmond Underwear Company, which started in 1900. Goodwin’s brother and his partner were brought from Peekskill, New York to the small town of Richmond to create and manage a new industry to revitalize the town, a program funded by the citizens. F. H. Goodwin was hired as a manager of the company, and built this home in a blending of Shingle and Arts and Crafts styles, common in the early 20th century. The house was unique in that it was the first in town to be electrified as it was directly connected on the grid with the factory next door.
Deacon Jabez Sargeant (1720-1788) was born in Malden, Massachusetts, and later moved to the newly established town of Chester, Vermont in 1763. He is thought to have been the first settler of European ancestry in the town. Upon the outbreak of the Revolution, he served in Captain Little’s Company in 1778, returning home to Chester after. His son, Jabez Sargeant Jr. built this stately three-story late-Georgian residence in 1797 as a tavern along the Green Mountain Turnpike, a highway connecting Boston and Montreal. The dwelling originally fronted directly on the road, but was moved back sometime in the 19th or 20th centuries. The building boasted a large ballroom on the second floor, likely for community and fraternal organizations, and a tavern in the brick first floor. It is likely that Jabez and his family lived on the third floor. Outside, the property contained a large apple orchard and cider house, providing drinks to weary travellers. Although the tavern is built to a large size, it lacks many of the high-style features often found in large Georgian houses, telling for its time of construction in a sparsely developed area without seasoned builders.
The Stone Village of Chester, Vermont, is said to be the largest collection of stone buildings in the state. Built around 1844, the Sherwin-Goldsmith House is one of a few dozen “snecked ashlar” buildings in the region, where rubblestone is laid up with mortar using long stones called “snecks” to tie an outer and an inner wall together. The construction method is said to have been brought to the area by masons from Scotland and Ireland which is known there as ‘Celtic Bond’. Oral tradition state that Scottish masons from Canada introduced the technique to local masons while erecting a mill in nearby Cavendish in 1832. Local Chester resident, Dr. Ptolemy Edson became such a fan of the building that in 1834, he had his home, the first stone building in Chester, built in this method. He then would influence the rest of the North Village of Chester, where many of his neighbors, as well as the church and schoolhouse, built their structures in snecked ashlar. The Sherwin House is one of three near-identical houses built around the same time that are colloquially known as the “Three Sisters” because they were built for members of the same family. The Greek Revival form is toned down in this smaller side-hall house, which playfully uses large blocks of schist and mica which read as quoins at the corners. Simeon Sherwin (1813-1874) was a farmer, postmaster, and justice of the peace in Chester. Later owner, Olivia Goldsmith, wrote her bestseller, First Wives Club when she lived here.
The Stone Village of Chester, Vermont, is said to be the largest collection of stone buildings in the state. Built around 1838, Granville and Aurora Spaulding House is one of a few dozen “snecked ashlar” buildings in the region, where rubblestone is laid up with mortar using small long stones called “snecks” to tie an outer and an inner wall together. The construction method is said to have been brought to the area by masons from Scotland and Ireland which is known there as ‘Celtic Bond’. Oral tradition state that Scottish masons from Canada introduced the technique to local masons while erecting a mill in nearby Cavendish in 1832. Local Chester resident, Dr. Ptolemy Edson became such a fan of the building that in 1834, he had his home, the first stone building in Chester, built in this method. He then would influence the rest of the North Village of Chester, where many of his neighbors, as well as the church and schoolhouse, built their structures in snecked ashlar. The Spaulding House is unique in that the main entrance does not face the street, as it fades the south east (side) facade. The couple married in 1839 and moved into this recently completed house to raise their family and work their farm. Like many other early stone houses built nearby in the 1830s, the Spaulding house blends Federal and Greek Revival motifs from the gable end facing the street and eaves returning to serve as a pediment as a nod to the emerging Greek Revival style, while retaining an arched entry off the street which echoes Federal period taste.
Daniel Heald (1739-1833), one of the earliest settlers in the town of New Flamstead (later renamed Chester) Vermont, established his farm on the west side of the upper Williams River. He moved to rural Vermont from Concord, Massachusetts, where he was one of the Patriot soldiers who at the Concord bridge, fought against the British troops while his wife and children who had fled from their home viewed the battle from a neighboring hill. He, with his family, emigrated to Vermont in about 1776 and eventually would serve as town clerk from 1779 to 1799 and as town representative from 1783 to 1797. Around 1785, he built this residence, oldest wood-frame house in North Chester, a two-story, central-chimney house with saltbox roof sloping to the rear. When his son, Amos Heald, was of age, some of the property was deeded to him, where he built a stately Federal style residence that stands across the street to this day. Both of the Heald houses tell the early history of Chester through well-preserved houses.
Erected in the 1820s by Joshua Jaquith, a prosperous mill owner who operated a sawmill and grist mill on the river directly behind his house, this residence in Andover, Vermont, exemplifies vernacular Federal period residential architecture in rural New England. The residence is said to have been carved up inside into apartments in the mid-1800s but was restored by Alden Jaquith, the third generation of the family later in the 19th century back into a single-family residence. The handsome brick home is symmetrical with a five-bay facade, 12-over-12 sash windows, and large end chimneys. Of particular note are the relief arches above first floor windows and above the door and the attached sidelight windows.
The small, rural Town of Baltimore, Vermont, was originally a part of Cavendish but due to the geography and a mountain separating the village from the main town, residents here voted in 1793 to set off as its own town. The nomenclature of the town name, Baltimore is not clear, as the city in Maryland was named for George Calvert, first Baron Baltimore, who was granted that colony in 1632, but there is no evident connection between the two communities. The word Baltimore itself is Celtic for “large town”; appropriate for Calvert’s colony, perhaps, but hardly for this Vermont town, which is one of the smallest in the state in terms of population or square miles. The town has always been a community without a distinctive village center and has long been primarily farmland, with properties bounded by stone walls and forests. This stone house on Harris Road in Baltimore was built in 1843 by Joshua Leland and his wife, Betsy Boynton. A history of the town speaks of the house, “It was one of the most attractive houses ever built in Baltimore, a well-built front hall and stairway, four fair-sized pleasant rooms downstairs, three well-arranged chambers and a convenient back stairway, all well-finished”. The home, with its date of construction over the front door, remains one of the most historic and well-preserved buildings in the town of just over 200 residents.
The highlight of the town of Brownington, Vermont is the Old Stone House Museum & Historic Village, a collection of amazing 19th century architecture set amongst the rolling hills of the Northeast Kingdom. One of the buildings in the village is this structure, the Alexander Twilight House. Alexander Twilight (1795–1857) was born in Corinth, Vermont, on September 23, 1795. He was raised by a fair-skinned mother, Mary Twilight, and a mixed-race father, Ichabod Twilight. Twilight entered Middlebury College in 1821 and graduated in 1823, possibly making him as the first person of color to graduate from an American college. Alexander Twilight accepted the call and moved to Brownington to serve as the town’s reverend. He also served as headmaster of the Orleans County Grammar School. To meet growing enrollment needs, he designed, raised funds for, and built the first granite public building in Vermont, Athenian Hall, which contained classrooms and a dormitory. He had this Federal style house built in the village, large enough to house some students in his home. Before building his Federal style home, he lived in a much smaller, vernacular home, which was added onto the rear of this home as an ell (later separated by the museum). Elected to the Vermont General Assembly in 1836, Twilight became the first African American to serve in a state legislature in the United States. In 1847, after conflicts with the Orleans County school administrators, Twilight moved to Quebec, Canada for five years, but then returned to serve as headmaster in Brownington. He died on June 19, 1857 and is buried in the Brownington churchyard.
Located just steps from the former State Hospital of Vermont in Waterbury, the Charles C. Warren House on Main Street stands as an important Victorian-era residence in the town. The late Italianate style residence features a detached carriage house at the rear which was later converted to a auto garage and most recently to office space. Mr. Warren was a businessman in town who owned a tannery and creamery. He built a water system in the town in 1879, making a substantial amount of money in the process. Mr. Warren was a serious auto enthusiast who in addition to purchasing the first automobile in Vermont (a 1899 Haynes Apperson), he held Vermont registrations #1 and #2. He had his carriage house converted to an auto garage equipped with a turntable that obviated forever the tedium of backing down the driveway. The building is now home to a law office.
Buildings of New England 