USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > Gazetteer and business directory of Chittenden County, Vermont, for 1882-83 > Part 15
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Thus does the Church in Vermont possess, what can hardly be said of any other Diocese in the Union, a residence for her Bishop, with a farm of one hundred acres, furnishing ample room for the erection, in addition to the present ones, of buildings for a young ladies' school, a Theological Seminary, a hospital, and, indeed, all the buildings necessary for the full working and development of the Church, and this, too, through the efforts and labor, and by the donation of all the property he possessed in this world, of her devoted, venerable and lamented first Bishop. It is proper to say, however, that the late Bishop was assisted and sustained in all his undertakings and plans by a board of trustees, composed of clergymen and laymen from different parts of the Diocese, who always acted in harmony with him, and to whom the Church owes a debt of gratitude. While all of these labored and devoted time to the enterprise, without receiving a dollar of compensation, or even re-imburse- ments for their expenses, it would not be invidious, we take it, to mention some who have served upon the Executive Committee and devoted much of their time and attention to the cause. Of these were the late Julius E. Higgins, of Brandon, James H. Williams, of Bellows Falls, Richard G. Cole, of Burlington, and Harmon Canfield, of Arlington, all of whom have gone to their rest ; and of the living, Rt. Rev. Bishop Bissell, Rev. Dr. Sweet, Hon. Roderick Richardson, of Montpelier, Hon. George R. Chapman, of Wood- stock, Hon. Alfred Keith, of Sheldon, Hon. A. L. Catlin, Artemus Prouty, and Thomas W. Canfield, of Burlington, the latter gentleman having been treasurer most of the time, and closely identified with and assisting the late Bishop during the earlier years, when the construction and organization were , going on, and who had, during that time, the immediate supervision and care
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of the whole property and assets of the corporation. In the last report of the convention of the Diocese, the trustees say : " It is now a quarter of a century since the late Bishop Hopkins made his first annual report in behalf of the trustees of the convention. Some who were members of the Board then are with us to-day ; and amid all the trying exigencies through which our Nation has passed during that time, the seven periods of financial disaster which have occurred, there has been no interruption in the workings of the Institute, and not a dollar of its funds has been lost, $73,000 of which have come into their hands." Between the residence and the Seminary building, the trustees have laid out a cemetery, overlooking the lake, which has been duty consecrated by the present Bishop of the Diocese, and a beautiful mon- ument, designed by his eldest son, erected from money contributed by friends in different parts of the Diocese, appropriately marks the spot where rest the remains of the late Bishop and seven members of his family.
The Burlington Commercial School .- This institution was establised by the present principal, Mr. G. W. Thompson, in 1878, since which time it has been steadly increasing in public favor, as a thorough educator in the training which fits young men for the business cares and responsibilities of life. Mr. Thomson also is engaged by the city to teach penmanship and book-keeping in the public schools.
Here we will end our brief sketch of the educational advantages afforded by Burlington, "the City of Learning," as we have heard it called, with one other thought which presents itself. Some of the oldest residents are able to recall to mind a neat, dapper pedagogue, one who always insisted upon using a quill pen, and also obliged his pupils to do the same, though his penmanship, a specimen of which may be seen in an old Bible, in the possession of the Brinsmaid family, proclaimed him to have been a thorough master of the science. Years ago, however, he laid aside the ferule and quill, and went to his long rest. His son was named Chester-Chester A. Arthur.
LIBRARIES.
The Fletcher Free Library .- In the summer of 1873, Mrs. Mary. L. Fletcher, with her daughter, Miss Mary M. Fletcher, gave to the city of Bur- lington twenty thousand dollars for the founding of a city library, to be called the Fletcher Free Library. Half of this sum was to be spent at once for books, the other half kept for a library fund. Charles Russell, Henry Loomis, and Henry P. Hickok, were named trustees of this fund. The mayor of the city, ex-officio, with Matthew H. Buckham, L. G. Ware, E. J. Phelps, and Samuel Huntington, were to be trustees of the library. Each board of trustees was empowered to fill vacancies in their numbers occasioned by death, resignation or removal from the city. The city government accepted the gift, and assumed the charge of the library, and have ever since shown a wise care of, and made generous appropriations for it, as an important means
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to public education and a credit to the city. The large room in the old court- house, which the court had just vacated for their new building, was fitted with gallery and cases and the proper furnishings, and proved a commodious and light place for library use. Ten thousand dollars of the gift was spent, and an excellent selection made of standard books, with a good supply of the more popular sort. Since then, by a gift of four thousand dollars more, from its generous founders, and by kind gifts from various associations and from private persons, the library has grown to its present large proportions. The entire libraries of the Young Men's Christian Association, the Young Men's Association, and of Green Mountain lodge I. O. of O. F.,-in all upwards of two thousand volumes-were turned over to the trustees. Besides which, Mr. B. B. Smalley presented to the library three very large and fine photo- graphic views, and Mrs. Irene F. Stetson the well-known steel engraving of Washington, by J. H. Hills, of this city.
The library now contains about 15,000 volumes and pamphlets, under the care of the efficient librarian, Mr. T. P. W. Rogers, and is also a depository of public documents of the United States. Its generous founders, Mrs. Mary Law- rence (Peaslee) Fletcher and Miss Mary Martha Fletcher, were the wife and daughter of Thaddeus R. Fletcher, one of the wealthiest and most prominent citizens of Burlington. Miss Mary M. Fletcher, in addition to her share in founding the library, also established, in 1876, the public hospital mentioned in the sketch of the Medical College, the endowment of which called for nearly a quarter of a million dollars. This hospital, (see next page,) in addition to its great value as an educator and a public benefit, has lately established (April, 1882,) a training school for nurses, under charge of a competent corps of professors, where those who intend to make nursing a profession, or any who maywish to receive instruction, may do so on payment of a small fee.
Burlington Law Library Association .- This association includes among its members nearly the whole membership of the bar of the county. They have a large library, located in the court-house, which is much patronized by the legal profession, as the annual reports of many of the older States are taken. The officers are as follows : Russell S. Taft, president ; Charles E. Allen, secretary ; W. L. Burnap, treasurer, and Seneca Haselton, librarian
Library of the University of Vermont .-- This library, containing 20,000 volumes, is spoken of on page 119, in connection with the University.
HOME FOR DESTITUTE CHILDREN.
This charitable institution was founded October 3, 1865, through the per- sonal efforts of Miss Lucia T. Wheeler, of Burlington. A month later it was incorporated by the legislature, the object being to provide destitute children a home to "supply their necessities, promote their intellectual, moral and religious improvement, and fit them for situations of usefulness and self- maintenance." The charity was placed under the control of a board, in
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(THE MARY FLETCHER HOSPTIAL, BURLINGTON, VT.)
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which each denomination of the Protestant Church should be represented. The necessity for its establishment, and the judicious character of its manage- ment, are apparent in the success of the charity from the first. Beginning with seven little waifs of society, it has, during the years of its existence, taken and found good homes for several hundred children, besides the hun- dred who are at present inmates of the institution. July 16, 1866, the U. S. Marine Hospital and grounds were purchased by the corporation for $7,000 .- oo, the building enlarged and improved at a cost of $23,000.00, so that it will now accommodate one hundred inmates. The institution is maintained by a permanent fund of $51,000.00, in addition to which Mr. John P. Howard pre- sented them, in 1881, with the magnificent opera house and block that bears his name, which cost over 100,000.00. The present officers of the institution, are as follows : President, Mrs. William C. Hickok ; vice-president, Mrs. James A. Shedd ; treasurer, Mrs. L. M. Clapp ; secretaries, Mrs. C. E. Miner, and Mrs. A. G. Pierce, assistant ; managers. Mrs. J. Shedd, Mrs. W. F. Bowman, Mrs. L. B. Lord, Mrs. S. C. Kimball, Mrs. C. E. Miner, Mrs. A. G. Pierce, Mrs. Julia A. Spear, Mrs. C. B. Gray, Mrs. C. M. Spaulding, Mrs. B. Turk, Mrs. Theodore A. Hopkins, Miss Carrie Kingsland, and Mrs. L. M. Clapp ; auditor of accounts, Mrs. Sarah C. Cole ; advisory committee, Henry Loomis, Esq., Hon. William G. Shaw, Miss Mary C. Torrey, Mrs. Sarah C. Cole, and Edward Lyman, Esq .; trustees of permanent fund, Charles T. Ward, Esq., Hon. William G. Shaw, and Hon. Samuel Huntington ; county managers, Addison County, Mrs. A. P. Tupper, of Middlebury ; Bennington County, Miss S. E. Park, of Bennington ; Caledonia County, Mrs. C. E. Stone, of St. Johnsbury ; Essex County, Mrs. C. E. Benton, of Guildhall ; Franklin County, Mrs. James Saxe, of St. Albans ; Grand Isle County, Mrs. O. G. Wheeler, of South Hero ; Lamoille County, Mrs. J. C. Noyes, of Morris- ville ; Orange County, Mrs. Aaron Davis, of Chelsea; Orleans County, Mrs. E. P. Wild, of Newport ; Rutland County, Mrs. S. W. Rowell, of Rutland ; Washington County, Mrs. Joseph Polana, of Montpelier ; Windham County, Mrs. C. P. Thompson, of Brattleboro; Windsor County, Mrs. H. A. John- son, of Woodstock.
Their building was erected from an appropriation made by congress in 1855, of $35,000.00, for the erection of a marine hospital at Burlington, with a sum sufficient to purchase the land for a situation. A site was selected, two miles south of the village, on the west side of the Shelburne road, embracing ten acres, for which was paid $1,750.00. The building was commenced in 1856, and finished in 1858, during which later day another appropriation of $4,000.00 was made. As it was not occupied for the purposes for which it was constructed, when the late cival war began the military authorities went into possession, and it was occupied as a military hospital for several years, principally for Vermont soldiers.
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ST. JOSEPH'S ORPHAN ASYLUM.
St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, a Roman Catholic institution, located on the corner of Pearl and Prospect streets, was established by Bishop De Goesbriand, the first Catholic Bishop of Vermont, in 1854, and incorporated in 1866. The Asylum receives destitute orphans, educates them, and as soon as possible furnishes them with suitable homes. The institution is managed by the Sisters of Charity, under the control of Sister Catharine, Superior. The Asylum has furnished, since its organization, homes for 1,400 children, while eighty-four are now inmates.
HOTELS.
The first hotel was kept by Capt. Gideon King,* on Battery street, who after- wards opened a hotel in the building now standing on the northeast corner of the square, known as the Strong block. The Howard House was kept for a long time on the north side of the square, where Turk's clothing store now is, and was destroyed by fire in 1848. The Green Mountain House, after- wards called the Pearl Street House, at the head of Pearl street, was used as a hotel for many years. The place lat- terly called the Omnium Gath- erum, on the corner of Pine and Pearl streets, was also one of the old-time houses. A tavern was kept for about fifty years at the junction of the Winooski turnpike and the High bridge and Hines- (THE VAN NESS HOUSE.) burgh road, called the Eld- ridge place, and about one-half mile east of the Eldridge place a tavern was kept by Maj. Ebenezer Brown, and one also about two miles south of the city, on the Shelburne road. The Lake House, located on Battery street, a large, first-class hotel, was destroyed by fire several years since. At present, the city has as good hotel accommodations as are to be found in the State.
The Van Ness House .- This hotel, named in honor of Gov. Cornelius Van Ness, is a large, four-story brick building, located on the southwest corner of Main and St. Paul streets. The present building was erected in 1870, by D. C. Barber, upon the site of the old Franklin House, latterly the Howard House, which burned June 11, 1867. It has 135 large, airy sleeping apart- ments, in addition to eight suits for families, and also several elegantly furnished
* This has been the generally accepted fact, so stated by the " Hist. Gazeteer " and other works ; but Capt. Daniel Lyon, one of the oldest residents of the city, says that it was not Gideon King at all who kept this hotel, but Joseph, his brother. The old hotel was removed and a brick house erected on its site about the year 1840. Gideon lived in the house just east of it, which is still standing, and known as No. 23 King street.
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parlors, and a dining-hall capable of seating 150 guests. The whole is hand- somely furnished with modern furniture, of a tasty pattern, supplied with an elevator, bath-rooms, closets, etc., and indeed every modern convenience for the comfort of its guests, not forgetting to illuminate its public halls and parlors with electric lights. The present proprietors, Messrs. Bowman, Woodbury & Clark, came into possession of the property January 1, 1882, previous to which it was conducted by W. F. Bowman & Co. Their experience as popular hotel men rapidly made itself felt, and the general popularity of the house has since increased in the same ratio.
The American Hotel .- This house, one of the old landmarks of the town has long been one of the most popular hotels in this region. Why it should be called the " American," and the hotel on the opposite corner be named the " Van Ness," we cannot conceive ; for it should certainly have the honor, if honor it is, as a part of the building as it now stands was once the resi- dence of Gov. Van Ness, and in its time one of the finest in the town. Many historical incidents and episodes are connected with it, not the least of which, perhaps, is that Gen. LaFayette, during his visit to the city (village it was then), in 1825, held a levee in one of its parlors .* The room is still used as a parlor, located in the northwest corner of the building, opening just to the right of the principal stairway. In the center of it the brave old General stood, the bosom friend of Washington, and received the salutations of the masses who crowded the apartment, which remains to-day essentially in the same condition that it was on that eventful evening-the same windows, doors, wainscoting and mantles, nothing materially changed except the fur- niture. Still, were one who was present then to visit the house now, he would scarcely recognize it, so much enlarged and modernized has it been made. The building as it now stands is a four-story brick structure, extend- ing south on St. Paul street one hundred feet, and east on Main street about the same distance, containing over one hundred well-ventilated, well-furnished sleeping apartments, two large sample rooms, two spacious double parlors, and a dining-hall with accommodations for 200 guests. The building is sup
* This tradition has generally been accepted as truth ; but we have abundant evidence that the levee was held at the residence of Gov Van Ness, now known as the Lawrence Barnes house, on Main street. Still, the General may have been in the present American Hotel during the evening, and in all probability met some com- pany there, which possibly has led to a misunderstanding of the facts. The following letter, from Mr. J. W. Hickok, whom we had addressed on the sublject, we think almost conclusive evidence that our view is correct :
"BURLINGTON, VT., April 27, 1882.
" DEAR SIR : I find on inquiry among our oldest citizens that there is no doubt that Gov. Van Ness was living on the hill, in the house now owned and occupied by Lawrence Barnes, Esq., in 1824, and entertained La Fayette there in 1825. Mr. Abner Lowry came to Burlington in 1824, and his first job as a painter was to paint the Van Ness house (now Barnes house), in the fall of that year. He says he attended the levee in honor of La Fayette at that house, in June, 1825. Henry P. Hickok, Esq., president of the Merchants' Bank, was a student in the University in 1824-'25, and saw LaFayette lay the corner stone of the University. He says he attended the levee in his honor, at the Barnes house, and was then twenty-one years of age Mr. L. M. Hagar also confirms the statement. He was an officer of the Champlain Steaniboat Co. during the season of 1824 under Van Ness as president, and had occasion to visit him at his house during that year, and says that he then occupied the building on the hill. I find no testimony among the old people which rebuts this evidence. "Respectfully yours,
" J. W. HICKOK."
0
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plied throughout with gas, nicely furnished, and up to the times in every respect. The proprietor, Mr. L. S. Drew, has been a hotel man all his life, and proprietor of the American Hotel twenty-one years, during which time he has made himself extremely popular with the traveling public.
Quincy House .- The Quincy House is a three-story wood building, located on the northwest corner of St. Paul and Main streets. The building was en- larged from a dwelling house, and first opened as a hotel by Charles Eaton, under the name of the Park House, in 1874. The present proprietor, Mr. Diamond Stone, has greatly improved the place, thoroughly repairing it throughout, until it is now a neat, tasty hotel, with twenty sleeping apartments, and a dining-room with capacity for accommodating fifty guests.
Rowe's Hotel .- This hotel, located on the northwest corner of Church and Cherry streets, is one of the old landmarks of the city, having been built previous to the year 1800. Many repairs have been made, how- ever, so that the building now has a modern appearance. The present proprietor, Mr. H. S. Kimball, keeps a neat, respectable house, and is courteous to his guests.
INSURANCE-(HOME OFFICE).
The Vermont Life Insurance Company, located at No. 179 Main street, was chartered by the legislature, October 28, 1868, with a capital of $100,000.00, and commenced busi- ness January 1, 1869. The first officers were, Russell D. Taft, president ; R. S. Wires, vice- (VERMONT LIFE INS. CO.) president ; and Warren Gibbs, secretary. The present officers are, Warren Gibbs, president ; Daniel Roberts, vice- president ; and C. A. Turrill, secretary.
HOWARD OPERA HOUSE.
This handsome building, located on the southwestern corner of Bank and Church streets, was erected by Mr. John P. Howard, some four or five years ago. It is built of pressed brick, sixty-five feet in height, 175 feet long and 75 feet wide. The auditorium has a capacity for seating 1, 165 persons, is beautifully furnished and decorated, and has a stage 74x30 feet, The building, including site, cost between $115,000.00 and $120,000.00. Mr. Howard subsequently gave the house to the Home for Destitute Children.
CEMETERIES.
The date of the first interments in the town cannot now be ascertained,
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though it is known that Green Mount cemetery, located on Colchester avenue, was first used soon after the settlement of the town, and consisted of two acres until 1869, when it was extended to ten. In addition to this, the city now has four others, aggregating fifty-six acres, devoted to this purpose. Lake View is the largest, covering thirty acres; Green Mount comes next with ten ; Mount St. Joseph's (Roman Catholic) has eight; Elmwood Avenue five, and Calvary (French Roman Catholic) three, completing the fifty-six acres. Elm- wood Avenue Cemetery was the next established, occupying school lot number 113, and first used at the beginning of the present century. At the March meeting, in 1812, a committee, consisting of John Johnson, Charles Adams, and John Eldridge, was appointed "to lay out and ascertain the graveyards in the town." At a meeting held April 19, 1813, this committee reported a plan for laying out what is now called the Eldridge and Elmwood Avenue Cemeteries, but stated that the interments in the burying-ground at the Falls, now known as Green Mount Cemetery, were too irregular and crowded to allow it to be divided into lots and avenues. At an adjourned meeting held on the 24th of the same month, the committee, on request, reported a series of rules "for the regulation of the burying-ground north of the village," now known as Elmwood Avenue Cemetery. These were formally adopted, and George Robinson, Charles Adams, and John Johnson were appointed a special committee to have the entire control, under the rules, of the ground. For a long series of years no continuous record of interments was kept, and it is therefore impossible to ascertain the aggregate number; and for a like reason the figures for Mount St. Joseph's cannot begin. In the period ex- tending from 1860, to September 1, 1881, there were 1,598 interments in the cemetery last named ; in Calvary Cemetery, from 1878, to the same date, 173; and in Lake View, from 1868, to the same date, 847.
Green Mount Cemetery, however, retains the respect and honor due to age, and attracts hundreds of visitors each year, not particularly on account of its beauty, though a beautiful spot it is, and not to obtain a glance at the magnificent view it affords, but to gaze upon a magnificent monument, which marks the spot where rest the remains of one of Vermont's greatest patriots and heroes, Ethan Allen. The monument to Ethan Allen was erected by the State of Vermont, by authority of an act of the legislature, passed in 1855, which appropriated $2,000.00 for that purpose, which by contributions, etc., was increased to $2,700.00, the total cost of the monument, though it was not completed until 1873, the exercises attending its unveiling occuring July 4th of that year. It is of Barre granite, the base of the pedestal being eight feet square on the ground, and consists of two steps of granite, on which rests a die of solid granite six feet square, in the four faces of which are set panels of white marble bearing the inscriptions. Above the pedestal rises a Tuscan shaft of granite, four and a half feet in diameter and forty-two feet high. Upon its capital, on a base bearing the word "Ticonderoga," stands a heroic statue of Allen, eight feet four inches high, modeled by Peter Stephen-
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son, sculptor, of Boston, now deceased, and cut in Italy, intending to repre- sent Allen as he appeared on that eventful moment when he demanded the surrender of the fort "in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress." The monument is protected by a fence of original design, the corner posts of which are iron cannon, and the pales are muskets, with bayo- nets, resting on a base of cut granite. The inscriptions are as follows :-
( On the West face.) VERMONT TO ETHAN ALLEN BORN IN LITCHFIELD CT IOTH JAN A D 1737 DIED IN BURLINGTON VT 12TH FEB A D 1789 AND BURIED NEAR THE SITE OF THIS MONUMENT
( On the North face.)
THE LEADER OF THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS IN THE SURPRISE AND CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA WHICH HE DEMANDED IN THE NAME OF THE GREAT JEHOVAH AND THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
( On the East face.)
TAKEN PRISONER IN A DARING ATTACK ON MONTREAL AND TRANSPORTED TO ENGLAND HE DISARMED THE PURPOSE OF HIS ENEMY BY THE RESPECT WHICH HE INSPIRED FOR THE REBELLION AND THE REBEL.
( On the South face.)
WIELDING THE PEN AS WELL AS THE SWORD, HE WAS THE SAGACIOUS AND INTREPID DEFENDER OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS, AND MASTER SPIRIT IN THE ARDUOUS STRUGGLE WHICH RESULTED IN THE SOVEREIGNTY AND INDEPENDENCE OF THIS STATE.
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EARLY SETTLEMENT.
Nearly eleven years after the charter was granted, the first proprietors' meeting was held at the house of Capt. Samuel Morris, in Salisbury, Conn., March 23, 1774, at which Col. Thomas Chittenden was appointed moderator, and Ira Allen, clerk. On the following day, March 24th, an adjurned meet- ing was held. The following is a copy of the records of proceedings :-
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