The Chittenden Historical Society. Chittenden, Vermont.
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Fall Meetings

July

Arden Bishop's Presentation
Arden Bishop presents tape of interview

At Barstow Graduation, the Davenport-Muzzy Award for demonstrated interest in local history was awarded to Alden Bishop, son of Ejay and Susan Bishop of Chittenden. Continuing a tradition, the U.S. Savings Bond was given at the Society’s Ice Cream Social in July. Alden’s project included a video interview with his grandmother who served on a welcoming committee for President Eisenhower’s visit to Rutland and Chittenden in 1955. She attended the Ice Cream Social and answered our questions after viewing of Alden’s video.

August

The August program, the first of the two Vermont Humanities Speakers, proved to be prescient: Professor Nicholas Clifford spoke and showed slides of “The Flood of 1927 - A New Look,” just two weeks before a repeat performance, courtesy of Hurricane Irene.

September

September was time for business and sharing memories of time gone by.

October

The annual potluck supper in October at the Grange Hall featured our second Vermont Humanities Council Speaker, Professor Vincent Feeney, who spoke of “Mad Matt the Democrat,” the colorful early Vermont resident Matthew Lyons.

November

Our last meeting of 2011 was celebrated with dinner out at Mountain Top Tavern. The first order of business was presentation of a class set of ten of the Society’s books on Chittenden history to Karen Prescott, Principal of Barstow Memorial School, to be held in reserve in the school library for use by teachers in a classroom. Also before dinner, officers were elected for 2012. They are president, Karen Webster; vice- president, Reggi Dubin; secretary, Carolyn Schwalbe; and treasurer, Martha L. Welch. Trustees serve two year terms. Elected this year for two years were Bob Muzzy and Steve Welch. (Trustees elected last year were Newt Wetmore and Reggi Dubin.)

The Chittenden Historical Society meets on the second Thursday of the month, March through November at 7:30 pm in Town Hall on Holden Road. Visitors and new members are welcome!

Our next meeting will be March 8, 2012 at 7:30pm in Town Hall.

Projects

We are still at work on our three major projects, Wetmore Cemetery, cataloguing of the collection and the Grange Hall.

Grange Hall

This year some important tasks were completed at the Grange Hall. See the Grange Hall News Tab above for details.

The lower level of the Grange Hall is available for private rental for a very reasonable cost. Contact Karen Webster 483-6471 to schedule an event.

Landscape Resource Book

In other work, this year we have put together a landscape resource book showing the photos of town places and buildings in successive years together to show how time changes landscapes. This collection is easily expandable; if you have some old photos of places in Chittenden, we would love to add them. The photos can be scanned while you watch, and you can take the originals back home with you.

Photograph Collections

Photos and other materials from the town’s three bicentennials (U.S., 1976; Vermont, 1991; Town, 1980) were identified and are now in albums. New albums were created for clippings and photos of the Chittenden Reservoir, the Eisenhower National Fish Hatchery, and Barstow Memorial School.

Wish List

We would like to include photos in the family genealogy folders.

A space to display our growing collection of donated items is on our wish list.

The Wetmore Cemetery

Steve Welch and George Butts have created a draft map of the stones in Wetmore Cemetery. After field checking the map next spring, a mylar copy will be created.

Hikes

This spring, by popular demand we repeated an eastern leg of the Green Road hike in New Boston with a trip to the Green Tavern area with cellar holes and fine farms of some of Chittenden’s earliest settlers. Our scheduled fall hike to the iron mines via Pittsfield generated a lot of interest, but it was cancelled because Hurricane Irene prevented our even reaching Pittsfield. We hope to reschedule that for next spring. Watch for details.

The Society is a 501 ( c )3 non-profit organization and depends solely on fundraising efforts and membership dues for operating costs. It welcomes tax deductible contributions that will enhance its collection of historic items, pictures or genealogies. The Chittenden Historical Society, Inc., also welcomes visitors and extends an invitation to membership to those interested in the Town’s history. The Society is open on Tuesday afternoons in Town Hall from 2 until 4 pm, March through November, or by appointment. All of the Society’s programs and activities are open to the public, and visitors are welcome. Meetings are on the second Thursday of the month, March through November, at 7:30pm in Town Hall, unless otherwise advertised.

Phase IV Progress

We are happy to announce that some important tasks were completed at the Grange Hall in 2011. The most visible is the new parking lot and traffic circle funded by the Vermont Department of Transportation for a Park and Ride. Residents are encouraged to make use of the new lot for carpooling. An improvement you don’t see from the road is the new retaining wall in the rear and the drop off circle by the lower entrance. Check it out!

Park and Ride Lot

Retaining Wall

With an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, spray foam insulation was applied to the upper level walls and under the roof. You may have noticed the new insulating double-celled pleated shades were added to the windows. According to calculations, this should save over 700 gallons of heating oil since heat was able to escape through the previously uninsulated upper level. Electrical wiring was added in the walls before insulating them. Also inside, a 90-year-old patch for a rotted beam was replaced with a new iron sleeve which will not protrude under the planned coved ceiling. New wood replaces missing supports for coved ceiling.

Upper Level Wall Insulated

Roof Insulated

Leaks in the roof were stopped at last. Since old slates were used for patching missing and broken slates, and the color of the new ridge cap is so quiet, new work on the roof is hardly noticeable.

We wish next to install strapping and sheetrock over the foam insulation, a project that will allow use, even if limited, of the upper level.

The lower level of the Grange Hall is available for private rental for a very reasonable cost. Contact Karen Webster 483-6471 to schedule an event.

The Society is a 501 ( c )3 non-profit organization and depends solely on fundraising efforts and membership dues for operating costs. It welcomes tax deductible contributions that will enhance its collection of historic items, pictures or genealogies. The Chittenden Historical Society, Inc., also welcomes visitors and extends an invitation to membership to those interested in the Town’s history. The Society is open on Tuesday afternoons in Town Hall from 2 until 4 pm, March through November, or by appointment. All of the Society’s programs and activities are open to the public, and visitors are welcome. Meetings are on the second Thursday of the month, March through November, at 7:30pm in Town Hall, unless otherwise advertised.

Society Publishes Town History

The first printing of Chittenden, Vermont: A Town History was 300 copies, priced at $30 each plus shipping for out-of-town orders. A limited number of books are available from the second printing. All profits will go to the Chittenden Historical Society.

the book Chittenden, Vermont: A Town History Book
click to view cover
Written, compiled and edited by Fran Wheeler and Karen Webster, the new volume holds over 300 pages of town history from its beginning in 1780 and gives the early history, and the businesses, industry, military, school and church history that filled two and a quarter centuries. Genealogy of the earliest settlers is included.

To order a book, download the order form, complete and mail to the address on the form. Please include $3.50 for shipping. Books may also be purchased directly at the Town Clerk's office for $30 each.

(2008) Memorial Day at the Grange Hall

The Chittenden Historical Society will host a Memorial Day Observance at the Grange Hall on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26 at 11 am. The Royal S. Baird memorial stone will also be dedicated on Memorial Day. Royal Baird, the uncle of Bob Baird, was shot down over Guam in World War II. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Pittsford, but Royal’s parents arranged for a memorial stone and flagpole to be placed near his home in North Chittenden at the junction of Stoney Hill Road with West Road. With increases in modern travel, the placement of the memorial created problems with traffic and with snow removal. It has been moved several times before finding its new home.

Thanks, Chittenden

The members of the Historic Buildings Preservation Committee wish to thank the residents of Chittenden for voting to continue funding for completion of the renovation and restoration of the North Chittenden Grange Hall. Everyone on the committee is looking forward to returning the building to daily use. Please come to the Grange Hall on Memorial Day to see the Grange Hall and enjoy a thank you lunch.

Boarded Up Windows
Boarded over east windows
with lowered ceiling joists
remaining in place.

New Windows

The new windows, restored to the height of the original ones, are 50 percent taller that the old windows. All nine have now been installed, including the east windows that were boarded over before 1900. No one alive today has seen the light effect all nine windows have on the interior space of the Grange Hall.
Old Windows
Ceiling joists removed
to reveal once taller windows.
The appearance of the building’s exterior is much improved, but the inside, with a lot of work yet to be done, has been transformed into a delightful light-filled area. With the return of warmer weather, restoration of the exterior envelope is now in progress. Soon the building will look much better from the outside. Before, during and after pictures of the windows are shown here.
New Windows
The same corner
with new windows installed!
The Freeman Foundation, through Preservation Trust of Vermont, is helping fund restoration of the Grange Hall.

North Chittenden Grange Hall Receives Grant
Dave Sargent accepts grant check.

January 11, 2008

Dave Sargent, Chairman of the Chittenden Board of Selectmen, receives an award of $15,000 from Governor Douglas at the 2008 Cultural Facilities Grant awards ceremony held on January 11 at the State House in Montpelier. Also shown are Alexander Aldrich of the Vermont Arts Council and Karen Webster, chair of Chittenden’s Historic Buildings Preservation Committee. The award to Chittenden is to support the installation of electrical wiring, security and emergency lighting and for the purchase and installation of an accessibility lift in the North Chittenden Grange Hall.

More than $200,000 was awarded for the Cultural Facilities Grant program. The State of Vermont funds the program through an annual appropriation in the Capital Budget. The Vermont Arts Council administers the grant, in conjunction with the Vermont Historical Society, the Vermont Museum Gallery Alliance, and the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, all working together as the Vermont Cultural Facilities Coalition. Now in its 19th year, the purpose of this grant program is to assist Vermont nonprofit organizations and municipalities to enhance, create or expand the capacity of existing Vermont buildings to enable citizens of all ages and abilities to enjoy more cultural events while increasing their participation in the heritage of their communities. Freeman Foundation and the Cerf Community Fund grants, both through Preservation Trust of Vermont, are also supporting this project.

North Chittenden Grange Hall

Ballot Item

At Town Meeting, voters will be asked to renew for ten years the $20,000 per year appropriation for historic building restoration that has been in effect since 2000. Therefore, a positive vote will not increase taxes. When restoration is finished, the Grange Hall will become a cultural and recreational center for the town, available for art, music and dance programs and lessons, speakers and even dinner and theater. As indicated by Alex Aldrich at the awards ceremony, development of the arts brings vitality to a community. Also, opportunities will exist for exercise classes, family movie nights and private rentals for weddings or other social events. All money is handled through the Town Treasurer. Additionally, other funds are being sought through other grant opportunities and a capital campaign. Donations are indeed welcome in time, materials or money, payable to the Town of Chittenden, Historic Buildings Preservation Fund, P.O. Box 89, Chittenden, VT 05737.

For those who aren't familiar with the Grange Hall, it is the building opposite the beginning of Middle Road. Constructed in 1833 to be a Congregational Church, it became a Grange Hall by the early 1880s and was purchased by the Town of Chittenden in 1906 for use as a Town Hall. Many residents fondly remember social gatherings there. Sadly, the building fell into disrepair and it was closed to the public in the 1960s.

The building is amazingly sound despite its age. From a historical aspect, the building is quite interesting with its wide-board wainscoting, period moldings, balcony and high windows. Notwithstanding earlier renovations, many original features remain.

Building Plans

An effort to restore the building for community use began in 1995. As the project gathered momentum, more people became involved. Members of the Chittenden Historical Society joined the effort, and a Historic Buildings Preservation Committee was formed under the Board of Selectmen in 2000. The town voted to raise $20,000 a year for preservation of the town’s historic buildings. Soon the committee realized that to become a vital community resource, the Grange Hall project needed to expand to use of the lower level and to include bathroom facilities and lift for accessibility. As the funds grew in the Historic Buildings Preservation Committee fund, many hours were spent in planning and getting permits. Additional land, generously donated by the Fredettes, was needed to accommodate the septic field. Then the design was changed from a pumped system to a simpler gravity flow one. All this took time. In 2006, Phase I to install the septic field, drill the well and move the road to its original place was completed.

Phase II, now in progress and awarded by bid to local builder Dave Dutton, www.ddbuilder.com, is addressing structural issues: leveling the sagging floor and adding an engineered steel beam system of support, replacing the rotted corner beam, constructing the addition to house the bathrooms and lift, replacing the windows to their original tall height, blocking in lower level wooden exterior and adjusting the exterior grade, and adding a stairway between floors. The outside shell will be finished, restored, repaired or replaced. Painting will take place this spring.

Phase III, to begin in 2008, will involve interior renovation and construction, such as adding electricity and the accessibility lift. A small catering kitchen is planned for the lower level. With the development of both levels, the space available for activities will double. Although much work needs to be done before the Grange Hall will be ready for use, the committee is looking forward to the building’s active use by the community for cultural, social and recreational purposes.

For more information, contact a member of the HBPC: Terry White, Bernie McGee, Dave Sargent, Bob Muzzy or Karen Webster.