Browse Items (83 total)

The brick building at the southwest corner of State and Main (2 State Street), one of the oldest buildings in the downtown, has withstood fires, floods, and changing styles. It was built in circa 1826 by Chester Hubbard and inherited by his son,…

Montpelier businessman Lewis Bartlett Cross, his chauffeur, daughter Carrie, and an unidentified woman pose in a 1911 Cadillac touring car in front of their 39 School Street home. L. Bart, as he was known, was the son of the founder of C.H. Cross &…

After the Newbury Seminary purchased the Sloan U.S. Army General Hospital in Montpelier in 1866, school administrators built a wooden, three-story central dormitory using remnants of the old Civil War hospital. This building was used by a succession…

The property at 12 Main Street has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past 90 years. A Texaco Station was built there in 1932. At first it was called Sequin’s Service Station; later and longer it was known as Nun’s Service Station. In the…

Dean K. Lillie, Montpelier alderman and one-term mayor, shown here in his 1914 Stanley Steamer 606 roadster,, lived with his wife and family in this Italianate house at 97 College Street from 1907 until 1932. Lillie was in the granite industry in…

This is what real estate development along Marvin and Bingham Streets looked like in the mid-1930s. Bingham Street, seen running left to right in these photos, was built in 1895 by Morton Marvin who owned the house at 100 East State Street.…

The most colorful church in Montpelier was the First Baptist Church on School Street, separated from the city’s “big three” churches on Main Street by several of blocks. Designed in 1868 by local architect A. M. Burnham, the building featured many…

At one time, the Italianate house at 56 East State Street had an impressive view of the village and a sweeping side driveway from the street, as shown in this 1885 watercolor by itinerant painter James F. Gilman. This was the home that successful…

Three army general hospitals operated in Vermont during the Civil War to provide care to wounded Vermonters away from the battle lines. One was the Sloan U.S. Hospital on the high plateau to the east side of Montpelier. The medical notebook of Henry…

In the 1960s there were two motels on Northfield Street on either side of the Brown Derby Supper Club: Sowma’s Motel and the Brown Derby Motel. All three establishments were owned by Montpelier entrepreneur Abe Sowma. The postcard above shows Sowma’s…

The small brick cottage at the corner of College and Arsenal Streets is a small portion of a much larger three-building complex that once stood there. A substantial brick arsenal was constructed here during the Civil War, just down the street from…

In the early 20th century homeowners created “real photo postcards” of their homes, giving us a personalized view of history. This is the home of Hermon, Ellen and Emily Hopkins at 76 College Street. Mr. Hopkins was the long-serving treasurer of…