Shelburne Village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. This walking tour is reproduced, with permission, from Take a Walk: A Walking Tour of Historic Shelburne Village, Vermont — created by the Shelburne 250 Committee in 2013 for the town’s 250th anniversary, and published with the Town of Shelburne.
It was compiled by Laura Gannon-Murakami, Toby Knox, Dorothea Penar, David Webster, and Alice Winn.
The walk is about a mile. It starts at Shelburne Town Hall, runs north on Shelburne Road, west and back along Harbor Road, north and back again on Shelburne Road, southeast down Falls Road, west on Church Street, and north on Shelburne Road to finish where it started.
The Route
Tap a pin for the stop. The green star is the market on the Parade Ground.
Shelburne Road — Village Center
Stops 1–3
1Shelburne Town Hall
In 1925 the Village School and Town Hall were destroyed by fire. Electra Webb made a gift of the new building in honor of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. H.O. Havemeyer and dedicated it in 1927. It was fully furnished down to the crockery and utensils for the basement dining-room. The hall is entered through a portico in the Doric style with full entablature and pediment supported by four columns; the frieze is decorated with triglyphs and drops. The roof of the cupola rests on eight Doric columns which in turn sit on a base decorated with quoins (corner blocks).
2Russell House
This house was built by Charles Russell, a partner in the general store and the grain business on the west side of Shelburne Falls. Note the decorative shingles in the gables and turned porch posts.
3John Simonds Block House
The general store served Shelburnites for over a century and a quarter. The store had several owners including Van Vliet and Simonds but many in town consider this the Tracy and Maeck store. Here villagers could purchase anything from meat and flour to shoes for children and gloves for farmers. Before phones were commonplace, many people came to Tracy and Maeck to make a phone call.
Harbor Road
Stops 4–124C.K. Byington House
The house and carriage barn have been renovated for offices.
545 Harbor Road
Listed in the tour for its architecture; the booklet gives no further description.
612 Cottage Lane
This cottage and the two additional to the south were among eleven designed by Robert Henderson Robertson and built for employees of Shelburne Farms. These three dwellings were occupied by staff at the railway station. The shingles of the first floor walls flare slightly over the foundation; other characteristic details include the rafter tails and the multi-paned sash windows.
7McEntee House
This residence served as the Episcopal parsonage from its construction until 1930. Typical of the style is a variety of contrasting materials including fish-scale shingles, vertical matchboards, clapboards, and brackets as well as the projecting porch and bay windows.
8D. Ross House
This residence was moved some 300 feet to the west, to its present site, around 1920.
9Episcopal Parsonage
This is first of three Episcopal rectories built. Characteristic of the federal style are the five window bays and the front orientation of the eaves. The original fanlight with radiating muntins remains over the front door. Note the “S” tie rod ends (tie rods are necessary to reinforce the wall).
10Shelburne Craft School
Weaving Building c.1880: This building was originally joined to a brick blacksmith shop built in 1869 by John Dubuc and now located at the Shelburne Museum. Located on the edge of the railroad tracks, it served for two generations as a meat market and more recently as a woodshop and weaving room for the Shelburne Craft School. Shelburne Craft School workshop, c.1849: Long, one-story building with wide frieze built as two buildings in 1849. First used as bunkhouses for laborers working on the Rutland railroad when the buildings stood in the back of Town Hall, later they were used as bowling alleys and then moved to their present location for tenement housing.
11John Dubuc House
This house was moved to its current site from Shelburne Farms. John B. Dubuc purchased it in 1888. Dubuc was a very active Catholic and offered Father Campeau, from Vergennes, a place to stay while saying Mass for Catholics on the Webb estate prior to the construction of St. Catherine’s in 1895. On occasion Mass was said in the front room on the second floor of this house. Note the decorative woodworking and the triangular window in the gable.
1230 Harbor Road
Listed in the tour for its architecture; the booklet gives no further description.
Shelburne Road — Heading North
Stops 13–1913Texaco Station
This station was one of the models created by the famous industrial designer, Walter Dorwin Teague for Texaco. Teague also worked for Eastman Kodak and designed the very popular Brownie camera.
14Tracy House
The residence was built by Lee Tracy from bricks reused from the former Methodist Church (1833–1874) which he had purchased. The steeply pitched roof with central dormer relates to the Gothic Revival Methodist church also designed by the Reverend J.M. Edgerton. However, other details are Italianate including: arches, used in the roof of the north entrance porch and above the windows and doors, brackets, and scrollwork. Mr. Tracy was an agent for the Burlington Woolen Mills, farmer, real estate agent and a proprietor of the general store. He built the grandest house in the village, as it remains to this day. Three generations of the Tracy family lived here until the property was sold in 1983; the house and carriage barn were subsequently renovated for use as professional offices and apartments.
15Hiram Pierson House
Originally constructed c.1830, this house was remodeled in the Queen Anne Revival style in the 1880s. Hiram Pierson was a one-time proprietor of the Shelburne Inn.
16B. Harris Maeck House
The predominant detail of the Dutch Colonial is the gambrel roof, a form used in Dutch settlements in New York State in the 17th and 18th centuries. It enjoyed a revival in the first half of the 20th century. Of additional note is the fine Colonial Revival entrance porch.
17The Creamery
The original creamery stood at Shelburne Falls and was known for its excellent butter and cheese. Following a fire, the new creamery was built at its current location on Shelburne Rd. Proximity to the railroad made it an ideal place for shipment. Ice collected from Shelburne Bay in the winter kept the cream cold. Later, milk was shipped in cooled railroad cars. The Creamery closed around 1960. The building was renovated in the late 1960s to office space on four levels.
18TD Bank
The building was designed by Shelburne architect, William S. Cowles, Jr. Architectural features to note include the low profile of the building, the wide over hanging eaves, and the “ball capitals” on the top of the drive-in pier.
19Harrington House
Captain Benjamin Harrington came to Vermont in the late 1700s. Along with his brother, William Chase Harrington, they purchased 100 acres at Pottier’s Point, now Shelburne Point. By 1789, 800 acres had been purchased which later became (most of) the Village of Shelburne. In 1807, he donated land and constructed the White Church, a nondenominational church that served the town for many years until 1865 when it was destroyed by a fire. This same tract of land is now the site of the current town offices. The form of the house is Federal. However, the molded cornice of the main block and the central entrance, consisting of sidelights, pilasters, frieze and cornice cap date from the mid 1800s. A long ell extends to the east, part of which probably served as a carriage shed before the construction of the carriage house, c.1880. Benjamin Harrington built a log cabin in the village in 1788 and in 1789 the second frame house in town, north of the present-day Harbor Road railroad crossing; this house may have replaced it to make way for the railroad. The property remained in the family until 2013.
LaPlatte River
The river received its original name (LaPlot) from a 1775 secret plot devised to thwart an Indian attack up the river from Shelburne Bay. The river begins its 16 mile trek to the Bay from Lake Iroquois and drains 34,137 acres of Champlain lowlands.
Shelburne Road — Coming Back
Stops 20–2320Episcopal Rectory
In the later 1920s, Mrs. William Seward Webb commissioned this house in memory of her husband. Designed by the New York architectural firm of Renwick, Aspinwall and Guard, it combines stucco and shingles with a distinctive steep slate roof.
21Trinity Episcopal Church
Trinity Parish was founded in 1790, but not until 1886 did it have its own church. Built on land donated by the Harrington family, the architect was William Appleton Potter, a prominent designer of many high style buildings for other Episcopal dioceses as well as for colleges and the federal government. He had previously been a partner of Robert Henderson Robertson who designed the buildings at Shelburne Farms. After their move to Shelburne, Dr. and Mrs. William Seward Webb commissioned Potter to design a new and larger chancel, transept, bell tower and porte-cochere which were completed in 1890. Six Tiffany windows were installed in the Gothic arches at each of the gable ends. The interior decoration of the chancel, especially in the mosaic tile work, is typical of the work of the Tiffany studios as well. The parish hall, extending to the north, was added in 1898, also commissioned by the Webbs. The church is built on a cruciform plan of red stone quarried near Shelburne Bay. Arches, lintels and sills are in contrasting limestone. The corners of the church and parish hall have low buttresses. A new parish hall at the rear was added in c.2003.
22Fairchild House
Built in 1832 by Dr. Joel Fairchild, the house was remodeled in 1922 by the Deyetts. The roof was raised and the porches and vestibule were added at this time. The columns and portico show how classic references were used without adhering to a Colonial form. The diamond-pattern used in the muntins of the picture windows and in the sidelights of the vestibule are other details often seen in the Colonial Revival. Mr. Deyett was a local merchant and Mrs. Mary Deyett a long-time Shelburne teacher and principal of the Shelburne High School and the Village school. Mrs. Deyett was the first woman in Shelburne to ride a bicycle, drive an automobile, and own a radio. She traveled around the world…twice!
23Shelburne Inn
The Shelburne Inn was built in 1796 by Captain Benjamin Harrington and it served initially as a stop for travelers coming by coach from Middlebury to Burlington. It was also used as a post office, meeting hall and later as apartments. Descriptions in 1835 mention the popularity of the tavern and the second story ballroom. The Shelburne Inn now contains retail shops and a restaurant. The 2½ story six-bay main block has pedimented gable ends, a simple entablature, and molded cornice. Alterations made during the second quarter of the 19th century include the triangular window details in the north and south pediments. The hip-roofed porch with square piers, similar to that which existed in the 19th century, was reconstructed during the 2006 renovation.
Falls Road
Stops 24–362415 Falls Road
The façade contains a characteristic combination of vertical matchboards, clapboards, and shingles, organized within belts of horizontal boards. Other stylistic details are the brackets, bay window, and oculus window found in the peak of the gable front. The covered porch was enclosed in 1983 with salvaged schoolhouse windows when the building was converted to commercial use.
25Shelburne Country Store
The three-bay gable front structure was built as a cobbler shop appurtenant to the tannery located to its north and was later used as a residence by Prosper Bacon. The wings on the north and south were added after 1886 when converted to a general store, which it has remained under successive proprietors, the last sixty years as the Shelburne Country Store.
2641 Falls Road
It is similar to 15 Falls Road with an L plan, covered porch and bay window. The shortening of the covered porch and addition of larger single pane windows in the bay were alterations made at the time the house was converted for retail use c.1969.
27Collamer House
A house is thought to have been built on this lot, part of the Benjamin Harrington farm, c.1816. However, the orientation of the gable to the street indicates the Greek Revival period and a probable later date.
28Burgess Hall House — the Pierson Library
Originally built by Burgess Hall and operated as a store, it was later used as a residence; first from 1837 to 1883 as the parsonage of the Methodist Church, then privately until 1911 when it was purchased by the town from Cyrus Van Vliet for use as a library. The library continued at this location until 2001. The portico was added in 1911 prior to the opening of the library. Following a bequest from James Pierson, a descendant of early settlers Thomas and Moses Pierson, the wings were added in 1925. The projecting pedimented portico is supported by four fluted columns capped with Doric capitals. The entablature that extends around the building is also in the Doric style. The wings are topped with elegant balustrades. Beneath the clapboards, the walls are constructed of horizontal planks. The chimney and eyebrow window on the south-sloping roof are details added in 1948 when the house was remodeled for use by the first director of the Shelburne Museum.
2965 Falls Road
The façade of this vernacular house has undergone numerous changes since its conversion to retail use c.1970. However, the foursquare massing, hip roof, and dormers sheathed in slate shingles remain.
30Kinney House
The brick façade is laid in Flemish Bond (alternating length and end of the brick). There are molded cornice returns on the gable ends. The Italianate double front door with round-headed lights and the decorative wooden friezes on the window caps are alterations made c.1865. The land holdings of this village farm extended east to the LaPlatte River and approximately one half mile south until the late 1960s. The Old Shed Tavern, behind and to the east, was part of the farm complex. According to local lore, the house was a stop on the underground railroad.
3186 Falls Road
Note the second story bay is stepped back, with a transition of imbricated (fishscale) shingles, and the polychrome glass borders in the upper sashes of the bay windows.
32138 Falls Road
The right side hall entrance of this Greek Revival is on the gable end which faces the parade ground. Recently, the historic barn has been renovated.
33165 Falls Road
The gable front of this 1½-story Greek Revival house originally had a right side hall entrance, now removed. Extant are the pilasters that support a simple entablature and the molded cornice return.
34 & 35181 & 195 Falls Road
These Queen Anne Revival houses were built by William Saxon and have the same cross-gable plan with bay window, and side entrances. Both buildings have porches with low balustrades and turned posts; the porch on 195 extends across the façade. While No. 181 has the vertical and horizontal boarding, imbricated (fishscale) shingles, and sash windows bordered with polychromed panes, No. 195 lacks these details.
36St. Catherine of Siena Parish Hall
This vernacular gable front building is thought to have been originally constructed at Shelburne Farms as a chapel for Catholic employees. It was moved to its present site c.1900 to serve as a parish hall for the recently erected St. Catherine’s Church. The 20 over 2 paned cottage windows and scrolled rafter tails seen on this otherwise plain building are characteristic of the Shingle style details used at Shelburne Farms in the 1880s.
Church Street
Stops 37–39
37St. Catherine of Siena Church
The brick Romanesque church was constructed in 1895. Frank Bacon of Winooski was engaged to build the church. The first mass was celebrated on December 25, 1895 by the first pastor, Fr. Campeau. The church originally had a tall spire topped by a five foot cross made by John Dubuc (see 52 Harbor Rd.). Notable architectural features include the round arch window and door openings, the stone quoins at the corners of the building, elaborate stained glass windows, and a painting of the four Evangelists covering the entire wall behind the main altar.
38St. Catherine of Siena Rectory
The 14 room rectory was built in 1906 for the cost of $5,000, a large building for a parish so small. The house is constructed with rockfaced cast concrete. Other features to note included the building’s symmetry, the stately porch, quoins at the corners of the house, and the small Palladian window in the front dormer.
39Shelburne United Methodist Church
The grey stone was brought by sled over the frozen lake in the winter of 1871 from Willsboro, NY. Construction of the church began in 1873 and the church was dedicated in February 1874. The plans were drawn by the Reverend J.M. Edgerton in the Gothic Revival style, characteristics which can be seen in the pointed arches of the windows and the buttress and trefoil detail on the façade as well as the overall vertical emphasis of the building. The contemporary attached parish hall added in 1999 was designed by Burlington architect Colin Lindberg.
Cemeteries
The first known burial in Shelburne is that of James Pierson, age 20, on Meech Island, in 1775. Another early burial site is on Quaker (William) Smith Point. In 1806 a half acre of land was sold to the town for $10 to establish West Cemetery, located on the Southern Farms property. There are 10 Revolutionary War soldiers buried there. Four Revolutionary soldiers are interned in the Spear Street burial ground, established in 1813. Garrad Burritt donated the land for the Village Cemetery in 1829. The last burial site in town was founded in 1892, when the land for St. Catherine’s Church was deeded by a Mr. Havens to John Dubuc, who acted as agent for the parishioners.
The Parade Ground & South Village
Stops 40–4740The Parade Ground
Donated by Benjamin Harrington in 1807, originally this was the site for the town militia to practice. Today the Parade Ground serves many community events such as Saturday Farmer’s Market, winter Christmas tree sale, and Memorial Day services.
The market sets up here every Saturday, 9–1.
41Stoddard House
The Stoddard House was originally built by Dr. Frederick Stoddard, a graduate of UVM Medical School. Dr. Stoddard was a highly respected surgeon and general practitioner and, in his 30 years of practice, delivered a generation of Shelburnites. Dr. William Hayes Mitchell soon followed in 1913 and he expanded his practice to include “Dr. Mitchell’s Sanitarium” for surgical and maternity patients. The house has an asymmetrical layout, typical of the Queen Anne style and a square corner tower.
42John Simonds/Weed House — the Variety Unit
A classic Greek Revival façade, the pediment of the gable front is supported by a plain entablature. The right side entrance has a dentilated frieze, sidelights with decorative muntin design, and stone threshold and lintel. Now a part of the Shelburne Museum and known as the Variety Unit, the original owner was John Simonds, who built the Brick Store on the corner of Harbor Road.
43Village School — now the Shelburne Town Offices
At one time, there were thirteen one-room school houses in Shelburne. In 1871 a two-story school building was built encompassing four homerooms, grades 1–8 and a high school. The Village School was built to replace this school that burned in 1925. Opened in 1927, it served grades 1–12 until the high school became part of the union in 1963. The Tudor arches above the east and south entrances and the crenellated detailing at the top of the exterior façade are characteristics of the Elizabethan Revival style. In 1952, the gym wing was added and in 1960 the north wing was completed. By 1994, grades K–8 were attending the Harbor Rd. campus, and a few years later the building was renovated for Town Offices.
44Lavallette/Noonan House
The house was said to be built by Levi Comstock, Jr., grandson of Captain David Comstock, an early Shelburne resident who fought during the Revolutionary War. This house was slated for destruction but in 2002 a group of concerned citizens came together to save it. The house was redesigned with a rear entrance, upstairs apartments and retail shop on the main floor.
45Isham House / Methodist Parsonage
Originally the location of an apple orchard, Nelson Isham constructed this Greek Revival house. After several owners, the Methodist Church purchased the house in 1883 and the house became a home for many ministers and their families, and continues as the parsonage to this day. The house once had a porch with square columns extending the whole length in the front. Note the elaborate wooden sunburst design in the pedimented gables.
465373 Shelburne Road
This is a fine example of the Queen Anne style with an asymmetrical design, variations of wood siding, and turned posts of the porch. The carriage barn has been renovated for use as an artist studio.
47Van Vliet House
Cyrus Van Vliet was co-owner of the general store in town at the time, Tracy & VanVliet. He also was a partner in an apple evaporator company and held stock in the Venetian Blind Company in Burlington. In 1883, he purchased the Pierson Building (formerly the Pierson Library) and the plot of land south where he built his home. Because there was no water system yet in town, rain water was collected in a 9′ x 6′ copper lined room with a cistern in the cellar. A hand pump moved water to the second floor that supplied the bath with gravity-fed flow. This building is now the home of Heart of the Village Inn, a bed and breakfast. Note the recessed third floor balcony and the elegant wrap-around porch, and carriage house.
The Webb Family & the Shelburne Museum
The Webb Family legacy can be seen throughout the Town but in no greater way than the Shelburne Museum. Electra Havemeyer Webb’s vision and passion for collecting folk art is the foundation of the Museum’s world famous collection.
More in the booklet
Beyond these 47 stops, the 250 Committee’s booklet carries a longer walk out to Shelburne Falls and a driving tour of the outlying roads — Shelburne Point, Spear Street, Webster, Barstow, Cheesefactory, Dorset, Pond Road and Irish Hill. Those aren’t on the site yet.
The town history that opens the booklet is here, along with the full list of sources the committee worked from.
Shops, restaurants, and galleries open today are on the village guide — most of them inside the buildings on this walk.
Explore the Village