Westminster Village Historic District

DESCRIPTION:

Situated on a plain along the west side of the Connecticut River, the Westminster Village Historic District encompasses virtually the entire village of Westminster. The very broad Main Street with its deeply setback buildings is the core of the district, although portions of the three side streets are also included. Of the 63 primary buildings in the district, 13 are non-contributing. Architectural styles range from late 18th century through Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival. Most of the buildings are vernacular or low style versions of these architectural styles; this basic simplicity lends a cohesiveness to the district. The village consists overwhelmingly of wood-framed, clapboarded residential buildings with a few commercial and public buildings interspersed. Slate roofs and continuous architecture are additional common features. Consistency of scale and the predominance of wooden construction and vernacular styles give to the village of Westminster an architectural unity which has to a large degree maintained its integrity.

Westminster Village is the major village in the town of Westminster, Vermont. The village is located on a very flat plain in the Connecticut River valley, Main Street (U.S. Route 5) running about a third of a mile west of the river itself. The plain is about 75 feet above the river level and is bounded on the northeast and southeast by a steep wooded bluff about 50 feet high. On the remainder of the northwest side, a wooded bluff rising some 50 feet above the plain completes the natural enclosure of the flat area. In outline, the plain is a very rough oval with a long northeast southwest axis. The flat plain surrounded by distinct topographical boundaries gives the village clear geographic limits.

The primary village street, Main Street, is a major state highway (U.S. Route 5) that parallels the Connecticut River and crosses the plain from the southwest to the northeast. Perpendicular to Main Street are the village's three other streets. In the center of the village, two of these streets, School Street to the northwest and Grout Avenue to the southeast, intersect Main Street virtually opposite each other. Further to the south, Cox Road leads off to the northwest.

Main Street has a very broad right of way, 99 feet wide. As the pavement is only 25 feet wide, the undeveloped strips on each side of the street have an average width of 37 feet and are in general grassed. Regardless of variations of lawn depth, the deep setbacks required by the wide right of way give Main Street a quite notable sense of spaciousness, unusual for a New England village. As noted, the strips are generally grassed, but there are some exceptions: an unpaved parking area in front of the village store (#15), and paved parking areas in front of the Town Hall (#57), the Post Office (#12) and the community center library (#19). (Smaller remnants of paved areas are also found in front of properties #13 and #27.) The Street once had sidewalks, but save for a concrete section that survives in front of property #13, these have disappeared. A row of telephone poles with street lights lines the southeast side of the street, while rows of trees line both sides, though only sparsely at the south end. The great elms that once completely shaded the street have mostly died out, though maples planted in the 1960's and other trees have begun to replace them.

Main Street is straight and level through most of the village, but at each end, it drops over the bluff, at the south end curving slightly to the east to find a better course. At the north end, the street is cut deeply through the bluff (here known as Courthouse Hill for the old county courthouse which stood here from 1772 to about 1806.) Because of the deep cut, unpaved roads within the right of way on each side of the main highway serve the five northernmost properties of the district. Both School Street and Grout Avenue fork as they intersect with Main Street. School Street has two branches at the intersection, thus creating a grassed triangle, which now contains the World War I Honor Roll. Grout Avenue has three branches at the intersection, creating two smaller grassed triangles.

Main Street's wide right of way has become the site for several local monuments throughout this century. The earliest and the northernmost is a marker commemorating the old courthouse, located on top of the southeast road bank in front of property #2. Erected in 1902 by the Brattleboro Chapter of The D.A.R., the monument is a bronze plaque (with an inscription in raised letters and plain border) mounted on a boulder of local granite. The monument's location, although historically accurate, is so obscured by the deep road cut that it is virtually invisible to the passing tourist. Therefore, the Vermont Historic Sites Commission erected a highway marker at a more visible site further south, in front of property #4. The cast metal sign, with a raised letter inscription, molded sides and a scrolled top featuring the state seal, is mounted on an octagonal metal post. The highway marker describes the courthouse and the important events-the Westminster Massacre and the Declaration of Vermont's Independence-which took place in that historic building.

Just south of the Town Hall (#57) on the northeast side of the street stands the Willard Fountain, given to the Town by Henry K. Willard, in memory of William Czar Bradley and Henry A. Willard, on June 26, 1913. The marble fountain once stood at the foot of the Courthouse Hill, but was removed from that location and stored on the Town Hall grounds for many years. In the late 1960's, the fountain was repaired and reerected (albeit without a water connection) at its present site. The main part of the monument is a tall smooth tapered slab, with the dedicatory inscription enclosed in an incised border, and set on a smooth base with watertable. On the rear is a smooth semicircular projection with two basins, a low one for dogs, a high one for people-. On the front is a large projecting horse trough with a rough tooled surface. The horse trough is used as a flower planter, and the fountain is surrounded by shrubs.

In the grassed triangle at the intersection of Main and School Streets now stands the World I Honor Roll. The monument was originally erected in front of the site planned for the community center (#19) and was dedicated there on July 4, 1920. By 1922, the monument had been moved to its present location. The Honor Roll itself is a large bronze plaque with a dedicatory inscription and the names of the townspeople who served in the war in raised letters, the state seal, and smaller plaques depicting the army, the navy, and the air corps, all set within a paneled border. The plaque is mounted on a granite slab with smooth-faced front and low pitched pyramidal top, but rock-faced back and sides. The slab stands on a short base with rock-faced sides and a smooth, sloping watertable.

School Street (Town Highway No. 3) leads northwest from Main Street in a straight course across the plain, then curves slightly to the west to pass through a narrow space between the deep ravine and the steep bluff that form the plain's northwest border. As the main highway connecting the villages of Westminster and Westminster West, School Street is an important town road. Unlike those of Main Street, the buildings along School Street have normal setbacks behind modest front lawns. Telephone poles with street lights line the street.

Grout Avenue (Town Highway No. 54) leads southeast from Main Street towards the river. The street, paved within the district, becomes a dirt road just beyond the district boundary and ends shortly there after at the top of the bluff. (A private road continues down over the bluff.) The paved street is lined with some trees and telephone poles. The only primary building within the district which faces Grout Avenue (#17) has a shallow front lawn.

Cox Road (Town Highway No. 53) leads northwest from Main Street. It was cut off by the construction of Interstate 91 west of the village, and is now a dead end road that primarily serves a modern house and some fields, just outside the district. None of the district buildings, save for the outbuildings of property #35, front on the gravel road, which is lined by telephone poles.

The Historic District includes 67 properties. All of the properties front on Main Street, School Street or Grout Avenue, with the exception of property #44, located behind (southwest of) property #43, and building #25, located behind (southeast of) property #24. Four of the properties, two fields in agricultural use (#2, #30), a driveway (#47) and the town cemetery (#66) do not have any buildings. There are 63 primary buildings in the district, and 61 more outbuildings, making 124 buildings in all. Of these 124 buildings, 75 are considered contributing to the district; the vast majority of those non-contributing are secondary buildings, being primarily modern garages and sheds. The district also includes two independently significant contributing structures, both corncribs (#8A, #8B). Classified by their original uses, the 63 primary buildings include 49 houses, one barn (#3), six public buildings (the church, #21; the town hall, #57; the community center-library, #19; the post office, #12; a school and its boarding house, #43 and #44), six commercial buildings (three stores, #15, #31, and #53; a gas station, #27; a restaurant, #25; and a motel , #26) and one industrial plant-the local creamery (#49). One house (#54) became the grange hall. The school and its boarding house became multi-family residences. The barn, one store, the gas station, and the creamery have been converted to houses, while one small store building (#31) has been vacant for at least ten years. Classified by their present uses, the 63 primary buildings include 54 residences, five public buildings (including the grange hall) and four commercial buildings (including the vacant building, #31). Most houses display continuous architecture, some examples extending nearly 100 feet.

All but two of the 124 buildings, and both structures, are of wooden construction. The exceptions are two fine brick buildings, the Westminster Institute (#19) and the Dickinson House (#33). Two thirds of the primary buildings are sheathed largely or wholly with clapboards. Another nine have been resheathed with aluminum or vinyl "clapboarding", and four buildings now have asbestos or asphalt shingles. Plywood, plastic, wood shingle and novelty siding is also used on a few buildings in the district. Outbuildings and attached barns and sheds show a greater variety of sheathings, sometimes having two or three types of siding each. These include clapboarding, vertical and horizontal boarding, novelty siding, "brick" asphalt siding, and asphalt and wooden shingles. Half of the primary buildings are covered by slate roofs, at least over the main block. The other main block roofs are mostly asphalt shingled, with only a handful being sheathed with corrugated metal. The color white predominates in the village, covering two-thirds of the primary buildings, although a few of these buildings have attached barns or sheds either painted red or left unfinished.

In date, the district's primary buildings range from the late 18th century to 1974. Many of the major styles of this period, the Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Victorian eclectic, and Colonial Revival, are represented in the district. Most of the village buildings were built in the vernacular, or in a simplified version of the high styles. Even the late 19th century buildings, typically flamboyant elsewhere, in this district, have only simple massing and restrained ornamentation. As a result of this basic simplicity and restraint, the buildings are not as dissimilar as their dates might suggest. Thanks to the consistency of scale, the predominance of wooden construction, clapboarding, slate roofs, white paint, and the vernacular styles, the village of Westminster has a basic architectural unity, which adds much to its unique sense of place.

With one exception, the district's primary buildings are oriented to the streets on which they stand, with the street side facade parallel to the road and typically containing the main entry. (The exception is the former gas station, (#27) and its adjoining woodshed, #27A which were built at an angle to the road.) On Main Street and School Street, the building setbacks are generally consistent. The buildings are fairly evenly spaced along the streets, with a somewhat higher density near the center of the village, and a greater spread between the buildings at the south end of Main Street and the western end of School Street.

The plain on which the village sits is both flat and fertile, and therefore well suited for agriculture. Properties #7 and #51 are the only working farms in the village. But properties #2 and #30 are agricultural fields, and portions of properties #8, #23, #25, and #26, #28, #33, #34, #35, #37, #46 and #56 are leased to local farmers for market gardening. Other properties have large gardens. Large hayfields are found on properties #4, #9, #29 and #45. Thus, although only a few of its residents are now farmers, the village nevertheless retains an agricultural setting. Other fields bordering the district, but not included within its boundary, reinforce this agricultural setting. As the houses, with the exception of #49 and #50, are surrounded by lawns with only scattered trees, the land within the district is generally open. The only woodlands are found at the west end of School Street (properties #49 and #50) and on the few properties which extend down over the wooded bluff surrounding the plain.

Main Street

1. Barber House; c.1800.
A fine example of continuous architecture, this early vernacular Cape and its extensive additions terminate the northern end of the district. Because of the lack of both documentary and architectural evidence, it is difficult to date this house, although its central chimney and some surviving interior details do suggest that it was constructed about the beginning of the 19th century. The exposed roof rafters are hewn in the western end of the original cape, but sawn above the eastern room, suggesting that the building began as a half cape. There is a tradition that the house once stood on Grout Avenue and was moved to this site sometime in the 19th century. The porch and the sash are not original, but do appear in a 1913 photograph of the building. About 1921, the cape was extended to the northwest by a one room deep addition, two stories high on the southwest and one story high on the northeast, under an asymmetrical gable roof. The present owners altered the 1921 addition in 1975, changing its roof to match the cape's roof, removing some windows, and replacing the canted door at the west corner with the present door in the southwest facade. In 1982, two dormers were placed on the cape's northeast (rear) roof slope. Dated photographs show that the westernmost attached barn was built between 1902 and 1913.

The house consists of six major units in a long continuous row. The main block of the house consists of the original cape and the 1921 addition, both of the same height and width and sheltered by the same gable roof. Stretching east of the cape are two gable roofed units (a one story kitchen wing on the west and a one and a half story workshop wing on the east) and then two two story barns (a western barn with a shed roof and an eastern barn with a gable roof). The cape has a small, one story, shed roofed entry porch. A one story shed roofed privy is found in the east corner of the two barns.

Both the original cape and the 1921 addition are clapboarded and share a corrugated metal gable roof. The cape has simple open eaves with frieze (as well as exposed purlins in the southeast gable). The addition has open eaves with exposed rafters and open gable eaves with friezes. A brick chimney with corbeled brick and concrete cap rises from the center of the Cape's roof, while a plain exterior brick chimney with concrete cap is found on the addition's northeast gable end. In the center of the cape's three bay wide main facade (the eastern bays of the main block's five-bay-wide southwest facade) is found the main entry-a paneled door with window, sheltered by a small porch with board floor, cruciform posts, simple side rails, open eaves with exposed rafters, and a corrugated metal shed roof. The main block¹s windows have plain frames, distinguished only by drip moldings on the lintels. The cape's southwestern side bays contain a two-over-two sash window and a six over six sash window. The cape's southeast gable end has a six-over-six sash window in the first story and a one-over-one sash window in the gable.

The five bay northeast (rear) facade of the main block has four windows (three with two-over-two sash and a smaller window with one-over-one sash) in the older cape section. The 1921 addition has a paneled door with window in the southwest facade, two-over-two sash windows in the first story (two in the two bay window northwest gable end and one each in the northeast and southwest facades) and two four pane gable windows. On the rear northeast slope of the gable roof are found two dormers, each with a six-over-six sash window in a plain frame, clapboarded sides and gable, cornerboards, lateral eaves with sloping soffits, open gable eaves with fascia boards, and a corrugated metal gable roof.

The kitchen wing, a one story structure under a corrugated metal gable roof, is clapboarded, and has cornerboards and shallow open eaves. (A frieze finishes the northeast eaves.) Plain frames surround the single window in each facade, a six-over-six sash window on the southwest, a two-over-two sash window on the northeast.

The workshop wing is one-and-a-half stories high beneath a corrugated metal roof, and is trimmed with cornerboards, and shallow open eaves with friezes. It is also clapboarded, save for the eastern two-thirds of its northeast (rear) facade, which is sheathed with tar paper. Plain frames surround all the openings, including-a sliding board door, a six pane window, and a two-over-two sash window on the southwest, and two two twelve-pane windows on the northeast. In the center of the northeast roof slope is a wall dormer with two more plain-framed, twelve-pane windows, tar papered walls with cornerboards, open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards, and a corrugated metal shed roof.

The two story west barn shows a variety of siding (predominantly board and batten siding and horizontal boarding, but with a small section of vertical boarding as well). Its corrugated metal shed roof is trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards. The west barn has no windows, but is served by a number of doors, a large, hinged board door (which has a sliding board door mounted on it), and a hayloft board door above it, in the northwest facade; two sliding doors (a board door and a beaded board door) and double board hayloft doors in the southwest facade.

The two story east barn is clapboarded on the southwest and north east facades and in the peak of the southeast gable. Board and batten siding (installed in 1982) covers most of the southeast gable end. The corrugated metal roof has plain eaves with sloping soffit and frieze. Plain frames surround the sliding board door, the first story two-over-two sash window, and the two kneewall, twelve-pane windows of the southwest facade, two small windows, the beaded board first story door and the board gable door of the southeast gable end. The gable door, cut on the diagonal to fit the gable's raking cornice, was once served by an exterior stairway, since removed. The three windows of the northeast facade are all covered over. The small, one story privy in the east corner of the two barns has vertical beaded board walls, a plain framed six pane window, close verges, open eaves with exposed rafters, fascia board trim, and a corrugated metal shed roof.

1A. Pumphouse; c.1900. Southwest of the house is a small, one story pumphouse, which appears in a photograph dated 1913. The novelty siding exterior, and the original purpose of the structure-to house a hand pump, would suggest a late 19th or early 20th century date. The pumphouse has an unusual plan, that of a rectangle diagonally truncated at the east-a design necessary to keep a usable passageway open to the barns to the rear of the pumphouse. The building is sheathed with novelty siding on the three exterior facades and by tar paper on the rear (southwest) facade. The open eaves of the corrugated metal shed roof are trimmed with fascia boards on the northeast and southeast. The small structure has a high number of plain framed openings for so small a structure: a six pane window in each of the three public facades, and two twelve pane windows in the rear facade, a board door in the northwest end, a board door and a half-height door in the northeast facade, two more board doors and another half height board door in the truncated section of the same facade. Also on the lot, is an outdoor brick fireplace.

2. Streeter Lot.
The Streeter lot is a flat rectangular parcel of land, about four fifths of an acre in size. The lot, which has neither buildings nor fences, is still in agricultural use, being planted to corn in the summer of 1985.

3. Niemczura Barn; 1933.
Built by Walter Niemczura, a Bellows Falls farmer, in 1933, this vernacular barn was converted to a house by local builder Malcolm Streeter in 1973. The conversion included the addition of new windows and doors. The large barn doors in the center of each lateral facade was removed (although their transoms windows were retained) and the openings were filled by novelty siding to match the barn 15 original sheathing. (Because of these extensive alterations, the house is classified here as a non-contributing building.) The present owners added the porch on the wing about 1979.

The building consists of a two-and-a-half-story, gable roofed main block, set with its gable end facing the street, a one and a half story, gable roofed wing to the rear (southeast) of the main block, and a one story, shed roofed screened porch covering the rear (southeast) gable end of the wing. The main block and wing are both set on concrete foundations, sheathed with novelty siding, and trimmed by cornerboards and simple eaves with sloping soffit and frieze. Their roofs, asphalt shingled, save for the corrugated metal northeast slope of the main block roof, are punctuated by round metal vents, one on the main block, two on the wing. An exterior concrete block chimney is found on the northeast facade of the wing.

The main block's two entries, in the end bays of the four-bay-wide southwest facade, are virtually identical, each featuring a modern paneled door with built-in diamond paned window, a simply molded frame, a concrete and stone step, and a shed roofed hood with corrugated plastic roof. The hood's wooden half gables and close eaves are ornamented with scalloped lower edges. The main block's first story windows typically have two-over-one sash and plain frames, while the second story windows are mostly double sliding windows with narrow, simply molded frames. Horizontal ten-pane windows (the old barn door transom windows) are found under the eaves in the center of both lateral (southwest and northeast) facades. Decorative louvred shutters distinguish the street gable end windows. A four pane window with plain frame topped by a rectangular louver with its own plain frame appears in each gable.

Plain frames surround all but one of the wing's windows: the three double windows with four pane sash in the southwest facade, a similar double window and a single pane window in the northeast facade, and a four pane window in the rear gable end. The southeast gable end also contains a modern door with built-in window and a double sliding window, both with simply molded frames, as well as short plain framed double board doors in the gable. The porch covering the gable end has a concrete floor, plain wooden posts, close eaves with scalloping on the lower edges, and a corrugated plastic shed roof, supported by exposed rafters. The porch is enclosed by screened panels and is entered by a simple screen door in the rear southeast facade.

3A. Workshop-garage; c.1925. The workshop-garage is known to have been standing in the 1920's. Construction materials suggest it was built in the same decade. The building has an L-shaped plan. Its two major components are a one story shed roofed garage and a one and a half story gable roofed workshop. Both are set on concrete foundations, covered by novelty siding, trimmed with cornerboards, plain window frames, and simple eaves with sloping soffits and friezes. The garage is lit by three single pane windows in its southwest facade, and is entered by two sliding board doors and a double plywood door, all with plain frames, in the northeast facade. The present owners attached two shallow shed roofed storage sheds on the northwest end of the garage in 1983: a one story structure with plywood walls, two board doors, close verges, open lateral eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards; and a half story snowblower garage covered with vertical boarding on the northeast, but open on the northwest.

In the early 1980's, the present owners also remodeled the workshop, adding new first story doors, as well as a large window and an open lean-to on the southeast facade. The workshop is served by a modern door with window and simply molded frame in the northwest facade, a plain framed, paneled door with window in the southeast facade, a two beaded board hayloft doors, one above the northwest door, and one in the southwest gable end The workshop is lit by five small single pane or four pane windows, (three in the southwest gable end, and one in each gable), two six pane windows (one in both the northeast and southeast facades) and the modern full length metal framed window in the southeast facade. The full-length window and the southeastern door are covered by the open leanto, with its dirt floor, square posts on concrete pads, exposed rafters, and corrugated metal shed roof.

Also found on the property is a gable-roofed well cover with novelty siding walls.

4. Hillard House; c.1830.
The proportions of this two-and-a-half story, gable front, sidehall plan, Greek Revival style main block suggest that it was built in the early stages of the style's ascendancy, probably about 1830. (The rear wing is thought to be older than the main block, but its exterior does not retain enough detail to allow an estimate of its date.) The present owners enlarged the attached barn about 1940 by extending it to the rear and adding a second story. In the 1950's, the clapboards of the main block, wing and shed were covered by asbestos shingles. About 1980, the small side entry porch was rebuilt, following in general the design of a previous porch.

The house consists of four gable roofed units, all of the same width, together forming a fine example of continuous architecture: a two-and-a-half-story rear wing, a one story shed, and a two story barn. The main block, wing and shed are covered with asbestos shingles. The main block is set on a fieldstone foundation. The asphalt shingled roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings, which is pedimented on the northwest (street) gable. The pediment's raking cornices are shallower than the horizontal cornice, as the tympanum projects slightly. (The rear gable, however, has only close molded verges with returns.) The windows and doors have the simply molded frames, probably altered when the asbestos shingles were installed. With three exceptions, the main block windows have two-over-two-sash. The three bay wide northwest gable end contains the main entry-a four panel door-in its north bay. The frames of its second story windows butt up against the horizontal cornice of the pediment. The pedimented gable contains a six-over-six sash window. The three bay wide northeast facade contains a twelve-over-twelve sash window in the second story. The most prominent feature of the four bay wide southwest facade is the side entry, a double door with narrow two panel leaves, topped by a four pane transom window and sheltered by a small entry porch with concrete floor, double posts connected by latticework, a gable filled with lattice work, open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards, and an asphalt shingled gable roof. The rear (southeast) gable has a three-pane window.

The wing and the shed share the same corrugated metal gable roof and simple eaves with sloping soffit. The two bay long wing has two-over-two sash windows on the southwest and six-over-six sash windows on the northeast, as with the same simply molded frame as appears on the main block. The same trim frames a board door and a six-pane window in the shed's northeast facade. The southeast facade is distinguished by two wide semielliptical arched openings and large double board doors.

The barn still retains its clapboards in the northwest gable and, to some extent, in the first story of the southwest facade, but the rest of the structure is sheathed with tar paper. The walls are trimmed by cornerboards and the metal roof by close eaves and verges. Plain frames surround its doors, two board doors in the southwest facade, and three board hayloft doors, two on southwest and one on the northeast, as well as the windows, a three-pane window in each gable, eight small four-pane windows in the first story of the southwest facade, a six-pane window and two screened openings in the northeast facade.

4A. Milkroom; c.1940. Southwest of the house stands the non-contributing milkroom, built by the present owners about 1940. The small, one story building is clapboarded above a concrete foundation. Its corrugated metal gable roof is trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafter tails and fascia boards. Plain frames surround the paneled door with window in the northeast gable end and the single-six pane windows found in each of the other three facades.

4B. Garage; c.1940. Behind the milkhouse stands the garage, also built by the present owners about 1940, and also considered non-contributing. The one story garage is set on a concrete foundation, sheathed with brown "brick" asphalt siding, trimmed with cornerboards, close eaves and verges, and covered by a corrugated metal gable roof. Save for the gable, the northwest gable end is devoted to three large and thick, board-sheathed sliding doors. Each of the other three facades has two plain framed six pane windows.

5. Farr House; c.1800.
According to tradition, this early vernacular Cape was standing at the time of the Westminster Massacre in 1775. The building's broad roof, its close eaves, and its central chimney (the latter removed by the present owner about 1962) would certainly indicate a late 18th or early 19th century date. Since many features, such as the front door and the sash, have been replaced, it is difficult to date the building with any greater precision. The sunporch was added in the 1940's or 1950's. In the late 1960's, the cape's northwest and northeast facades were resheathed with aluminum siding. The present rear entry porch was built in the 1970's. And the southeast gable end of the ell was covered with plywood in 1984.

The house consists of a one-and-a-half story Cape with a one-and a-half story, gable roofed ell-garage to the rear (southeast) which retains a semi-elliptical arched carriage bay. A one story shed roofed rear entry porch is found in the corner of the Cape and the ell. A one story, gable roofed sunporch overlaps the northeast facades of both the Cape and the ell.

The Cape, set on a fieldstone foundation, is sheathed on the northwest (street) facade and the northeast gable end with aluminum siding. Clapboarding with sillboards and cornerboards survives on the southwest gable end and the rear (southeast) facade. The door and windows of the aluminum sided facades have narrow aluminum trim, while the openings in the clapboarded walls retain their plain frames. The asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed with close eaves and verges. The five bay wide northwest facade has a central entry, a glazed and paneled door with wooden steps, and four two-over-two sash windows. The northeast and southwest gable ends each have two two-over-two sash windows in each story. The northeast gable end also has a plate glass window with two pane transom window in the first story. The rear facade has three six-over-six sash windows and the rear entry, a paneled glazed and door which opens onto the porch. This small enclosed porch has a brick foundation, board floor, plywood walls, exposed rafters in the open lateral eaves, and a metal sheathed shed roof. It is lit by two large two-pane windows on the southwest and a large four pane window on the southeast. A screen door serves the porch.

The one-and-a-half story ell-garage is set on a fieldstone foundation and is covered by an asphalt shingled gable roof, but has a variety of sheathing: clapboarding on the northeast facade and the western third of the southwest facade, horizontal boarding on the remainder of the southwest facade, and plywood panels on the southeast gable end. Close eaves and verges top the northeast and southeast facades. But on the southwest facade, the open eaves have a wide overhang and exposed rafters. Plain frames surround the ell's doors and windows. In the northeast facade appears a nine-pane window, a two-over-two sash window, and a four panel door, while the southeast facade has only a single twelve pane gable window. The southwest facade shows more variety. In the western clapboarded ell section are found two six-over-six sash windows and two six pane kneewall windows. In the eastern shed-garage portion can still be seen a semi-elliptical arched opening, now filled with vertical boarding, a board door and a twelve-over-two sash window. The shed-garage is also served by double beaded board doors, a six panel door, and a slight projection, sheltered by its own shed roof, and covered by a beaded board sliding door. A four pane window serves the first story, and three six pane kneewall windows light the upper story. On the northeast slope of the ell roof is a gable roofed dormer, with a two-over-two sash window, flush boarded front, clapboarded sides with cornerboards, a plain gable cornice, open lateral eaves with fascia boards, and an asphalt shingled roof.

The sunporch has novelty siding walls trimmed by cornerboards, close eaves and verges. In the center of the northeast gable end is the entry, a multipane glass door with plain frame and board steps. Plain frames also surround the two two-over-two sash windows found in each of the three facades, and the rectangular louver in the gable.

6. Nichols House; c.1830.
An early stereoscopic view reveals that this two-and-a-half story, gable front, sidehall plan, Greek Revival style house once had twelve-over-twelve sash. This detail, and the proportions, suggest a date as early as the 1830's. The main block's porch is probably a late 19th or early 20th century addition. Interior clapboarding on the rear of the main block indicates that the rear wing was built after the main block. The pantry was added to the wing. The same stereoscopic view shows that the garage (once an attached barn) replaced an earlier barn and postdates the rear wing. The present owners remodeled the attached barn into a garage about 1965, in stalling overhead garage doors and new second story windows, as well as building a one story shed roofed addition on the rear.

The main block is covered on the front and rear facades by a one story, shed roofed porch. (Part of the rear porch has been enclosed.) To the rear of the main block is a two story, gable roofed rear wing, with a small, one story, shed roofed pantry addition on its northeast. And to the rear of the wing is the two story, gable roofed garage, with its one story shed roofed addition on the northeast.

The sidehall plan main block, set on a brick foundation, is clapboarded, save for a small area of novelty siding on the northeast facade and the flush boarding in both the pedimented front gable and what little is visible of the rear (southeast) facade. The main block is trimmed by cornerboards and a pedimented box cornice with moldings and frieze (save for the rear gable, which has only close verges). As the flush boarding in the pediment projects slightly, the raking pediment cornices are shallower than the horizontal cornice. The slate roof is broken by a central brick chimney. Three bays wide and three bays deep, the main block is lit by plain framed two-over-two sash windows, the frames of the second story windows butting up against the cornice. In the southern bay of the northwest (street) gable end is the main entry, a glazed and paneled door (c.1900) with a plain frame. In the pedimented gable above is a modern rectangular metal louver, installed in the 1960's in a space once occupied by a larger window-the only significant alteration to this generally well-preserved house.

The porch that covers two facades of the main block has a concrete foundation and board floor. Its chamfered posts are set on small square bases and are ornamented by sawn curvilinear brackets. The metal sheathed shed roof is trimmed by a cornice with moldings and frieze. The one-bay-deep and two-bay-wide addition is clapboarded and trimmed with cornerboards and close molded eaves, save for the northwest facade, which is sheathed with flush boarding. Plain frames surround the glazed and paneled door on the northwest and the three two-over-two sash windows, two on the southwest and one on the southeast.

The two story wing, set on a brick and fieldstone foundation, is clapboarded on the southwest facade and on the western third of the northeast facade, and is sheathed with vertical boarding on the southeast gable end and the remainder of the northeast facade. Its slate gable roof is trimmed by plain eaves with sloping soffit and frieze. With the exception of two two-over-two sash windows on the northeast, the wing's plain framed windows retain older sash, with three six-over-six sash windows and a twelve-over-twelve sash window on the southwest, and one twelve-over-eight sash window on the northeast. These windows may have been original to the main block at various times. A board door appears in the northeast facade. In the eastern portion of the four bay southwest facade are found two plain-framed canted openings which serve the woodshed. The one story pantry addition on the wing's northeast facade is clapboarded and stands on a brick foundation. Its asphalt shingled shed roof has close gable eaves and lateral eaves with sloping soffits. Its two windows, a two-over-two sash window on the northwest and a twelve-over-twelve sash window on the southeast, again have plain frames.

The two story garage and its one story addition, both clapboarded, now share a concrete block foundation. The garage is topped by plain eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, save for the rear gable, which has close verges. The three bay southwest facade has three plain framed overhead garage doors in the first story, and three six-over-six sash windows with simply molded frames in the second story. The garage's other two facades are blank. The addition, topped by simpler eaves with sloping soffit, has two two pane windows and a single pane window on the long northeast facade and a single pane window in the southeast end, all with plain frames.

7. Holton House; c.1790.
Herbert W. Congdon recorded a tradition that this Federal style house was built by Major Isaiah Eaton (1728-1817). An alternate possibility, presented by Simonds, is that the house was built by Joel Holton-one of Westminster's original settlers who arrived in the 1760's. The house, according to Simonds, was returned to the family when purchased by William Holton, a direct descendant of Joel. In 1978, William and Betty Holton converted the second floor into an apartment. (Simonds, p. 187). The house has been labeled "1790", a date consistent with its form, surviving trim and fenestration pattern. The main block's sash has been replaced, save for one twelve-over-twelve sash window. The building was covered with aluminum siding in the 1960's. In the same period, new larger windows appeared in the first story of the ell and in the south addition. The upper level of the ell was remodeled to provide an apartment in 1978, with new windows and an open second story deck.

The house is an excellent example of the Federal style, though the aluminum siding, and the replacement of the original, probably sliding sash, sidelight glazing are serious detractions.

The house consists of a two story, 5 x 2 bay hip roofed, Georgian Plan main block, a two story gable roofed ell to the rear (southeast) of the main block and two small, one story, shed roofed additions in the Two corners of the main block and the ell. On the southeast gable end of the ell is a second story open deck with exterior stairway. The entire building is now sheathed with aluminum siding, though the main block still retains its brick foundation, its wooden box cornice with molding (notably a large cove molding beneath the soffit), and a slate roof. Two large square brick chimneys with capped flues break the rear slope of the roof, one on each side of the ell. In the center of the five bay wide street (northwest) facade is the notable main entry, containing a six panel door (usually covered by an outer board door). The door is flanked by pairs of slim pilasters with entasis and molded capitals, which support an entablature ornamented with small dentils in the cornice and fluting in the frieze . The entry's concrete step incorporates a granite millstone and is flanked by brick planters. Flanking the entry are detached, single-pane sidelights (each above a small, molded rectangular panel) which lights the wide central hall. These two windows and most of the other main block windows all have plain frames and decorative louvred shutters. The first story windows of the street facade's other four bays and of the two bay wide northeast and southwest ends all have two-over-two sash. The second story windows of the three facades, whose frames butt up against the cornice, have six-over-six sash, with the exception of the twelve-over-twelve sash window directly above the entry-possibly a surviving original window.

The ell, which has a fieldstone foundation, is covered by a slate roof, trimmed by cornices of the same design as the main block cornice and by close molded eaves with returns on the rear (southeast) gable. The ell is served by two glazed and paneled doors with plain frames, one in the two bay wide southeast gable end and one in the southwest facade. The southwest door has a five pane transom. Most of its windows are modern, with metal frames or simply molded wooden frames, although three older plain framed windows, a two over-two sash window on the northeast, a nine-over-six sash window and a small six pane window on the southwest, survive. The newer windows include a triple casement window with six pane sash in the first story of the southwest facade, a large triple window with central eight-over-eight sash and flanking four-over-four sash in the second story of the same facade, a thirty-two pane first story window and a double second story window with six-over-six sash in the southeast gable end. Virtually all of the other windows have eight-over-eight sash or six-over-six sash. The second story of the southeast gable end also has double sliding glass doors which open onto a wooden deck, supported by square wooden posts. The board floored deck has a short balustrade with plain posts and rails, and is reached by an exterior stairway with two flights and a landing, all with balustrades of the same design.

The two one-story additions in the corners of the main block and ell are similar in size and design, and have aluminum siding, close wooden eaves and verges, and asphalt roll papered shed roofs.

7A. Garage; c.1900. Behind the house stands the garage-horsebarn, which is known to have been standing in the 1920's, but was entirely remodeled in the 1960's, with new siding and new doors. The garage-horsebarn consists of two one story, gable roofed attached units, a tall and large garage (a former barn) on the west and a smaller and shorter horsebarn on the east. Each has a concrete block foundation, red "brick" asphalt siding, cornerboards, and a slate gable roof. The garage is trimmed by close eaves and verges, while the horsebarn has open eaves with exposed rafters, fascia boards, and friezes. Plain frames surround the few openings, three overhead garage doors and a paneled door with window (all added in the 1960's) in the garage's southwest facade, a twenty pane window in the garage's northeast facade, and a large canted arched opening in the southwest facade of the horsebarn.

7B. Barn; c.1900. Behind the garage stands the barn, originally a tobacco barn in Alstead, N.H., which was dismantled and reconstructed here sometime in the first two decades of the 20th century. Until tobacco farming was abandoned in Westminster, it continued to be used as a tobacco barn. About 1980, the barn was entirely resheathed with vertical board siding, and given a new concrete foundation and new entries. The two-story, gable roofed barn retains its slate roof with its characteristic slate covered roof vent running the length of the ridge-a very unusual feature. The open eaves have exposed rafters and fascia boards. In both (northwest and southeast) gable ends can be found a large sliding board door, and a short board hayloft door above the sliding door.

7C. Shed; c.1950. Directly behind the barn and butting up against its southeast gable end is a one story shed, which was moved onto the property from Westminster Station about 1980 and is considered non-contributing. The small shed, sheathed with vertical boarding, has a very low pitched shed roof, which is covered with asphalt roll paper and is trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards. The shed has two windowless openings, a boarded up window and a board door in its three visible facades.

7D. Sheep Shed; c.1940. Southwest of the barn is a sheep shed, originally a chickenhouse, probably built in the 1940's and moved onto the property from Walpole, N.H. in 1985. It is considered non-contributing. The small one story structure, set on concrete blocks, is sheathed with a mixture of horizontal boards and beaded boards and trimmed with cornerboards. The asphalt shingled shed roof, trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters, is extended on the southwest side by a short shed roofed hood, which has exposed rafters and fascia boards. A board door in the southeast facade, and a bank of four screened openings in the southwest wall are the only openings.

8. Gates House; c.1790.
The massive proportions of this vernacular, 5 x 2 bay cape, as well as the shallow box cornice with slight returns, suggest an early 19th century date. The rear shed dormer, containing a bathroom and a bedroom, was added by Clarence Torrey in the 1930's. The ell formerly contained a woodshed and a blacksmith shop wagon shed. The woodshed was turned into a kitchen, with a new window, in the mid 20th century. The present owners renovated the wagon shed section in the early 1960's filling and opening with clapboards, new windows and door. In 1985, the front door and its sidelights were replaced by newer elements.

Behind the cape that is the main block of the house stretch a one story gable roofed ell, a one story gable roofed ell, a one story gable roofed barn, and a one story shed roofed shed.

The cape is clapboarded and trimmed, with sillboards and corner boards above the brick foundation. A shallow box cornice with moldings, frieze, and returns trims the slate roof, which is broken by a central brick chimney and a wide shed dormer on the rear (southeast) slope. In the center of the five bay wide street (northwest) facade is the main entry, a modern paneled door with two small lights, flanked by full length single plane sidelights with plain frames, topped by a molded lintel, and served by concrete steps. The other four bays contain two-over-two sash windows, with plain frames butting up against the cornice and non-contributing slat shutters. Similar frames and shutters ornament the six-over six sash windows of the gable ends, and the two six-over-six sash windows of the rear (southeast) facade. The rear facade also boasts a rear entry, a glazed and paneled door, plain frame, concrete steps, and a gable roofed hood, supported by simple braces and featuring latticework sides, exposed rafters and board ceiling. The wide shed dormer has wooden shingled walls, cornerboards and simple eaves with sloping soffit and frieze. The dormer's three two-over-two sash windows have plain frames.

The ell is also clapboarded above a brick foundation. Its slate roof is trimmed with simpler eaves with sloping soffit and frieze. Plain frames surround the older windows, a two-over-two sash window in the narrow streetside (northwest) facade, two six-over-six sash windows and a large two pane window in the northeast facade. The southwest facade has a new kitchen window, a triple casement window with three pane sash and simply molded frames. To the rear of the kitchen window can still be seen parts of the plain frame of an opening with canted corners for the blacksmith shop-wagon shed. The opening has been filled with clapboarding and now contains a glazed on paneled door and four modern windows, all with plain frames.

The one story barn covering the southeast gable end of the ell is sheathed with board and batten siding, save for the rear (southeast) gable, which is sheathed with vertical boarding. Simple eaves with sloping soffit and frieze trim the corrugated metal gable roof. In the center of the southwest facade is found the barn's large tall double board doors. The two twelve pane southwestern windows, the two six pane northeastern windows, the two pane southeastern window, and the board doors, one each in the northeast, southwest and south east facades, all have either plain frames or no finish trim at all.

Attached to the rear gable end of the barn is a low, one story shed with solid board and batten walls on the northeast and southeast. Most of the southwest facade is open, but the western third is partially closed by horizontal boarding, with a doorless opening. The corrugated metal shed roof has a plain box cornice on the north east and part of the southwest side, open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards on the remainder of the southwest side, and close verges on the southeast.

8A. West Corncrib; c.1900. Behind the attached shed is a one story corncrib, which is known to have been standing in the 1920's. The corncrib is sheathed with narrow vertical boards spaced to allow ventilation. The asphalt shingled gable roof has open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards. The only opening is a board door in the southwest gable end.

8B. East Corncrib; c.1900. Next to the west corncrib stands another one story corncrib, again known to have been standing in the 1920's, but probably of a somewhat earlier date. The corncrib is topped by a corrugated metal shed roof, again with open eaves having exposed rafters and fascia boards. The walls are covered with square slats spaced to provide ventilation. As the slats are relatively short, three levels of them are needed to cover each facade. A now doorless opening is found in the southeast facade.

8C. Playhouse; c.1978. South of the barn stands the non-contributing playhouse, built in the late 1970's. The small, one story building has wooden shingled gable ends and corrugated plastic lateral facades. The gable roof, also of corrugated plastic, has exposed rafters and purlins in the eaves. A four panel door and a four pane window in the northwest gable end are the only openings.

8D. Garage; c.1925. Behind the playhouse stands the garage. L-shaped in plan, the garage consists of two one story sections: a gable roofed unit to the north, which, appears to have been built in the 1920's, and a one story, shed roofed section to the south, added by Clarence Torrey in the 1930's. Both are clapboarded and covered by asphalt shingled roofs. The smaller gable roofed section has a fieldstone foundation, simple box cornices, and fascia boards. The northeast gable end is largely filled by double paneled doors with multipane windows. This section is lit by six-pane windows, two on the south east, one on the northwest. The larger shed roofed section has a concrete foundation and plain eaves with sloping soffit and frieze. In each "gable" end are found double doors, glazed and paneled doors on the northwest, and beaded board doors on the southeast. This section is lit by four pane windows, five on the southwest, two on the southeast and two on the northeast.

9. Harlow House; c.1825.
The steep roof pitch of this vernacular Cape suggests a late date for the building type, probably in the 1820's. An exterior chimney was built in 1941 or 1942. A dormer to house a bathroom appeared on the Cape's rear roof slope in 1944. In 1943 and 1944, other changes were made to the ell, notably an overhead garage door and a bank of casement windows. The present owners installed a triple casement window in the Cape's northeast gable end in 1984.

To the rear of the Cape that is the main block of the house is a one and a half story, gable roofed ell, which has three one story shed roofed additions, two covering the northeast facade and one covering the southeast gable end.

The cape, set on a concrete foundation, is clapboarded, and trimmed with cornerboards, and shallow box cornices with moldings, friezes, and slight returns. The steeply pitched slate roof has a shed dormer in the center of its rear (southeast) slope. The five bay wide street (northwest) facade has a central entry, a glazed and paneled door with two small lights, plain frame, and a five pane transom window, reached by concrete and stone step with wrought metal hand rails. The other four bays of the street facade, the three bays of the southwest gable end, the two bays of the northeast gable end and the single visible bay of the rear facade contain two-over-two sash windows with plain trim and, in most cases, louvred shutters. The only exception is a first story window in the northeast gable end, a triple casement window with single pane sash and metal frames. The southwest gable end also has a modern exterior brick chimney with one sloped shoulder. On the rear slope of the cape's roof is a bathroom dormer, clapboarded with cornerboards, close verges, simple lateral eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, a small two-over-two sash window with plain frame, and an asphalt shingled shed roof.

The ell is clapboarded and trimmed with cornerboards, close eaves and verges, a concrete foundation, and is covered by a slate roof. The southwest facade has a plain framed two-over-two sash window and a bank of five eight pane, non-contributing casement windows with simply molded frame, as well as an overhead garage door and a glazed and paneled door, both with plain frames. The latter door has a stone and concrete step, and a hood (c. 1910) with triangular braces, exposed rafters with shaped tails, and a slate covered gable roof. The ell's southeast gable end has a six pane window in its gable, the first story being covered by a shed roofed addition with fieldstone foundation, clapboarded walls, cornerboards, three plain framed windows, and open eaves with exposed rafters, fascia boards and friezes. The northeast facade of the ell is covered by two shed roofed additions, both having a concrete foundation, clapboarded walls, cornerboards, and plain window and door frames. The western addition, trimmed by eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, and frieze features a four panel door and two one-over sash windows with louvred shutters, one in each (northeast and northwest) facade. The eastern addition, having simple eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, has only one two-over-two sash window.

9A. Barn; c.1860. To the rear of the house, a row of five outbuildings stretches along the northeast lot boundary. The westernmost is a two story, gable roofed barn with a one story, gable roofed shop attached to its northwest gable end. The barn, set on a concrete and stone foundation, is sheathed with board and batten siding, save for a small section of boarding on the second story of its southwest facade and a larger section of vertical boarding in the center of its northeast facade. The slate roof overhangs the gables, but not the eave sides. The southwest facade has tall double sliding board doors, and a shorter and smaller beaded board sliding door, topped by a board hayloft door. Plain frames surround the windows, one boarded up window in the southeast gable end and three windows (with a single pane, nine panes and six panes) in the northeast facade. The attached shop is clapboarded with cornerboards above a fieldstone foundation. Its slate roof is trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters, fascia boards, and friezed. A brick chimney in the northeast slope of the roof serves the shop's forge. A large sliding board door with a small window dominates the southwest facade, while the other two facades each have two two-over-two sash windows with plain frames.

9B. Corncrib; c.1950. Behind the barn is the non-contributing corncrib. The corncrib and the neighboring brooder house (#9C) were built elsewhere in the late 1940's or early 1950's as chicken range houses. Both were later moved to their present sites to serve other purposes. The one story, gable roofed corncrib is sheathed with vertical boarding, save for the main level of its rear (northeast) gable end, which is covered with vertical slats spaced for ventilation. No finish trims the doorless opening in the southwest gable end, the windowless opening on the southeast, or the asphalt shingled gable roof.

9C. Brooder House; c. 1950. Next to the corncrib is the non-contributing brooder house, a one story, shed roofed structure, with walls of horizontal boarding and tarpaper, broken only by a doorless opening in the southwest facade. The opening and the corrugated metal roof have no finish trim.

9D. West Chickenhouse; c.1947. Behind the brooder house stand two shed roofed, two story chicken houses, both built in 1947 and therefore classified as non-contributing. The west chickenhouse served a dual purpose, the first story being open for the storage of vehicles, etc., the second story housing chickens. Sheathed with red "brick" asphalt siding and trimmed with cornerboards, the west chickenhouse has a low pitched shed roof with open eaves having exposed rafters and fascia boards. The first story of the southwest facade has four open bays, separated by the building's exposed posts with braces. The second story has a central plain-framed board door and six two-pane windows. The second story was also served by three pane windows in the northeast facade and a board door in the southeast facade. This door was originally connected by a bridge to an exterior stairway that served a second story door in the east chickenhouse. (The bridge and the stairway have both since disappeared.)

9E. East Chickenhouse; c.1947. The non-contributing east chickenhouse has a concrete foundation, red "brick" asphalt siding, cornerboards, open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards, and a low pitched shed roof. The northwest gable end has a doorless opening in the first story and a board door in the second story. Both stories of the southwest facade share the same pattern of fenestration, each having a long bank of fifteen windows, with a group of five six pane windows in the center, flanked on each side by taller twelve pane windows. Each of these, in turn, is flanked by a group of four six pane windows. (The sash of the first story windows and three of the second story windows have been removed.) The southeast end has two boarded up windows in each story, while the rear (northeast) facade has four three pane windows in each story.

10. Lane House; c.1800.
One of the very finest houses in the district based upon architectural significance, this Federal style, Georgian plan house with a Greek Revival style entrance, is associated with Henry C. Lane-its occupant during the second half of the nineteenth century.

Lane was born in 1824. At age 16 he had to forego his plans to attend college due to his father's illness and "financial embarrassment", in order to manage the family farms of 300 acres in Westminster, in an area known as "Wellington Hill". At about age 30 (in about the year 1854) by then a prosperous farmer, he sold the family farm and moved to this house in Westminster Village. Lane may have seen an opportunity to pursue a more intellectual career there, due to the increased activity triggered by the arrival of the railroad in 1850. From 1866 to 1878, Lane served on the board of selectmen and other offices, including trial judge. Though never formally trained in law, he also acted as a legal and financial counselor in town. In 1881, he was elected president of the Savings Bank at Bellows Falls. Lane was probably responsible for the remodeling of the entrance of the house to the Greek Revival style, probably shortly after his arrival in about 1854.

The proportions of the 5 x 2 bay, Georgian plan, Federal style main block of the Lane House suggests a date of c.1800. Around 1850, the entrance was remodeled by a fine Greek Revival style doorway, which was enriched by a Queen Anne style entrance porch, probably added c.1890. The complex of house, ell, sheds and barns grew throughout the 19th century and perhaps the early 20th century. The only recent change to the house appears to be the addition of a small bathroom dormer on the ell in 1984, and the present system of louvred shutters which do not correspond to the width or spacing of the windows.

On the street front of the two-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block is a wide, one story entry porch. The one and a half story, gable roofed ell to the rear of the main block has recessed porch in its southeast gable end. Stretching back from the ell is a long row of attached structures, including, respectively, two one-story gable roofed barns: a one and a half story west barn (with a one-story shed roofed addition on the southwest) and a two story east barn.

The main block and the ell share a high brick foundation. The main block is clapboarded and trimmed with cornerboards and sillboards. Its slate roof is trimmed by lateral box cornices with moldings and friezes and by shallow molded gable cornices with returns. At each end of the roof ridge is an ornate brick chimney with wide base and corbeled cap. In the center of the five bay wide street (northwest) facade is an impressive entry, containing a glazed and paneled door flanked by three-pane full sidelights. Both door and sidelights are topped by three pane transom window. The entry is enclosed by a wide paneled frame, ornamented with Greek fretwork in the side and lintel panels, and by concentric squares in the upper cornerblocks. The other four first story bays contain two-over-two sash windows, while the five second story windows have six-over-six sash and butt up against the cornice. The windows all have plain frames and louvred shutters. The hip-roofed entrance porch has a shallow projecting central bay, topped by a gable roof. The porch has a latticework base, board floor, turned posts decorated with brackets incorporating both sawn and turned ornament, balustrades with turned balusters and molded rails, a valance screen with turned spindles and molded lower rail, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, and a triangular panel in the small entry gable The two bay wide northeast and southwest gable ends are identical in their composition, each having two windows with plain frames and louvred shutters in both the first and second stories and two plain framed four pane windows in the gable. The facades differ in the first and second story windows, the southwest gable end having one-over-one sash windows, while, on the northeast, the windows have four-over-four sash, save for one two-over-two sash window in the second story. (Also, one northeast gable window has been replaced by a louver.) The main block has only one rear facade window, a plain framed one-over-one sash window in the first story.

The more visible southwest facade of the ell has a sillboard and a molded cornice, while the southeast gable end and the northeast facade lack sillboards and have only close eaves and verges. Plain frames surround the two one-over-one sash windows on the southwest, the two two-over-two sash windows and one four-over-four sash window on the northeast, and the four-over-four sash windows in the south east gable. The northeast and southwest slopes of the slate roof are each interrupted by a large gable wall dormer. Each dormer is clapboarded, has plain eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, and is covered by a slate gable roof. The two dormers differ only in the number of plain framed six-over-six sash windows, there being two in the southwest dormer, but only one in the northeast dormer. Between the main block and the ell's southwest wall dormer, there has recently been inserted a small shed roofed bathroom dormer, whose short clapboarded wall is topped by a simple box cornice and which is lit by a modern single pane awning window. The southern two thirds of the southeast gable end's first story is taken up by an inset porch, one bay deep on the southwest facade and two bays wide on the southeast facade. The southwest bay is topped by a semi-elliptical arch which is half filled by a solid beaded board railing. The two untrimmed rectangular southeast bays are separated by a square post. The porch interior has a board floor, flush boarded walls, a paneled door with window on the northwest, a four panel door on the northeast, an an unfinished board ceiling with exposed rafters. The two southeast bays of the porch are sheltered by a metal sheathed shed roofed hood, supported by plain braces. The hood is continued over a small addition to the north. This shallow one story addition, in the corner of the ell and the first attached shed, has a brick foundation, clapboarded walls, corner boards, close eaves and verges, and a four pane window in its south east facade.

The first attached shed, which we will call the west enclosed shed, has a brick foundation, clapboarded walls, a northeast sillboard, cornerboards, close molded lateral eaves, close verges, and a slate roof. The southwest facade has a high nine pane window and double board doors. The northeast facade has another nine pane window, a four pane window, a board door, and a shallow privy projection, covered by an extension of the main roof, and by the same walls and trim. The privy is served by a wide cleanout door and is lit by a small single pane window.

The next shed, the east enclosed shed, is again a one story structure on a brick foundation, with a slate roof. The southwest facade, sheathed with vertical boarding and board and batten siding, lacks any trim on its eaves, corners, and its double board doors. The wood shingled southeast gable end has cornerboards and close verges, as well as plain frames around its twenty-four pane main level window and its single pane gable window. The blank northeast facade is clapboarded and has cornerboards and close eaves.

Attached to the east corner of the east enclosed shed is the west open shed. The two one story open sheds have vertical boarding on their southwest facades (and on the west shed's northeast gable end), board and batten siding on their rear (northeast) facades, open eaves with exposed rafters, and slate gable roofs. The only openings are a board door in the west shed's northwest gable end, a wide opening with rounded upper corners in the west shed's southwest facade, and a large rectangular opening in the east shed's southwest facade.

Covering the southeast gable end of the east open shed is the large west barn, a one and a half story structure with vertical boarding, close eaves on the northeast, close verges on the southeast gable and simple overhanging eaves on the northwest gable. The northwest gable end contains tall double board doors, topped by a fourteenpane transom window. The southwest facade of the west barn is completely covered by a one story addition, set on a fieldstone foundation and sheltered by a shed roofed extension of the barn's slate roof. The addition's northwest end is clapboarded, as is the west half of ate southwest facade. The rest of the southwest facade (east of an open bay) and the southeast end are sheathed with vertical boards. The northwest end continues the same eaves as the northwest gable of the barn, but the other facades have close eaves and verges. Plain frames surround the three small windows and board door in the clapboarded section of the southwest facade. But no trim graces the southeastern board door and the four pane southwestern window of the vertically boarded section.

Covering the southeast gable end of the west barn is the two-story east barn, which is sheltered by a slate gable roof. There is tar paper sheathing on the northeast facade, but only remnants of tar paper cling to the vertically boarded southwest facade and southeast gable end. No eaves finish is found on the lateral facades, although close verges trim the southeast gable. The first story of the southwest facade has a simple board door and three open bays, two of them filled by half-height partitions. A doorless second story opening appears in the same facade, while a single window is found in each of the other two facades.

10A. Shed; c.1865. Southwest of the west barn stands a shed, which is inscribed "Built 1865" on an interior post. The tall, one story, gable roofed shed has vertical boarding in its gable ends and northwest facade. The narrow vertical boards of its southeast facade are spaced to allow ventilation. The slate roof is trimmed by open lateral eaves with exposed rafters and plain gable eaves. The only opening is a board door in the northeast gable end.

11. Bond House; 1884.
This vernacular house was built for Henry and Maria Bond in 1884. Bond was a roofing contractor who installed slate roofs. In the mid-20th century, a new kitchen and bathroom in the ell resulted in the installation of small modern windows. The building was resheathed with aluminum siding about 1960, which appears to have entailed removal of window, entrance and corner ornament, probably in the Italianate style. In the 1960's, the attached barn was demolished and replaced with a detached garage.

The house consists of a two-and-a-half story, gable roofed, eaves front main block and a two-and-a-half story, gable roofed ell to its rear. One-story hip roofed porches cover the northwest (street) facade of the main block and the southwest facade of the ell. Both the main block and the ell are set on a high brick foundation, and are sheathed by aluminum siding. With the exception of the main block's bay window, all of the window and door frames have been reduced to narrow aluminum strips. The main block and wing have heavy box cornices with moldings, frieze, and returns. The house's red slate roofs are ornamented with a band of red and blue diamond shaped slates across each roof slope.

The main block's three bay wide street (northwest) facade has a central entry, an Italianate style, glazed and paneled door with two tall lights. Above it in the second story is a two-over-two sash window. The side bays in each story contain pairs of tall, narrow one-over-one sash windows. The full front porch has a latticework base, brick and concrete steps serving the open central bay, board floor, chamfered posts with molded bases and capitals on pedestals with chamfered edges and molded caps, railings with molded rails and decoratively sawn slats, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, a beaded board ceiling, and an asphalt shingled hip roof. The three bay-wide northeast gable end has two-over-two sash windows in the first two stories and a pair of one-over-one sash, in the gable. The two bay southwest gable end has a single two-over-two sash window in each of the two lower stories and a pair of one-over-one sash windows in the gable. The eastern bay of the facade is occupied by a two story, three sided bay window. Set on a brick foundation, the bay window has been sided with aluminum siding beneath the windows. The central two-over-two sash windows and the narrower side one-over-one sash windows all have plain frames. Each story is sheathed with flush boarding and corner moldings between the windows and is topped by a heavy box cornice with moldings, frieze, and returns. The first story cornice trims a narrow decorative roof. The bay window is topped by a hip roof, again of red slates with a band of diamond shaped red and blue slates.

The ell, as already noted, has similar foundation, sheathing, cornice and roof as the main block. The two bay wide northeast facade and the southeast gable end have small one-over-one sash windows in their first stories and normally sized two-over-two sash windows in the second story of the northeast facade and in the southeast gable. The three-bay-wide southwest facade has two-over two sash windows in the two western bays of each story, while the eastern bay contains a glazed and paneled door in the first story and a small four-pane window in the second story. The side porch covering the southwest facade of the ell has a slat base, board floor and steps, (the latter with wrought metal hand rails), three square posts, a simple but deep box cornice with moldings and frieze, and a low pitched, asphalt shingled hip roof.

11A. Garage; c.l960's. Behind the house stands the non-contributing garage, built in the 1960's. The one story, two stall garage, set on a concrete foundation, is sheathed with novelty siding and trimmed with cornerboards, close verges, and simple lateral eaves with sloping soffits. Plain frames surround its two southwestern overhead garage doors, the single one-over-one sash window in each gable end, and the two one-over-one sash windows in the rear (northeast) facade.

12. U.S. Post Office; c.1960.
Needing more space, the U.S. Post Office Department entered into a rental agreement with George Cote to provide a separate building for the Westminster village post office. Cote built the present building in 1960, according to plans provided by the Department. No exterior changes have been made to the building since the Post Office was moved here in January of 1961.

The non-contributing Post Office is a one story, gable roofed, rectangular building set on a concrete foundation. The walls are sheathed with wide clapboarding and trimmed by close verges and lateral box cornices with moldings. A plain brick chimney with flue breaks the asphalt shingled roof. In the center of the three bay wide street (northwest) gable end is the main entry, a paneled door with window and narrow molded frame. Served by concrete steps with wrought metal hand rails, the door is protected by a gable roofed hood supported by plain braces The hood has a plywood ceiling, close eaves and verges, a clapboarded gable, and an asphalt shingled roof. Each side bay has a twenty-four pane window with the narrow molded frame found on all of the windows. In the gable, the title "U.S. POST OFFICE/WESTMINSTER, VT" appears in applied letters. The other facades all have one-over-one sash windows, four in the southwest facade, three in the northeast facade, and one in the rear southeast gable end. Also in the rear facade is another paneled door with window, narrow molded frame, and concrete steps.

13. Safford House; c.1810.
The main block of the Safford House displays hallmark proportional features of the Federal style such as a low pitched hip roof and windows butting up against the cornice. In the mid-19th century, a Greek Revival doorway and a full-length porch were added to the street front of the main block, while a two-story addition was added on its rear facade. In the summer of 1985 (at this writing), the house was being renovated. Asbestos shingle siding and a modern picture window were removed. The present owners also plan to in stall twelve-over-twelve sash to replace the later two-over-two sash, to re-open the now filled in arches in the ell, and to clapboard the gable end of the ell.

The northwest (street) facade of the two-story, hip roofed main block is covered by a one-story porch, while the rear (southeast) facade is almost completely covered by a two-story, gable roofed ell on the north and a two story, shed roofed addition on the south.

The main block now has a concrete foundation, but retains its clapboarded walls, cornerboards, and slightly projecting box cornice with moldings and frieze. The rear slope of the asphalt shingled hip roof is broken by two massive brick chimneys with corbeled caps. The five bay front facade has a central six panel door, flanked by four-pane full sidelights and topped by a peaked lintel board. A simple outer molding frames the entry. The windows of the five bay street facade and the two bay (northeast and southwest) ends all have two over two sash, molded frames, and louvred shutters.

The one story veranda, set on stone and brick posts, has a board floor and a beaded board ceiling. Four tapered square posts with rounded corners and molded capitals support a full entablature and the low pitched, metal sheathed hip roof. Railings with square balusters and molded rails fill two of the three front bays and both end bays. Concrete steps serve the open central bay. The ell is set somewhat lower than the main block on a concrete and fieldstone foundation, and is covered by a slate roof. The lateral (northeast and southwest) facades are clapboarded beneath open eaves with exposed rafters and friezes. The southeast gable end (to be clapboarded in the near future) is now sheathed with horizontal boarding and tarpaper and is topped by tarpaper and metal sheathed close eaves. Besides a small four-pane window, the southwest facade's first story is distinguished by two semi-elliptical arched openings, each now filled in with clapboarding and containing a door and a window. The second story has two six-pane kneewall windows with molded frames. The northeast facade has a two-over-two sash window with molded frame and louvred shutters and a recent twelve-over-twelve sash window with plain frame. The unfinished gable end has only a board door and screened opening.

The shed roofed addition on the southeast facade of the main block is clapboarded above a concrete foundation. The main block's box cornice is continued on the southwest facade of this addition, but the rear (southeast) facade has only close eaves. The roof is an asphalt shingled extension of the main block roof. The southwest facade has a four-over-four sash window and a glazed and paneled door in the first story and two-over-two sash window in the second story. The southeast facade has two-over-two sash windows in each story. The door and the windows all have molded frames.

13A. Playhouse; c.1984. Behind the house stands the non-contributing playhouse, built in Barre, VT in August 1984 and moved to the present site in May 1985. The tall, one story structure has plywood walls with cornerboards, open eaves with fascia boards, exposed rafters and purlins, and a steeply pitched, asphalt shingled gable roof. Plain frames surround the plywood door and the three four pane windows.

14. Aldrich House; c. 1790.
The Aldrich House is said to have been built in the late 18th century, a date which is confirmed by the proportions of this steep-roofed, Georgian plan house. The entrance was remodeled to the Greek Revival style in the mid-19th century. The early shed roofed porch that once covered the street facade collapsed in January of 1940 and was replaced by the present small entry porch. A previous owner, Clarence Torrey, added the secondary door in the street facade in the same year to serve an upstairs apartment. In 1941, Torrey demolished the old ell and built the present ell. In the mid 1960's small modern windows appeared in the first story of the northeast facade of the ell. A bow window was installed in the main block in 1980. In 1982, a porch serving the secondary street door was removed and the building was sheathed with vinyl clap boarding.

The house consists of the two-and-a-half story, gable roofed, eaves front main block and a two story, gable roofed ell to its rear. Both are set on brick foundations and are now covered with vinyl siding. The main block has a wide pedimented box cornice with moldings. Its steeply pitched slate roof is broken by two simple brick interior chimneys, one at each end of the ridge. In the center of the street (northwest) facade is the main entry, a four panel door with five pane full sidelights and a plain wide outer frame. The entry is sheltered by a small porch with concrete steps and floor. Two pairs of cruciform posts support a simple pedimented box cornice, flush boarded gable and ceiling, and a steep asphalt shingled gable roof. On each side of the man entry are found two two-over-two sash windows with plain vinyl frames and decorative louvred shutters. At the north end of the first story appears a secondary entry, a four panel door with concrete steps and plain frame. The second story has five two-over-two sash windows with decorative louvred shutters and simple vinyl frames. The same frames and, usually, the shutters, distinguish virtually all of the main block windows. The northeast gable end has a two pane window and two two-over-two sash windows in the first story, a two-over-two sash window in the second story, and two six-over-six sash windows in the pedimented gable. The southwest gable end has two six-over-six sash windows in the gable, as well as two-over-two sash windows, three in the second story and one in the first. The southwest gable end also has a shallow non-contributing oriel bow window, supported by simple sawn brackets. The bow window has three casement windows with six pane sash. The rear (southeast) facade has only two windows, both found south of the ell, a one-over-one sash window in the first story, a two-over-two sash window in the second story.

The ell's corrugated metal gable roof has a simple box cornice with returns. Its two entries, a four panel door in the southwest facade and a paneled door with window in the southeast gable end, are both served by concrete steps with plain wooden railings, and are sheltered by hoods, with simple braces, open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards, open gables, and asphalt shingled gable roofs. The ell windows all have plain vinyl frames. The double casement windows with six-pane sash (one in the first story of both the southwest gable end) also have louvred shutters. The other windows are a small one-over-one sash window and a two-over-two sash window in the first story of the northeast facade, a one-over-one sash window in the southeast gable end's first story, and three six-pane kneewall windows, two on the southwest and one on the northeast.

14A. Garage; c.1915. Behind the house stands the garage, which, before the replacement of the ell in 1941, was attached to the house. Known to have been standing in the 1920's, the garage can be assigned an early 20th century date. In 1941, the building was resheathed by Clarence Torrey with clapboards and asphalt shingles, and given new garage doors. (The central door was replaced by a modern overhead garage door in the 1970's.) Torrey also built a small addition on the southeast end to house a blacksmith shop. The present owners added a greenhouse in 1983. The two story shed roofed main block is clapboarded on the northwest and southwest facades, but sheathed with asphalt shingles on the less seen southeast and northeast facades. The facades are all trimmed with cornerboards, plain window and door trim, close verges, and plain lateral box cornices with friezes. The three bay wide southwest facade has three garage doors in the first story, a modern overhead garage door in the central bay, older double paneled doors with multipane windows in the side bays. Above the central door is found double, beaded board hayloft doors, while above the side facades appear six pane windows. Two more six-pane windows are found in the first story of the rear (northeast) facade as well as two small cantilevered projections with asphalt shingled sides and metal sheathed shed roofs, built to accommodate larger cars about 1970.

The southeast gable end is covered by two one-story shed roofed additions, the older shop addition to the north, the small modern greenhouse to the south. The shop has asphalt shingled walls, cornerboards, close verges, and lateral box cornices with friezes. Plain frames surround its six-pane windows, two on the northeast and one on the southeast gable end. The corrugated plastic walls and roof of the shallow greenhouse are interrupted only by a windowless opening on the southwest and by a plastic door with wooden frame on the southeast.

14B. Barn; c. 1910. Behind the garage stands the former barn, whose form again suggests an early 20th century date and which is said to have once been a henhouse. In 1969, the first floor of the barn was remodeled into an apartment, a change that required the installation of new windows and doors and of an exterior chimney. It is a two-story, shed roofed structure, covered by board and batten siding, save for some vertical boarding in the first stories of the southwest and north east facades. Its corrugated metal roof is trimmed by a plain box cornice with frieze. The main southwest front retains two original, plain framed six-pane windows in the second story, as well as two large beaded board sliding doors in the first story. A concrete block exterior chimney now divides the facade. The first story has two glazed and paneled doors and six casement windows with single pane sash (two single windows, three double windows, and a triple window), all with narrow molded frames. In the first story can also be found an awning type single pane window on the northwest end, a board door with no trim on the southeast end, two double casement windows with single pane sash and narrow molded frames, and a one over-one sash window with plain frame in the northeast facade. Attached to the southeast gable end is a narrowed shed. The long one story shed is sheathed by horizontal boarding with remnants of tarpaper. The shed roof is trimmed with close verges and simple box cornices and is covered with asphalt roll paper. Three large openings and a smaller doorless opening appear In the southwest facade, while the southeast end has a windowless opening. At the rear of the lot is a modern swimming pool, surrounded by a concrete floor and a post and rail fence.

15. Metcalf and Cahalane Store; c.1922.
The old village store on this site burned in 1922. The present store was built as its replacement in the same year by the Walpole, N.H. firm of Metcalf and Cahalane, who purchased the lot in August. Sometime between 1945 and 1970, the original high flat-topped false front was removed, revealing the building's gable roof. The store windows were shortened at some unknown time before 1970 by infills of clapboarding. In 1983, the front porch and a shed roofed addition on the southwest side were built.

The building consists of a one and a half story, gable front main block, with a one-story, shed roofed full front porch, and one-story shed roofed additions covering both its southwest and southeast

The main block, set on a concrete foundation, is clapboarded on the northwest (street) gable end, but is otherwise sheathed with novelty siding. The facades are trimmed with cornerboards and a box cornice with moldings. The northeast facade is also trimmed with a sill board with watertable. A large window occupies most of the street gable end and the western bay of the northeast facade. The central store entry is a modern aluminum framed door with a plain frame, full sidelights, and a transom window over the door and the side lights. The store windows are large plate glass windows with plain frames and a short base of vertical beaded boarding. the front windows, a wider double window to the north of the store door, and a narrower single pane window to the south of the door, are now shortened by a low infill of clapboarding. But the large plate glass store window on the northeast facade still appears in its original full length. South of the storefront in the street facade is a beaded board door with two boarded up windows, and a plain frame. Plain frames also surround the boarded up window in the northeast facade and the short horizontal double window with three pane sash in the rear gable.

The three bay wide front porch has a board floor, square boxed posts, simple wooden railings, wrought metal hand rails flanking the open central bay, plywood half gables with close verges, wide overhanging lateral eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards, and a corrugated metal shed roof.

The one-story rear addition, used for storage and believed to be part of the original building, is set on a concrete foundation, sheathed with novelty siding, trimmed with cornerboards, plain window and door frames, and the same cornice as the main block, and covered by a corrugated metal roof. It has two-over-two sash windows in the rear (southeast) facade and double paneled doors in the southwest facade. (The eight triangular panels of each door are filled with vertical boarding.)

The narrow addition on the southwest side of the main block, covered by a shed roofed extension of the main block's corrugated metal roof, is set on concrete posts, sheathed with novelty siding, trimmed with cornerboards, plain window and door frames, and topped by a box cornice similar to the cornices of the main block and the rear addition. Each narrow (northwest and southeast) end has a door of the same design as the double doors on the rear addition and a rectangular louver in the half gable. The long southwest facade has four small three-pane windows.

16. May House; c.1795.
The most significant structure in the district, this Georgian style house was built by Eleazar May soon after his arrival in Westminster in 1789 from Haddam, Connecticut. In the front part of the house. according to Child, May opened the first store in town, which accounts for its crossroads location. The house is a rare example of the Georgian style in Vermont, and is especially notable for its fine detailing. Though some of the original detailing has been replaced in what appears to have been a nineteenth century restoration, much of the cornice dentils, and the cornices of the four second and attic story windows in the north gable end, appear to be original. All other window cornices have been replaced with cornices of different profile.

In the early nineteenth century, May worked in partnership with Mr. Cone, later with Mark Richards, and eventually with his son James, who was born in 1797. James May apparently took over his father's business, for both McClellan's Map of 1856, and Beer's Map of 1869 show "J. May" living here. James May died in 1877. Eleazar May had also built a brick store next to the house in the early nineteenth century, in which was located the State Bank from 1807 to 1811. That store burned in 1922, to be replaced by the present one, #15. In 1925, Louise Crum bought the house from Abbey Holton Buck and her daughter, who had lived there for over twenty years.

The bay window, the Italianate style porches, the two-over-two sash, and probably, the windows' molded lintels all appear to be late 19th century in date. The vinyl clapboarding on the front porch and the modern triple window in the northeast gable end are modern, non-contributing additions.

The two-and-a-half story gable roofed main block has a wide, one story, hip roofed entry porch on its street (northwest) facade. To the rear is a one story, gable roofed ell. In each corner of the main block and the ell is found a one-story rear entry porch.

The main block, set on a brick foundation, is clapboarded, and is trimmed with sillboards, on all but the rear (southeast) facades. Rusticated, staggered wooden quoins appear on the corners of the three public facades, but the rear facade has only cornerboards. The public facade windows have heavily molded cornices, while the rear facade windows have only plain frames. Virtually all of the windows have louvred shutters. The same distinction also appears the cornices: the main (northwest) facade is topped by a rich box cornice with moldings, dentils, and modillions. The shallower gable cornices have moldings, dentils and returns, but no modillions. The rear lateral box cornice has simpler moldings and a frieze, but neither dentils nor modillions. The slate gable roof is broken by two interior ridge brick chimneys with wide bases and metal caps. The main entry in the center of the five bay wide street (northwest) facade is a four panel door with four pane transom. The door and transom share a molded frame and are flanked by fluted pilasters supporting a shallow entablature cut off by the porch roof. In the second story above the main entry is a double window with one-over one sash. The four side bays of each story contain two-over-two sash windows. The molded cornices of the second story windows overlap, and, indeed, duplicate, the lower moldings of the facade's box cornice.

The front entry porch, has low, vinyl sided walls topped by wide wooden copings. Beaded boarding sheathes the insides of the low walls, as well as the ceiling. In the central bay, board steps with metal hand rails lead up to the board floor. Four square, paneled posts with molded capitals rest on the low walls and support the box cornice with moldings and frieze and the low pitched hip roof.

The two bay wide northeast gable end has two-over-two sash windows in the first two stories and two six-over-six sash windows in the gable. The eastern first story window was replaced by a triple window with a large central plate glass window, flanking single pane casement windows, simply molded frame, and louvred shutters. In the southwest gable end, the first story has three two-over-two sash windows and, in the western bay, a three-sided bay window. The bay window, set on a brick foundation, is flushboarded, and trimmed with sillboards and corner moldings. Molded panels appear below and above the windows. The wide central two-over-two sash window and the one-over-one sash windows on the angled sides share a continuous sill and are topped by molded cornices similar to those found on the main block windows. A box cornice with moldings and frieze trims the low pitched hip roof. Above the bay window in the three bay wide second story is a double window with one-over-one sash. The central second story window has been clapboarded in, but the east window retains its two-over-two sash. The two gable windows have six-over-six sash. On each side of the ell in the first story of the rear facade is a multipane glass door with plain frame. The second story has four plain framed windows, three two-over-two sash windows and a modern louvred window.

The two rear porches both have lattice work bases and board floors. The southerly porch, visible from Grout Avenue, is more formal. Reached by board steps, served by a simple hand rail, the porch has a single chamfered post with molded base and capital set on a pedestal with paneled sides and molded cap. The low pitched hip roof has a beaded board ceiling and a box cornice with frieze and moldings. The northerly porch, served by stone steps, has a single square post, ornamented only by chamfered edges. The shed roof has a flush boarded half gable, and open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards.

Attached to the rear facade of the main block, the one story ell is placed on a high foundation of fieldstone, brick and concrete. Clapboarded and trimmed with cornerboards, the facades are topped by close eaves on the southwest, close verges on the southeast gable, and a shallow molded cornice on the northeast. The gable roof is sheathed with asphalt shingles. A molded frame distinguishes the five panel door in the southwest facade that opens onto the southerly rear porch. Plain frames surround the other doors, the large sliding board door in the southwest facade, the board door in the southeast gable end, and the four panel porch door in the north east facade. The two two-over-two sash windows found in both lateral (northeast and southwest) facades have plain frames and louvred shutters.

16A. Shed; c.1978. Behind the house, almost on the rear property line, stands the non-contributing shed, built in 1978. The small one-story shed has a concrete block foundation, novelty siding, cornerboards, open lateral eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards, slightly overhanging gable eaves, and an asphalt shingled gable roof. The two two-pane windows and the door of novelty siding have plain frames.

Grout Avenue

17. Driscoll House; c.1865.
No building is shown at this site on the McClellan county map of 1856, but a house does appear here on the village plan found in Beers' county atlas of 1869. Stylistic details would suggest that this vernacular house was built in the latter part of time span, perhaps in the late 1860's. Clapboarding on the inner walls indicates that the addition on the rear of the wing is not original, although it is known to be at least forty years old. The present entry porch was built about 1980.

The house is T-shaped in plan, with a one and a half story gable roofed main block set with its gable end facing the street, and a one-and-a-half story gable roofed ell in its southeast facade. A one story, shed roofed entry porch is found in the south (street side) corner for the main block and the ell. A one story, shed roofed addition covers the rear (northeast) facade of the wing.

The main block and the wing are both clapboarded, with trimming sillboards and cornerboards, and are sheltered by slate roofs. The main block is set on a brick foundation and trimmed by a box cornice with moldings and frieze. Its cornerboards are decorated by simply molded capitals. On its front (southwest) gable end, the lower corners of the box cornice's raking frieze are rounded to blend with the cornerboards. The main block windows all have molded lintels. The windows of the more visible two-bay-wide southwest gable end and the four bay wide northwest facade, as well as the one window in the southeast facade, looking onto the entry porch, have two-over-two sash. But the windows of the one bay wide rear (northeast) gable end contain possibly original six-over-six sash. (One northwest window opening is now filled with clapboards.)

The wing has a concrete and stone foundation, and widely projecting box cornices. The main entry, an Italianate, glazed and paneled door in the western bay of the four bay wide street facade, has a molded lintel. Plain frames surround all of the windows, the three two-over-two sash windows in the street facade, the two six-pane windows in the second story of the two-bay-wide southeast gable end, and the two-over-two sash window and the six-over-six sash window in its first story. The small entry porch in the corner of the main block and the wing has a board floor, stone steps with simple hand rail, two plain square posts, a plywood ceiling, vertical grooved plywood half gable, raking frieze, a simple box cornice, and an asphalt shingled shed roof. On the southwest slope of the roof are found two gable-roofed dormers, each with a plain framed two-over two sash window, a flush boarded front, clapboarded sides, corner boards, a pedimented box cornice with frieze, a clapboarded gable, and a slate roof.

The addition covering the rear (northeast) facade of the ell actually consists of two sections, a shallow section in the western third, a deeper section to the east, all under the same asphalt shingled shed roof. Both sections are clapboarded. The western section has a simple box cornice with frieze, while the eastern sect ion has sillboards, close verges, and simple lateral eaves with sloping soffit and frieze. The western section has a single six-over-six sash window with molded lintel. The eastern section is served by a glazed and paneled door in the southeast and by a board door in the center of its three bay northeast facade, which also has two six pane windows. The western section's windows and doors have plain frames.

17A. Garage; c.1970. The non-contributing two-stall garage, built about 1970, is a one story structure, placed southeast of the house, with its gable end facing the street. Set on a concrete foundation, the walls are sheathed with wide clapboards (save for the gables, which are covered by vertical boards with beveled edges) and are trimmed with cornerboards. Close verges and simple box cornices frame the asphalt shingled gable roof. The two overhead garage doors in the southwest gable end, the glazed and paneled door in the northwest facade, and the four one-over-one sash windows all have plain frames.

18. Wood House; c.1948.
The Westminster Inn, which once stood on this site, burned on New Year's Day in 1947. The present house was built on the same location by George and Gretta Wood in 1948. The house was deliberately built in a vernacular Colonial Revival style and in a two-and-a-half story, gable roofed form to match the other buildings at this major intersection of the village (#16, #41, and #55). Vinyl siding was installed in the mid 1970's. Two exterior chimneys have been added, a brick chimney in the 1970's and a concrete block chimney in 1984.

The non-contributing two-and-a-half story gable roofed house has a one story, gable roofed entry porch on its front facade, a two-story, shed roofed porch at the north end of its southeast facade, and a one-story gable roofed basement entry on its southwest gable end. Set on a concrete foundation, the house is covered by vinyl siding. The windows, virtually all of which have six-over-six sash, are ornamented by plain frames and decorative louvred shutters. The fenestration is somewhat irregular, changing from story to story, so that there is no pattern of bays. The main entry is set slightly north of the center of the street (northwest) facade. The paneled door with built-in, four-pane, semicircular window has a plain frame, but is sheltered by a large entry porch with concrete floor and steps, two modern metal columns with molded bases and capitals, and an asphalt shingled gable roof. The northeast gable end is dominated by a large central exterior brick chimney, which is set on a concrete floored patio. The patio spans the entire gable end, and turns the corner to extend down the rear facade beneath the two story porch. It is partially enclosed by a wrought metal railing.

18A. Garage; c.1970. Behind the house stands the non-contributing garage, built c 1970. The one and a half story, gambrel roofed structure is set on a concrete foundation and is sheathed with board and batten siding. The gables are trimmed with box cornices, but the eaves are open with exposed rafters. The doors of the garage each have two large plain framed panels with diagonal boards crossing vertical boarding. Plain frames surround the two windows and the doors, double doors in both the northeast gable end and the southeast facade, a single door in the northwest facade and a hayloft door in the southwest gable. A small false door of the same design as the functional doors appears in the main northeast gable. Behind the house is a modern swimming pool.

19. Westminster Institute; 1923-1924.
In 1875, Isaac Butterfield left a generous bequest to the East Parish of Westminster for the construction and maintenance of a public library. The money, however, was not to become available until after the death of his invalid son. By that time, because of the decline in value of Butterfield's real estate, the fund had shrunk to $33,000. This sum was not considered adequate to build the library and the community center desired for the community. Therefore, George A. Dascomb contributed the remainder of the $90,000 cost of the building and donated the site. The impressive Colonial Revival building was designed by architect Eliot Putnam of the Boston firm of Putnam and Chandler. The contractor, Hoyt Construction Company of Holyoke, Massachusetts, began work in April of 1923. The completed building was dedicated on July 30, 1924.

The Institute is T-shaped in plan. The one and a half story, 5 x 2 bay, eaves front main block has a grand, 1-bay entrance portico in the center of its street (northwest) facade and a one story, gable roofed gymnasium/auditorium ell to the rear (southeast). One story entries to the high basement are found on the rear (southeast) gable end of the rear wing, and in the east corner of the main block and the rear wing. The building is of brick, laid in Flemish bond (with darker burnt headers) on a nearly visible concrete foundation.

The top of the main block's high basement is marked by a marble watertable. The rich box cornices are ornamented with moldings, modillions, and shallow molded friezes. The shallower molded gable cornices with returns are interrupted by the central brick chimneys in each gable end. The chimneys, with their corbeled tops and concrete caps, are flush with the end walls, and break through the slate gable roof.

In the center of the northeast (street) facade is the main entry, sheltered by the large portico. The portion of the wall sheltered by the portico is plastered and painted white. The entry itself is a double leaf paneled door, flanked by five-pane two-thirds side lights above molded panels. Over the doors and sidelights appears a large semicircular fanlight, decorated with undulant tracery along the outer rim. The entire entry has a wooden sill and molded wooden frame. To each side of the entry, but still sheltered by the portico, are narrow four-over- six sash windows with molded wooden frames and plastered sills. A simple rectangular recessed panel is found in the plaster wall above each of the side windows. The portico itself is set on a high brick sided base. Seven concrete steps, as wide as the portico and flanked by wrought metal hand rails, lead up to the concrete portico floor which has similar wrought metal railings at each end. Four wooden columns with molded bases and capitals (the latter decorated with fluting) stand on concrete plinths and support a pedimented entablature. (Two wooden pilasters of simpler design with molded bases and capitals attached to the main block facade also support the entablature.) The entablature is a continuation of the main block's cornice with the addition of a deeper frieze and an architrave. The titles "Westminster Institute" and "Butterfield Library" appear on painted signs in the frieze. The pediment's tympanum is flush boarded, while the portico's gable roof is slate covered. An ornate, original electric light hangs from the center of the portico's beaded board ceiling with ceiling molding.

To each side of the portico on the southwest facade are found three basement windows, each of which have brick sills and marble lintels with sloped ends. With the exception of one four-pane window, the basement windows all have six panes. The four side bays of the main level each contain a large, tall six-over-nine sash window with molded wooden frame, marble sills, marble lintels with keystone and sloped ends, and louvred shutters. Above each window, a shaped marble tablet is set flush in the brick wall. On the northwest slope of the roof appears six gable roofed dormers, three on each side of the portico. The dormers have six-over-six sash windows with molded frames, slate covered sides and roofs, pedimented box cornices with moldings, and flush boarded tympana.

The two bay wide gable ends each have two main level windows of the same design as the street facade windows, and again topped by shaped marble tablets. In each gable appears two quadrant lights with muntins radiating from the inner corners, undulant tracery, molded wooden frames, marble sills, and quarter-circular brick arches. The gable ends differ only in that the southwest gable end has two six pane basement windows, while the northeast end has none. The rear facade has two six-pane windows south of the wing. In the corner north of the wing is found a basement entry with the usual brick walls, a two panel door with molded wooden frame, close molded wooden eaves and verges, and a corrugated metal shed roof. To the north of the basement entry is a former basement window with brick sill and marble lintel, but now filled with a louver. On the rear facade's main level there appears, to each side of the rear wing, two six-over-nine sash windows of the same design as their counterparts on the other facades, save that they lack louvred shutters, and are not topped by marble tablets. On the rear (southeast) slope of the roof are found four more dormers like the northwestern dormers, two on each side of the rear wing.

The rear ell is somewhat simpler than the main block. Its high basement is topped by a two course brick watertable, incorporating a course of headers and a course of stretchers. The lateral and gable cornices trimming the slate gable roof are the same design as the main block counterparts, save that the lateral cornices lack any modillions. The long northeast and southwest facades are virtually identical, each having five basement windows with brick sills and flat brick arches. (Each facade has four six-pane windows and one boarded up window.) In the main level of each lateral facade appears four tall semicircular arched windows, each with eight-over-twelve sash beneath a tympanum window with two central quarter-circular panes and six outer radiating panes. These windows have molded wooden frames, brick sills, and brick semicircular arches. The rear gable end has a one six-pane basement window with brick sill and flat arch to each side of the central basement entry. The one story basement entry has Flemish bond brick walls, close molded eaves and verges, and a slate gable roof. Two paneled doors with molded wooden frames in the southeast gable end are served by descending concrete steps.

The three bay wide gable end of the rear ell has a central triple window with eight-over-twelve central sash and flanking four-over six sash. The side bays each contain an eight-over-twelve sash window. In the gable are quadrant lights similar to those of the main block. All four main level and gable windows have molded wooden frames, brick sills and arches.

The grounds serve as the village playground, and have playground equipment and a ballfield with a backstop of wire fencing on wooden supports. Flagpoles stand beside the front walk and the baseball field.

20. D. Arnold Hills House; c.1885.
This modest, late 19th century house was built by David Arnold Hills, apparently with money acquired from the California Gold Rush. While the house was probably built in 1886 and 1887, consistent with an inscription in the barn, the left ell, judging from decorative and framing details, was added a few years later. The only major alteration to this well preserved house is the pre-fabricated, Colonial Revival style front entrance, which was installed around 1965 to replace a double leaf, Italianate style entrance similar to that of #48.

Hills was born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire in 1817, and came to Westminster with his mother at age two, after the death of his father. At age 17, he went to Claremont, New Hampshire to learn cabinet and furniture making-a business that he continued in Walpole until 1840. It is likely that the house contains some of Hill's handiwork. In 1841, Hills moved into a house in the district, and in 1850 supervised the construction of a section of the Vermont Valley Railroad. Later that same year, he went to California via the "Isthmus route", stopping in Havana and Shagris. Upon arrival in California, he struck gold at Rough and Ready, and was soon joined by his brother, Edward. The two also mined at Forest Hill until 1854, when Arnold returned to Westminster due to news that his wife was sick. In 1858, Hills, his wife, two sons and daughter moved to Minnesota, but were driven off by Indians four years later, and returned to Westminster. In 1885, Mrs. Hills died. This house may therefore have been built when Hills re-married.

The Federal style, revival manner of this vernacular, Victorian period house attests to the perceived historical character in the district as long as a century ago. The proportions of the gable front are similar to the gable ends of the Federal style numbers 14 and 41 in the district. Interior details show that the rear wing is older than the main block. Presumably, the rear wing is the building acquired by the Arnolds, when they purchased the property in 1848. According to a neighborhood tradition, the main block and the attached barn were added to the wing at the same time, the rear wing being renovated on the exterior to match the addition. The side ell is said to have been added two to four years later. On a stairwell in the barn appears the inscription "Built in winter 1886 and 1887 by S. A. Richardson & G H. Underwood". If the inscription refers to the construction of the barn (and not simply the stairs on which it is found), it fits well with the mid-Victorian style of the building, which suggests a date of the same period.

The two-and-a-half story, gable front, sidehall plan main block is set with its gable end facing the street and with one story entry porches on the northwest facade is a two and a half story, gable roofed side ell, while a two and a half story, gable roofed rear wing is found on the main block's southeast gable end. The rear wing, which has its own small entry porch on the southwest, connects the house to the one and a half story, gable roofed barn.

The main block and the side wing are set on a brick foundation. Both are clapboarded, and have cornerboards and sillboards with watertables. They share a box cornice with moldings and frieze that is pedimented on the northwest (street) gable of the main block and on the equally visible northeast gable of the side ell, but only has returns on the rear (south-east) gable of the main block. Both are covered by slate roofs. The main block has a wide brick chimney with corbeled cap on its southwest slope, while the side wing has a simple brick chimney on the ridge.

The main entry, which appears in the left bay of the main block's northwest gable end, is a modern Colonial Revival style entry, with a six panel door, two-thirds sidelights above panels, fluted door and window side trim, and a peaked lintel board with molding. The entry is sheltered by a porch, which one continued to the north veranda that covered the side ell's street facade, but has been reduced to an entry porch. The porch, served by stone and wooden steps, has turned posts, side railings with simple balusters and molded rails, valance boards shaped to give the openings upper rounded corners, a heavy box cornice with moldings and frieze, and a low pitched hip roof. The southern first story bay contains a three sided bay window on a brick foundation. The bay window has a sill board with watertable, panels beneath each window, continuous molded window sill and lintel, three one-over-one sash windows with plain frames and louvred shutters, a box cornice with moldings and deep frieze, and a low-pitched hip roof. In the second story of the street facade are three two-over-two sash windows with plain frames and louvred shutters, which, like all the second story windows of the main block, ell and wing, butt up against the cornice. In the pedimented gable are two smaller two-over-two sash windows with plain frames and louvred shutters, which, although separate windows, share the same sill and the same lintel board, the latter continued across the entire gable. The four bay southwest facade and the one bay wide southeast gable end have two-over-two sash windows with plain frames and louvred shutters. The southwest facade also has a glazed and paneled door with plain frame, sheltered by the hip roofed side porch. The side porch has a slat, board, and latticework base, board floor and steps, as well as the same turned posts, valance boards, and box cornice as is found on the front entry porch. The northeast facade has only one window, a first story one-over-one sash window west of the side wing, but two bays with plain framed two-over-two sash windows (and one four pane window in the first story) east of the ell.

The side ell is one bay wide and one bay deep. The northeast gable end has a double window with one-over-one sash in the first two stories and a smaller two-over-two sash window in the pedimented gable. The gable window is distinguished by an ornately shaped sill apron and by a lintel board which is continued across the gable. A two-over-two sash window appears in each story of the lateral (northwest and southeast) facades. All of the lower windows have plain frames and, usually, louvred shutters.

The rear wing, set on a new concrete block foundation, is clapboarded and trimmed with sillboards, cornerboards, and plain frames on the older windows. The slate roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings, frieze, and returns, that is shallower and simpler than the main block cornice. In the southwest facade appears a side entry, a glazed and paneled door and plain frame, sheltered by a small entry porch with slat base, board steps and floor, two pain boxed posts, side railings with plain balusters and molded rails beneath the latticework that fills both side openings, eaves with moldings, sloping soffit and frieze, a triangular panel in the flush boarded gable, and an asphalt shingled gable roof. The first story of the southeast facade also contains a one-over- one sash window and a two modern triple windows with central plate glass window flanking four pane casement windows, and simply molded trim. The second story contains three two-over-two sash windows. Two more such windows appear in the rear (southeast) gable end. The northeast facade has a paneled door with two lights and plain frame, as well as a double modern casement window with simply molded frame and two one-over-one sash windows in the first story, and three two over-two sash windows in the second story.

The attached one-and-a-half story barn, set on a brick and concrete block foundation, is clapboarded, trimmed with sillboards, corner boards, a box cornice with moldings, frieze, and returns, and has a slate gable roof. The barn's six windows all have plain frames and two-over-two sash. In the southwest facade are found two overhead garage doors with plainframes. Above the west door is a beaded board hayloft door which projects up into a short triangular wall dormer. The basement has two windowless openings and a doorless opening on its exposed southeast side. An earthern ramp with stone sidewalls descends to this lower level.

21. Congregational Church; 1835.
The Congregationalists worshipped in the town meetinghouse from its construction in 1769 until a controversy over the use of the building in 1834. The Congregationalists then decided to build their own church, and organized a society for that purpose in the summer of 1834. This building was subsequently erected the following year and dedicated on November 18, 1835. The church is transitional in style, being basically Greek Revival, but with early Gothic Revival features such as the painted sashes in its public facades and in the belfry. In 1867, the Congregational Society voted to erect a spire on the belfry. Stained glass windows were installed in the 1880's. Dated photographs reveal that between 1889 and 1901 the clapboarding and louvers within the large arches were replaced by decoratively cut wooden shingles. In 1902 (according to the town history) or 1903 (according to the church history), the church was raised and a new first story built to provide a vestry and a kitchen. (The two former entries in the main facade arches were replaced by stained glass windows.) The five sided apse on the rear of the church was probably built at the same time.

The church consists of a two-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block, with a two stage tower astride its roof ridge above the main (northwest) gable end, and with a five-sided, two story apse in the center of its rear (southeast) gable end.

The main block, set on a fieldstone foundation, is clapboarded, trimmed with sillboards. A cornice with moldings and frieze, which marks the top of the 1902 (or 1903) first story, divides the cornerboards on the rear and side facades. On the front (northwest) gable end, the first story has its own wide corner pilasters applied over wide cornerboards. The upper level (the original church) also has similar wide corner pilasters applied over wide cornerboards. The upper pilasters incorporate large square panels in their molded capitals. A heavy, pedimented box cornice with moldings and frieze tops the three public facades. The rear southeast gable has only a shallow molded cornice with frieze and returns. The tympanum of the front pediment is sheathed with flush boarding.

The present main entry, in the center of the northwest gable end, is a large, double, leaf eight panel doors flanked by four pane four-fifths sidelights above simple panels. The door and sidelights have plain frames and are served by a wooden step flanked by modern wrought metal hand rails. The entry is sheltered by a gabled hood supported by large ornate brackets, decorated with curvilinear sawn and carved ornament, and by triangular panels with cut-out quatrefoils. The hood has a beaded board ceiling with ceiling molding, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, a triangular panel in its flush boarded gable, and a metal sheathed roof. Next to the entry hangs the painted wooden church sign. Because of the balcony at the northwest end of the church auditorium, the fenestration of the front gable end of the upper level is divided into two stories, instead of the one story seen on the other facades. The windows of both stories are incorporated in two large Gothic arches, with fluted side trim ornamented by upper and lower cornerblocks, but with a plain pointed arch. Each includes four levels, a shingled four panel base, a quadruple stained glass window, another shingled section, and the tympanum, with a rectangular stained glass window surrounded by more shingling. The shingles are all cut to the same decorative pattern. The four panels of the base and the four lower level windows share the same beaded side trim. The lower windows are embellished by molded sills and lintels. In the lower windows, the two narrower outer windows have ornate geometric pattern stained glass, while the two wider inner windows have borders of smaller stained glass panes. The shingled panel above the lower windows is topped by a molded sill between the upper cornerblocks. On the sill sits the upper rectangular stained glass window which incorporates a Gothic arch into its geometric patterned glass. The rest of the arch's tympanum is filled with decoratively cut shingles. The flush boarded pediment crowning the facade is enlivened by a large triangular louver with a molded frame, whose shape echoes that of the pediment.

Astride the slate gable roof above the northwest gable end is the two stage square tower. The base is clapboarded, and has a box cornice with with moldings, frieze and architrave. The smaller upper belfry stage is sheathed with flush boarding and trimmed with cornerboards and a box cornice with moldings and frieze. In each face of the belfry stage, rectangular louvers are set in plain framed Gothic arches, with decoratively cut wooden shingles filling the tympana. The steeple's tall octagonal spire is sheathed with wooden shingles and trimmed with corner moldings. The spire is crowned by a simple cornice and a metal weathervane.

The long, three bay wide northeast and southwest facades are identical. Each first story has three paired windows with four over-four sash and plain frames that butt up against the cornice. The upper level has three large, tall, plain framed Gothic arches above paired rectangular stained glass windows. The stained glass windows incorporate Gothic arches in their geometric glass pattern. The tympanums are filled with wooden shingles cut in the same pattern used in the main facade arches.

The main block's rear gable end is covered by the apse. A plain framed four-over-four sash window is found on each side of the apse in the first story. A tall plain exterior brick chimney is found in the south corner of the main block and the apse. Two rectangular metal louvres appear in the gable.

The five-sided, two-story apse is clapboarded. The cornice that tops the first story of the main block is also continued around the apse. A pronounced box cornice with moldings and frieze trims slate covered hip roof. The narrow side (southwest and northeast) facades are windowless. The diagonal (south and east) facades each has a four pane window and a double window with four-over-four sash, all with plain frames, in the first story. In the second story of the diagonal facades appear tall double stained glass windows with the same glass pattern used in the side windows of the main block, but here found in plain rectangular frames. The rear (southeast) facade has a four-panel door and a four-pane window, again with plain frames, in the first story.

22. Congregational Church Parsonage; c.1860.
At a special meeting on March 18, 1856, the Congregational Society voted "to buy or build a Parsonage" (1) and instructed the Prudential Committee to carry out that task. On March 31, the lot just south of the church was purchased for $450, a price which suggests that a building, perhaps a house, was included with the property. Indeed, the ell was described in the late 19th century by at least two local historians as a late 18th century building, the site of Vermont's first printing office in 1778. In December, the Society voted to mortgage the parsonage for $500. It is, however, unclear whether the purpose of the mortgage was to pay for the original purchase or to enlarge the building. The style of the Gothic Revival main block suggests a construction date in the 1850's or 1860's, so either possibility seems likely. Save for the late 19th century entry porch, there seems to have been no major changes to the exterior of the parsonage.

The parsonage's one-and-a-half story main block has a cross gable roof and a one story entry porch. Stretching to the rear (south east) of the main block are a one and a half story, gable roofed ell (with a one story side porch), a one story, gable roofed shed, and a one story, gable roofed barn.

The main block, set on a cut granite block foundation, is clapboarded, and trimmed with sillboards and round corner moldings. The wide eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, and frieze are embellished with undulant vergeboards on the three gables. The slate roof, which includes a cross gable in the center of the northwest (street) slope, is broken by two small brick chimneys, one at each end of the ridge. The three bay wide main (northwest) facade is centered on the main entry, a four panel door with plain side trim, four pane four-fifths sidelights, and a simple cornice. The entry is sheltered by a one story porch, three bays wide and one bay deep. The porch's board floor, set on a latticework base, is reached by board steps in the central bay. Turned posts support the box cornice with moldings and frieze, the beaded board ceiling, and the slate covered hip roof. The side bays of the main facade each contain a double window with four-over-four sash, molded cornice, and louvred shutters. In the cross gable, there appears a similar window, albeit smaller, and, above the window, a plain framed triangular louver. The two bay wide northeast and southwest gable ends each have two six-over-six sash windows with the same cornice in both stories and a plain framed triangular louver in the gable's peak. (One first story window has been clapboarded in the northeast gable end.) The rear facade, mostly covered by the ell, has one more six-over-six sash window with the same cornice as the others.

The one-and-a-half story ell, attached to the southeast facade of the main block, has a concrete foundation, clapboarded walls, sill boards, cornerboards, wide eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, and frieze, and a slate gable roof. The same cornice which covers the main block windows also ornaments the ell's two-over-two sash windows, the five windows in the northeast facade, the single window in the southeast gable end, and the three windows in the southwest facade, as well as the four panel door in the southwest facade. Three wall dormers appear on the ell, two on the northeast and one on the southwest. All are of similar design, with clapboarded sides, cornerboards, the familiar cornice over the windows, clapboarded gable, box cornice with moldings and frieze, and slate gable roof. The two northeast dormers contain double windows with one-over-one sash. The narrower southwest dormer has a single six-over six sash window. Covering much of the ell's southwest facade is a one story side porch, with board floor, stone steps, square posts with molded capitals, and a box cornice with moldings and friezes. The metal sheathed porch roof is primarily a hip roof, but in the corner of the main block and the ell, it has been rebuilt with a shed roofed section.

The one story shed, attached to the rear (southeast) gable end of the ell, is sheathed with board and batten siding on the northeast and with vertical beaded boarding on the southwest. Its slate gable roof has unfinished eaves. Plain frames surround the three six-pane windows on the northeast facade, but no frames grace the northeast beaded board door or the openings in the southwest facade-two beaded board doors, two six pane windows, and two windowless openings.

The one story barn, covering the rear (southeast) gable end of the shed, is sheathed with board and batten siding, save for the vertically boarded southeast gable end. Close eaves and verges trim the slate gable roof, with the exception of the simple overhanging eaves on the northwest gable. Plain trim (or no trim at all) surrounds its few openings, the tall central double beaded board doors, the smaller double board doors, the six pane window and the plastic covered window of the southwest facade, the three six pane windows and the board door in the northeast facade, and the two board doors in the southeast gable end.

In the center of the loop made by the unpaved drive southwest of the house stands a small decorative wellhouse with wooden shingled sides with cornerboards, two square posts, and a wooden shingled gable roof with plywood gables.

23. Nelson House; 1940-1941.
This non-contributing Colonial Revival Cape was built by and for Fred Nelson in 1940-1941. The only recent change has been the addition on an open deck on the rear facade, probably in the 1970's.

The 5 x 3 bay (5 x 2 bay) Cape that is the main block of the house is connected by a one story, gable roofed enclosed porch to a one and-a-half story gable roofed garage.

The Cape, set on a concrete foundation, is clapboarded and trimmed with cornerboards. Box cornices with moldings and friezes and shallower molded gable cornices trim the asphalt shingled roof. In the center of the five bay wide northwest (street) facade is a four panel door with four small lights. The door is topped by a five pane fanlight and is trimmed by a molded frame, whose semi-eliptical arch is crowned by a keystone and which is terminated by lower corner blocks. Concrete steps with wrought metal hand rails serve the main entry. The house has six-over-six sash windows with plain frames and decorative louvred shutters. On the front (northwest) slope of the roof are two large, gable roofed clapboard dormers, and close molded cornices, and containing double windows with six-over-six sash and louvred shutters. Most of the rear (southeast) slope of the roof is occupied by a wide shed roofed, clapboard dormer, topped by a box cornice with moldings and frieze. The rear dormer contains two six-over-six sash windows and a double window with six-over-six sash. The rear facade also has the rear entry: a glazed and paneled door which opens onto a wide wooden deck, set on wooden posts. The large rectangular section of the deck near the house is connected by a walkway to a smaller square section on which stands (in season) a prefabricated octagonal screenhouse. The main deck and the walkway have board floors, which are protected by plain wooden railings. The carpeted square section has no railings.

The one-story enclosed porch on the northeast gable end of the Cape has a concrete foundation, clapboarded walls, cornerboards, box cornices with moldings and friezes and an asphalt shingled gable roof. The front and rear facades each contain a plain framed bank of four casement windows with six-pane sash.

The one-and-a-half story garage, set on a concrete foundation, is clapboarded, and trimmed with cornerboards and the same gable and lateral cornices as the cape. Plain frames surround the wide overhead garage door in the street (northwest) gable end, the two six over-six sash windows in the northeast facade, the two six-pane first story windows and the board door in the gable of the southeast gable end. The gable door is served by an open exterior stairway with landing, supported by long braces and protected by a simple wooden railing.

23A. Shed; c.1965. East of the house stand the non-contributing shed, built by Fred Nelson in abut 1965. Set on a concrete foundation, and sheathed by wide clapboarding with cornerboards, the one story structure is topped by simple lateral box cornices, open gable eaves with fascia boards, and an asphalt shingled gable roof. The only opening is a large, plain framed, plywood door in the northwest gable end.

24. Burton House; c.1850.
The proportions and surviving details, particularly the columned recessed porch, of this Greek Revival house suggest a construction date in the 1840's or 1850's. Later changes of uncertain date included the glazing in of the porch (probably early 20th century), the addition of wide shed wall dormers on the main block, a side porch and a pantry on the rear wing, and overhead garage doors in the wing. A double casement window was installed in the rear wing about 1972 and modern one-over-one sash windows with snap-in, six-over-six sash muntins in the main block in 1982.

The one and a half story, gable front main block has a recessed porch at its western corner. The one and a half story, gable roofed rear wing has a one story, shed roofed, enclosed porch on its south west facade, a one story, shed roofed pantry on the northeast and a one story, gable roofed garage on its southeast gable end.

The main block, set on a granite ashlar foundation, is clapboarded, and trimmed with sillboards and cornerboards. The box cornice with moldings, frieze, and returns is interrupted on both eave sides by the wide shed roofed wall dormers that almost completely cover the roof. The rear (southeast) gable has a shallower cornice with frieze and returns. In the western corner is found an inset porch, one bay deep on the northwest gable end, two bays wide on the southwest facade. The porch has a concrete floor and concrete plinths for its two fluted Greek Doric columns. The openings are now glazed in .

In the wing are large plate glass windows above panels and beneath multipane transoms. The clapboarded inner walls of the porch are broken only by a plain framed window on the southeast and by the only entry in the main block, a four panel door whose peaked lintel is topped by a molding, on the northeast. Plain replacement frames surround the other windows on the main block, three in the northeast facade, two in the southwest facade, three in the first story of the northwest gable end, and two in the northwest gable itself. All windows have one-over-one sash with snap-in six-over-six sash muntins.

The dormers' asphalt shingled shed roofs are trimmed by box cornices with moldings, friezes, and returns, save for the rear (southeast) half gables, which have shallower molded cornices with returns. The southwest dormer has three six-over-six sash windows; the northeast dormer two six-over-six sash windows and two smaller one-over-one sash windows.

The rear wing also has clapboard sheathing, a cut granite block foundation, sillboards and cornerboards. Its asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed by close eaves and verges. The westerly end of its southwest facade is covered by a one story enclosed porch. The porch has a fieldstone foundation, low clapboarded walls, and banks of four-pane windows.

The asphalt shingled shed roof has open eaves with and, on the half gable only, fascia boards. In the southeast end appears a modern wooden door with a diamond shaped light, plain frame and board steps, as well as a plain framed single pane window in the clapboarded half gable. East of the porch on the southwest facade can be found a former door (now clapboarded in, but still retaining its four pane transom window), a glazed and paneled door, an overhead garage door, and a six pane kneewall window, all with plain frames. On the northeast facade appears a modern double casement window with three pane sash and simply molded frame, two older plain framed windows (with six-over-six and nine-over-six sash, respectively) and another plain framed kneewall window.

Projecting from the northeast facade is a small, one story, pantry addition, which has a clapboarded walls, cornerboards, sillboards, plain window frame, a six pane southeast window, a six-over-six sash window on the northwest, close molded eaves and verges, and an asphalt shingled shed roof. The first story of the wing's southeast gable end is covered by a clapboard garage, leaving only a plain framed one-over-one sash window in the gable. The asymmetrical gable roof is sheathed with asphalt shingles on the southwest and with asphalt roll paper on the northeast. Plain frames surround the overhead garage door on the southwest and the six pane window in the southeast gable end.

25. Westminster Restaurant; c. 1953.
The non-contributing Westminster Restaurant was built between 1952 and 1954 by the Doxsee family, who also built and operated the adjoining Motor Inn. The Crays, later owners, added the refrigerator unit (c.1977) and the storage shed (c.1978) on the rear of the kitchen wing, enclosed part of the porch as a vestibule in 1979 or 1980, and installed hoods over the dining room windows in 1979.

The one-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block has a one story entry porch in the center of its front (southwest) facade and a one-story shed roofed kitchen wing covering its rear (northeast) facade. The kitchen wing has a short storage shed and a one story refrigerator unit on its own rear (northeast) facade.

The main block and the kitchen wing share a concrete block foundation. The kitchen wing and the first story of the main block are sheathed with vertical tongue and groove boarding with beveled edges. In the main block gables, the same tongue and groove boarding is laid horizontally above molded boards that mark the top of the first story. The main block's asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings and returns. In the center of the five-bay wide main (southwest) facade is the main restaurant entry. A large asphalt shingled gable roof, supported by four plain square posts, shelters the concrete steps and landing, as well as the vestibule that stands on the landing. The roof has a flush boarded gable, wide lateral eaves with sloping soffit, and simple overhanging gable eaves.

26. Westminster Motor Inn; c.1952.
The Westminster Motor Inn was built in three stages in the 1950's, beginning with the construction of the eight units at the west end of the motel between 1952 and 1954. Units 9 through 12, and, finally, units 14 and 15, were added as the business grew. In 1977, one unit was converted into a permanent dwelling, and received double sliding glass doors on its southwest side. About 1981, the original flat roof was covered by a series of gable roofs.

The non-contributing fourteen unit motel has an L-shaped plan, with two units in the short streetside section parallel to the road, and twelve units in a long rear wing, perpendicular to the streetside section. There are six alternating changes in roof pitch. As the later units at the southeast end of the rear wing are a few feet wider than the first eight units, there is a jut in the long south west wall. Save for the wing's southeast gable, which is sheathed with plywood, the building is sided with vertical tongue and groove boarding with beveled edges. Close verges are found on the gables. The wide lateral box cornices with moldings are projected a full four feet on the southeast side of the streetside section and on the northeast side of the long rear wing to shelter the entries of the motel units. The building is covered by asphalt shingled asymmetrical gable roofs, one on the streetside section and six on the rear wing. The wing's roofs alternate, creating a staggered roofline. Plain frames surround the simple modern doors and the windows, two over-two sash windows, and smaller bathroom windows which have one over-one sash in the older section and two-over-two sash in the newer sections.

Southwest and northwest of the motel are found lawns with trees and shrubs. In front of the unit doors and sheltered by the overhanging eaves is a paved walk. Between the motel and the Burton House (#24) and the Restaurant (#25) is a large oval lawn containing a rock garden.

27. Cray House; c.1952.
This building was erected on the site of a demolished house in the early 1950's as a gas station for the Gulf Oil Company. The gas station was in turn converted into a house for the Crays in 1980-1981. The conversion, designed by Muriel Cray, left little evidence of the original gas station.

The non-contributing Cray House is a simple rectangular, one and a half story structure with an asymmetrical gable roof. Set on a concrete and brick foundation, the building is covered with vinyl siding. Unlike virtually all of the village's other buildings, which are oriented to the streets, being places either perpendicular or parallel to the road, the gas station is set at an angle to the highway. The low west facade has eight eight-over-eight sash windows with simple frames. Set low on the roof above the west facade are three dormers with vinyl siding and asphalt shingled gable roofs. Each dormer contains a double casement window with diamond panes. In the north gable end are two eight-over- eight sash windows in the first story and an octagonal nine pane window in the gable. In the east facade is a paneled door with window, and a double casement window with six-pane sash. In the south gable end appear two more double casement windows with simply molded frames and nine pane sash, in the first story. The first story also contains double sliding glass doors with a plain frame. A cantilevered wooden exterior stairway with board steps and floors, plain posts and railings, leads up two flights, past an intermediate landing, to a landing at a paneled door.

27A. Woodshed; c.1982. Standing just south of the house is the non-contributing woodshed, built in 1982, soon after the conversion of the gas station. Set on a brick foundation, the one story woodshed is covered by vinyl siding. The asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed by exposed rafters and fascia boards. The west gable end has three doors in the main level and a short hayloft door in the gable. Built onto the north facade is a short, vinyl sided woodbox.

27B. Horse Shed; c.1980. The non-contributing horse shed, built about 1980 to house a race horse, consists of three units: a one-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block, with a shallow one story shed roofed addition on its southwest gable end, and a one story, gable roofed ell on its northwest facade. Save for the evertically boarded gables of the main block, the walls of all three units are covered with wooden shingles laid in a staggered butt pattern, save for the southwest facade of the southwest addition, whose shingles are laid in regular courses.

Two remnants of the gas station's pavement still survive as parking areas near the road and near the house, the two being connected by an unpaved drive with brick curbs.

28. Rowley House; c.1925.
This typical example of the Foursquare house type was built for Will Rowley in the early or mid 1920's. An earlier house on the site was demolished, but a part of the older building was moved to become the rear wing of the present house. An unfinished shed on the end of the rear wing was remodeled by the present owners in the 1970's, receiving a new plywood rear wall and new windows. In the same period the small open rear entry porch was built. In the mid 1970's, a kitchen casement window was added in the rear wing. In 1984, the porch on the side of the wing was enclosed and a basement entry was built.

The hip roofed, two-and-a-half story main block has a one story, hip roofed full front porch, and a central hip dormer above. A one story, gable roofed wing on the rear (southeast) of the main block has a one story, shed roofed, enclosed porch on its southwest facade, and a one story shed roofed former shed on its southeast gable end. The former shed, in turn, has a one story, gable roofed basement entry on its southeast facade.

The main block, set on a brick foundation. is wood shingled, save for the second story of the rear (southeast) facade, which is covered with clapboards south of the rear wing and with brown "brick" asphalt siding north of the wing. The walls are trimmed by cornerboards and a box cornice with moldings and frieze. Windows have one-over-one sash and plain, drip molded cornices. The north cast slope of the asphalt shingled hip roof is broken by two brick chimneys. The main entry, a glazed and paneled door, is in the central bay of the three-bay first story. The dormer has wooden shingled walls, a plain framed two-over-two sash window, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, and an asphalt shingled hip roof.

The three-bay-wide veranda that covers the street facade has battered walls sheathed with wooden shingles and topped by a wide coping. Tapered square columns with chamfered corners and molded capitals, standing on the porch walls, support a box cornice with moldings and frieze, a beaded board ceiling, and a low pitched hip roof. The two-bay-wide northeast facade of the main block has two one-over-one sash windows in each story. The southwest facade's first story has a plate glass window with six-pane transom window and a modern plastic roller awning, and an oriel window. The three sided oriel window has a wooden shingled walls and tapered base, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, and an asphalt shingled hip roof.

The rear wing, set on a concrete foundation, is sheathed with wooden shingles on the northeast, and with clapboards in the rear gable. The wing's southwest facade is completely covered by the glassed-in porch, whose low wooden shingled walls are flared above a brick foundation. The asphalt shingled shed roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings, frieze and return, and a clapboarded half gable.

The former shed, which covers the entire southeast gable end of the rear wing, has a shed roof, concrete and brick foundation, wooden shingled southwest and northeast walls, and a rear wall of vertically grooved plywood. In the southwest facade, a paneled door with window and plain frame opens onto a small entrance porch. The small basement entry on the southeast facade of the former shed has a concrete foundation and plywood walls with cornerboards. Plain frames surround a large, non-contributing, twelve pane window on the southwest and double tongue and groove board doors in the southeast gable end. The low pitched gable roof is covered with asphalt roll paper.

28A. Barn; c. 1860, The barn, which was associated with the earlier house on the lot, has a post and beam frame of hewn timbers, which suggests a 19th century date. Sometime in the 20th century, the barn was completely resheathed with novelty siding. About 1970, the present owner replaced the central sliding door with an overhead garage door, and built a hood over the door to protect the entry from falling snow.

The one-and-a-half story barn, set on a fieldstone foundation, is sheathed with novelty siding and trimmed with cornerboards. Plain frames surround its few openings. Close verges and open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards frame its corrugated metal gable roof. The main (southwest) facade is dominated by a central entry: an overhead garage door beneath two-over [sic]-two pane windows, which share a lintel board. The entry is protected by a large gabled hood supported by two simple braces. The hood has a plywood gable, open lateral eaves with exposed rafters, and a corrugated plastic roof. East of the central entry is a sliding board door. The southeast gable end contains a twelve pane window and a smaller boarded up window.

29. Banks House; c.1870.
Standing atop the hill which leads up to the southern end of the district, this house marks arrival to the village for travelers from the south. The details of this vernacular Greek Revival style house, such as the fascia entablature, open eaves, and the full sidelights of the entry, suggest a construction date in the 1860's or 1870's. According to local tradition, the house was moved from near the junction of Cox Road and Main Street to its present site. The full Queen Anne porch on the front of the house appears to have been built late in the 19th century. The side porch on the wing was added in the 20th century, rebuilt in 1979, and is now being enclosed by the present owner. The multipane picture window on the street gable end of the main block was installed in 1981, and is the only major detraction of this well-preserved house.

The house consists of a one-and-a-half story gable front main block with a full front porch, a one-and-a-half story gable roofed rear wing (with a one story porch on its southwest facade) and a one story, gable roofed attached shed.

The sidehall plain main block, set on a brick foundation, is clap boarded, and trimmed with cornerboards and sillboards. Slate covers the gable roof. At gable right is the main entry, a four panel door with five pane full sidelights, wide side trim, and a deep lintel with drip molding. The left bay contains a large modern thirty-two pane window with simply molded frame and decorative louvred shutters. In the gable appear two six-over-six sash windows with louvred shutters and lintels with drip moldings. The front porch has a latticework base, turned posts decorated by ornately sawn brackets with pendants, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, a beaded board ceiling, and a low pitched hip roof. Six-over-six sash, lintels with drip moldings, and louvred shutters distinguish the two double windows in the southwest facade, the three surviving windows in the northeast facade, and the gable window in the northwest gable end. A fourth window on the northeast facade has been clapboarded in, but its frame survives. The rear gable end has a raking window with three-over- three sash, plain frame, and small decorative shutters.

The clapboard wing has a slate gable roof with open eaves, exposed rafters, fascia boards and friezes. The rear wing windows generally have six-over-six sash, lintels with drip moldings, and louvred shutters. In the southwest facade is found a glazed and paneled door which opens onto the porch that covers most of the facade. The one story, shed roofed porch is now divided into two parts, the western half having been extended a few feet to the southwest and enclosed. The eastern half is still an open porch with a slat base. Two square posts, one with chamfered edges, support a plain box cornice and an unfinished eastern half gable. The western half, set on a latticework base, has low clapboarded walls with cornerboards, and large plain framed openings (filled with screens or windows seasonally).

The one story attached shed, on the northwest gable end of the rear wing, is the same width as, but a lower height than, the rear wing. the clapboard shed is covered by a slate gable roof trimmed by simple eaves with sloping soffits. Lintels with drip moldings cover its two board doors, one each in the southwest and northwest facades, and most of its windows, two six-over-six sash windows on the northeast, a single pane window in the northwest gable end, and a three-over-three sash window in the southwest facade. A double window with six-over-six sash in the southwest facade has a simply molded frame.

29A. Barn; c. 1900. To the rear of the house stands the barn, which is known to have been standing in the 1920's. The two-and-a-half story main block was resheathed with vertical boarding in the late 1970's. Its corrugated metal gable roof has close eaves and verges. The barn has six entries: an overhead garage door in the southeast gable end, a board door in both the southeast and northwest gable ends a paneled door with window, a large sliding board door, and a paneled hayloft board door above the sliding door, in the southwest facade.

The fenestration shows the variety often found in barns, a six pane window in each gable, a four pane window in the second story of each gable end, and six first story windows, a six-over-six sash window, a six-pane window, and three small single pane windows in the north east facade, and a four-pane window in the northeast gable end. An exterior concrete faced brick chimney is also found on the northeast gable end. Attached to the same gable end is a one story, gable roofed garage, built in 1983. The garage has a concrete foundation, vertical boarding, a simple box cornice on the southwest, open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards on the northwest gable, open eaves with exposed rafters on the northeast, and a corrugated metal roof. In the northwest gable end are found the only openings, and overhead garage door and a large doorless opening in the main level, and two large four pane windows in the gable. On the southwest facade of the main block is a small, one story, shed roofed green house, built in 1984. The greenhouse has a concrete foundation, vertical boarded walls, a simple box cornice (but no gable eaves trim), and a corrugated metal roof. The walls are filled with plain framed windows, two large four pane windows on the southwest, a large four pane window and a large triangular gable window in both (southeast and northwest) "gable" ends.

29B. Poolhouse; c.1979. Southwest of the house is the swimming pool, surrounded by a wooden deck and a stockade fence. Off the wooden deck is the small, one story, noncontributing poolhouse, built in 1979, when the pool was installed. The small building was vertically boarded walls, a single board door in the northeast "gable" end, exposed rafters in the lateral eaves, and an asphalt shingled gambrel roof.

30. Holton Field.
This thirteen-and-a-half acre field is regularly planted with crops corn in the summer of 1985. The land has no identified historic or prehistoric significance, though archaeological evidence of the original west side of Main Street may exist along a line roughly 66 feet (4 rods) west of and parallel to the current line of house facades on that side of the street today.

This small vernacular building was built by John Stone as a roadside stand for his poultry farm in 1936. The twenty foot square, one story building has a concrete foundation, clapboarded walls, corner boards, simple eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, and an asphalt shingled pyramidal roof. In the center of the southeast street facade is a glazed and paneled door, flanked by two large six-pane windows. Plain frames surround these openings as well as the two six-pane windows on the southwest facade, the single six-pane window on the northeast facade, the six pane window and the board door in the rear (northwest) facade.

32. Holton Mobile Home; c.1961.
This non-contributing mobile home was placed on the site in 1961. The one-story corrugated metal, "Detroiter" brand mobile home is covered with plastic, has a corrugated metal, vestibule, and is topped by a low pitched gable roof. Most of the windows are louvred. At each narrow end, a metal sheathed gabled hood, supported by large metal sheathed brackets, shades the windows. The structure has two shallow cantilevered projections, covered with the same plastic sheathing as the mobile home, and each having a small louvred window.

32A. Garage; c.1962. Just west of the mobile home is the non-contributing garage, built in 1962. The large, one story, two-stall, gable front garage is clapboarded, save for the gables, which are covered with vertical boarding.

33. Dickinson House; c.1830.
The village's only brick house is also one of the finest examples of the late Federal style in the area, and is notable for its uncommon gable front facade on an otherwise typical Georgian plan house. Also unusual is the south eaves front entrance, which is just as formal as the gable front entrance and indicates the importance of traffic from the south.

In addition to its very high architectural significance, the house is significant as the birthplace and adulthood home of Reverend Charles Albert Dickinson, D.D.-an important figure in late nineteenth century religious reform. Dickinson was born here in 1849, graduated from Howard in 1876, Andover Theological Seminary in 1879, and ministered in Portland, Maine, Lowell, Massachusetts, and Boston. In Boston, he helped found the "Christian Endeavor" movement. His greatest accomplishment, however, was the founding of the Berkeley Temple in that city. The Berkeley Street Church of Boston was a downtown church that had lost its hold on its former aristocratic membership. Dickinson conceived of the innovative idea of an open door, free pew church, which was open from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm, and had twelve services on Sundays. Such liberal policies under his pastorship dramatically increased membership, and inspired the formation of the National Institute League in imitation of it.

In 1893, Dickinson started the New England Kurn Hattin Homes at his native Westminster, using the land and buildings of a former hotel he bought for the purpose. The home for orphaned children housed 90 boys, 32 girls, and a staff 25 by 1940, and is still in operation.

The two-and-a-half story, gable front, 5 x 3 bay, (5 x 4 bay) main block has a one-and-a-half story, gable roofed rear wing with a porch on its southwest side. Set on a cut granite block foundation, the brick walls of the main block are laid in common bond on the northwest and northeast facades, but in and irregular bond, mostly stretchers with occasional headers, on the more public southeast and southwest facades. The corbeled brick cornice is formed of four courses. The brick cornice is pedimented on the main (southeast) gable, but only has returns on the rear (northwest) gable. The slate roof is broken by four tall brick end chimneys with corbeled caps, one on each roof slope directly behind each gable end. The windows of the three public (southeast, northeast, and southwest) facades have wooden sills, plain wooden frames, six-over-six sash, and louvred shutters. The first story windows have jack arches, while the second story windows, which stop one course short of the cornice, are each topped by a single course of headers. The central six panel door is topped by a plain lintel and a semicircular, seven pane fanlight. The entry is enclosed by an arched, fluted wooden frame with plain lower cornerblocks, upper cornerblocks decorated with patera, and a small keystone at the top of the semicircular arch. The granite silled door is reached by wooden steps, which are sheltered by a very shallow porch, with plain framework, latticework sides, a small horizontal shelf on the interior of each side, and a copper sheathed, round-arched roof. The decorative trusswork in the porch gable has radiating bars forming a sunburst. In the pedimented gable of the main block appears a large semicircular louvred fan with wooden sill and semicircular brick arch.

The three bay wide southwest facade also has a central entry, a five panel door flanked by four-pane two-thirds sidelights above panels. The door and the sidelights have fluted side trim, with plain lower cornerblocks and upper cornerblocks decorated with patera. The entry is served by granite block steps, set on a granite sill, and topped by a semielliptical louvred fanlight in a semielliptical brick arch. Louvred shutters cover the sidelights. The northwest facade has four six-over- six sash windows in each story, as well as a four panel door with wooden steps, granite sill, plain wooden frame, and flat brick arch. The rear gable end has two six-over-six sash windows in both the first and second stories, two twelve-over twelve sash windows in the gable, and a small plain framed attic louver, high in the gable peak.

The brick walls of the rear wing are laid in common bond on a field stone foundation on the rear facade, but on a cut granite block foundation on the rear facade, but on a cut granite block foundation on the public northeast facade. The northeast facade is also topped by a brick cornice of the same design as the main block cornice. The wooden, asphalt shingled, gable roof that covers both the rear wing and the side porch, has close verges on the clapboarded north west gable and wide wooden eaves with sloping soffit and frieze above the porch on the southwest. The main level windows, two on the northeast and one on the southwest, have six-over-six sash, wooden sills and frames, are served by louvred blinds, and are topped by a single course of headers. The northwest gable end has a single plain framed window in the gable. A four-panel door with wooden sill and frame, topped by a single course of headers, appears in the southwest facade. The two bay wide and one bay deep porch covering the southwest facade has a stone foundation, board floor, three posts with chamfered edges and molded capitals, and a plaster ceiling. Latticework valances give the three openings canted corners. A wide sillboard is places against the brick walls of the house on the inside of the porch.

33A. Barn; c. 1850. Behind the house is the barn, whose simple eaves and post and beam frame of hewn timbers suggest an early 19th century date. The one and a half story, gable roofed main barn has a small, one story, shed roofed shed attached to its northwest facade. The main barn is clapboarded, save for some novelty siding on the lower portion of its northwest facade. It is trimmed with cornerboards, close verges, and open eaves with exposed rafters. The gable roof is sheathed with asphalt shingles. Plain frames surround a six-over-six sash window in each gable and two small single pane windows in the northwest facade, the double board doors in the northeast gable end, a board hayloft door in the southeast facade, and two overhead garage doors (installed in 1977) in openings with canted corners, in the southwest gable end. The small addition, set on a concrete foundation, has cornerboards, clapboarding on the southwest front, and novelty siding on the northwest and northeast facades. The corrugated metal shed roof has close eaves on the southwest, molded close verges on the northwest, and shallow eaves with sloping soffit on the northeast. A dutch door of beaded boarding with a plain frame in the southwest facade is the only entry. The addition is lit by two twelve pane southwest windows with plain frames and louvred shutters and two small two pane northeast windows with simply molded frames.

34. Titcomb House; c.1835.
A building, perhaps the present one, was standing on this property when it was sold in 1838. The present house was probably standing by 1851, when Ruth Titcomb (who owned the house until her death about 1895) first acquired the property. An 1889 photograph shows the house with no appendages. Between 1900 and 1910, the rear wing was added. About 1910, the main block received the present front porch, as well as a southwest side porch. Another early 20th century addition was the barn, purchased for $25 and moved from its former location on property #8. The dormers were also added at some unknown date before 1940. The present owners removed the southwest side porch and replaced four windows and a porch door with two large modern picture windows about 1958.

The one-and-a-half story, gable front main block has a full hip roofed porch covering its southeast (front) gable end and parts of its southwest and northeast sides. To the rear of the main block stretches a one story, gable roofed rear wing (with a one story side entry porch), a one and a half story, gable roofed attached barn, and, finally, a one story, shed roofed shed.

The main block is clapboarded and has a brick foundation. The asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed by eaves with moldings and frieze on the southeast (street) gable, with shallow molded cornices and friezes on the eave (northeast and southwest) sides, and with close verges on the rear (northwest) gable. On each slope of the roof is found a small dormer, with clapboarded walls, cornerboards, a plain framed two-over-two sash window, eaves with moldings, sloping soffit and frieze, and an asphalt shingled gable roof. The four-bay-wide southeast gable end has a six panel, christian cross door in the second bay, with five-pane full sidelights and plain frame. Windows (three in the first story and a smaller window in the gable) all have two-over-two sash and plain frames. The south west facade has two large modern triple windows, both with a large central plate glass window, flanking one-over-one sash windows, and narrow plain frames. The northwest gable end, mostly covered by the wing, has a single window: a six pane window looking onto the wing's porch.

The front porch has a latticework base and low shingled walls (the latter flared at the bottom, and topped by a wide molded coping). Beaded boarding sheathes the inside of the walls, and the porch ceiling. The board floor is reached by concrete steps at the south corner and by wooden steps in the central bay of the southeast facade. Wooden columns with molded bases and capitals support a box cornice with moldings and frieze, and the asphalt shingled hip roof. The veranda has four bays on the street facade, one angled bay at the south corner, one bay on the southwest facade, and two bays on the northeast facade.

The rear wing, is also clapboarded, trimmed with cornerboards, and set on a brick foundation. The asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed by open eaves with fascia boards on the southwest and by a shallow molded cornice with frieze on the northeast. All of the wing's doors and windows have simple surrounds with drip moldings. The windows, three on each (northeast and southwest) facade, have two-over-two sash, save for a double casement window with six pane sash in the northeast facade. The southwest facade contains the two doors, a beaded board door with one small light and a glazed and paneled door. The latter door and a neighboring window are sheltered by a small side entry porch with latticework base, concrete steps, board floor, a single turned post, eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, and frieze, beaded boarding in the ceiling and a half gables, and a asphalt shingled shed roof.

The barn, covering the rear (northwest) gable end of the wing, is clapboarded, trimmed with cornerboards, and has plain window and door frames. Its corrugated metal gable roof has plain eaves with sloping soffit and frieze. In the center of the three bay wide main (southwest) facade is a large, eaves front sliding paneled door, whose panels have chamfered edges and vertical board infill. Each side bay of this facade contains a large four pane window. Each gable has a window: A twelve pane window in the southeast, and a boarded up window in the northwest. The northeast facade has two two-over-two sash windows and a beaded board door in the main level, and a short board hayloft door above.

The one-story shed on the rear (northwest) gable end of the barn, covered by a shed roof of asphalt roll paper, shows a variety of wall treatments, including horizontal and vertical boarding, exposed wall members, and a few doors and windows.

35. Goodridge House; c.1865.
The fine eclectic house was built for the Goodridges, who owned this property from 1858 to 1903. Its combination of Italianate elements, such as the rich window entablatures and the elaborate box cornice, with Gothic inspired elements, such as the porch columns, the valence of the hood on the second story window, and the door panels suggest a date in the 1860's. The gable oculus has a single, original light. The houses rear wing was once connected to the barns by a long shed. This shed was removed in the late 1940's. In the late 1940's or early 1950's, the present attached garage was built. A porch on the southwest side of the rear wing was removed in the same period. More recent changes have included the addition to the rear wing of a side entry porch (1950's to 1970's) and an exterior chimney (c.1980), and the closing of some windows in the main block and the rear wing (mid 1980's).

According to Simonds, deed research has indicated that this site, "House lots 32 and 33", was owned by Henry and Sarah Kellogg previous to 1858. Austin and Harriet Goodridge brought the property on October 12, 1858, by a deed in which there is no mention of a house. A later deed refers to this house as the "Mansion House", which indicates how impressive it was perceived to be. During the Goodridge ownership, the house is said to have been a private school for girls. Annie M. Foster bought the property in 1910, and the following year gave it to her daughter, Mary Fullam. In 1946, Warren and Isabelle Potter bought it.

The two-and-a-half story, 3 x 3 bay, gable front, sidehall plan main block is spanned by a full front porch, and is ornamented by a five sided bay window on its southwest facade. To the rear (northwest) of the main block is a two-and-a-half story, gable roofed wing. There is a small one story addition in the west corner of the main block and wing, and a one story, gable roofed, attached garage on the northwest gable end of the wing.

The main block is set on a cut granite block foundation. The clapboarded walls are trimmed with sillboards and cornerboards, the latter with beaded corners. The slate gable roof is ornamented by a wide box cornice with frieze and architrave, decorated by moldings, large block modillions on the cornice, and shallow brackets beneath each modillion on the architrave. (The rear gable has neither modillions, brackets, nor architrave.) At gable left is the main entry, a large door with two long panels, which have rounded lower ends and pointed arched upper ends. Flanking the door is molded side trim and three pane full sidelights of frosted glass, etched with foliate patterns. The entry is surrounded by a heavily molded architrave frame and a wooden sill. The other two bays of the first story and the two side bays of the second story contain two-over-two sash windows with full entablatures and louvred shutters. The central second story bay is distinguished by a tall six pane window with an entablature and louvred shutters, which is sheltered by a large hood supported by two large sawn curvilinear brackets. The hood has a flared hip roof, board ceiling, a cornice with moldings and sawn valence decorated with trefoil pendants and diamond cutouts. In the gable is a large round, single-light window with molded frame. The front porch has a latticework base, concrete steps, and board floor. Four square paneled columns with rounded corners and richly molded capitals stand on pedestals with molded caps and support a deep box cornice with architrave and frieze (ornamented by moldings and block modillions) and a low pitched hip roof.

The three bay wide southwest facade and the four bay wide northeast facade have two-over-two sash windows with entablatures and louvred shutters. (One northeast window and three southwest windows have been permanently closed and covered by their louvred shutters.) Towards the rear on the southwest facade appears a one story, five sided bay window, set in a cut granite block foundation and covered by a low pitched hip roof. The base is paneled above a sillboard and beneath the continuous sill that encircles the bay window. A pair of one-over-one sash windows in the southwest front, single one-over-one sash windows in the angled south and west sides, and tall panels in the southeast and northwest sides, are all topped by a continuous molded lintel and a box cornice which duplicates, on a smaller scale, the cornice of the main block. The main block's rear (northwest) gable end, largely covered by the wing, has a single two-over-two sash window with entablature in each of the first two stories, and a plain framed six-over-six sash window in the gable

Attached to the rear (northwest) gable end of the main block is the lower and narrower rear wing. The slate gable roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings, block modillions and frieze, except on the rear gable box cornice, which has simpler moldings and lacks the modillions. The windows of the lateral (northeast and southwest) facades, three in each story of each facade, have two-over-two sash, louvred shutters, and, with one exception, fall entablatures, like those on the main block. The second story of the northeast facade has a fourth window, permanently closed by louvred shutters. The paneled door with window in the southwest facade and a four panel door in the northeast facade have surrounds similar to those of the windows. The northeast facade's other entry, a plywood door, is sheltered by a small entry porch with concrete steps and landing, two round metal posts, a plywood ceiling, a pedimented box cornice, a clapboarded gable, and an asphalt shingled gable roof. The north east facade also has an exterior brick chimney with corbeled cap. The rear gable end has one plain framed four pane window in the gable. The one story, shed roofed projection, in the west corner of the main block and the wing, is clapboarded, and trimmed with cornerboards and a box cornice with moldings beneath an asphalt roll papered shed roof. Its one window has two-over-two sash, louvred shutters and the usual entablature.

The attached garage has a concrete foundation, clapboarded walls, sillboards, cornerboard, close verges, close eaves on the northeast, and a lateral box cornice with frieze on the southwest. Its gable roof is sheathed with corrugated metal on the southwest and with wooden shingles on the northeast. Plain frames surround the board door and two four pane windows in the southwest facade, and the overhead garage door and the board door in the northwest gable end. Lining the property along Main Street are granite fence posts.

35A. Barn/Machine shop; c.1870/c.1925/1984. The barn-machineshop complex to the rear of the house consists of four units, arranged in a C-shaped plan-a tall one-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn, originally connected to the house and presumably built in the late 19th century, a one story, gable roofed, machine shop built in 1984; a one-and-a-half story, gambrel roofed dairy barn, built in the 1920's; and a one story, gable roofed milkroom, built in the 1930's. In the late 1940's, after the older barn was disconnected from the house, it was equipped with overhead garage doors. The cowbarn was converted to a machine ship in 1983. Its old windows were boarded up and new ones installed. The southeast facade of the cowbarn and the northeast facade of the milkroom were then resheathed with vertically grooved plywood siding, which was also used on the 1984 addition which replaced an older dilapidated structure.

The oldest barn is sheathed with vertical boarding and trimmed by cornerboards and plain eaves with sloping soffit and frieze (save for the rear northwest gable, which has only close verges). The gable roof is sheathed with asphalt shingles on the northeast and with corrugated metal on the southwest. In each gable is a high plain framed four pane window. The first story of the street (southeast) gable end is occupied by three large metal sheathed overhead garage doors with plain frames. The northeast and southwest facades each has a large sliding door, both as tall as the facades themselves. The southwest door is a board door, while the northeast door is covered with board and batten siding. The southwest facade also has two large four pane windows with plain frames.

The 1984 machine shop addition, to the rear of the older barn, is sheathed with vertically grooved plywood and cornerboards above a concrete foundation. Its asphalt shingled gable roof has wide lateral eaves with sloping soffits. Simple molded frames surround the paneled door with window in the southwest facade east of the cowbarn, the six-over-one sash windows in the northeast facade, the double plain wooden doors in the northwest gable end, and the over head garage door on the concrete loading dock in the southwest facade.

The cowbarn is set perpendicular to the 1984 addition on its southwest facade. The cowbarn retains its original sheathing of clap boarding with cornerboards trim, above a high concrete foundation on the northwest and southwest sides, but has been resheathed with vertically grooved plywood on the southeast. Simple eaves with sloping soffit and frieze trim the gambrel roof, which is sheathed with asphalt shingles on the southeast and with asphalt roll paper on the northwest. On the ridge is a square, open, gable-roofed air vent, with an asphalt shingled base, four simple corner posts supporting a gabled roof with boarded gables, open eaves (with fascia boards on the gables) and asphalt shingle sheathing. The resheathed southeast facade now has only one opening: a glazed and paneled door. On the southwest gable end can still be seen six window frames, but the windows are clapboarded in. In the gable is a small, plain framed board door. Ten window frames appear on the northwest facade, but six have been clapboarded in, and the other four contains smaller one-over-one sash windows with simply molded frames.

The one story milkroom, on the southeast facade of the cowbarn, has a high concrete foundation beneath the clapboarded walls on the southeast and southwest sides. Vertically grooved plywood now covers the entire northeast facade, including the frieze of the milkroom's eaves with sloping soffit. The southeast gable end contains two short double beaded board doors, while two twelve-pane windows and a sliding beaded board door appear in the southwest facade. The asphalt shingled gable roof is broken by a plain brick chimney.

35B. Chickenhouse/Workshop; c.1942. Behind the barn/machineshop stand two one story buildings, a work shop to the south, a shed to the north. The non-contributing work shop was built as a chickenhouse in the early 1940's by the agricultural class of Walpole High School, and was converted to a workshop by James Holton, a later owner. (The only exterior change is the addition of a chimney.) The building is set on a concrete foundation and is sheathed with novelty siding. A plain box cornice trims its asymmetrical gable roof, which is covered with asphalt roll paper on the northeast and with asphalt shingled on the southwest. Plain wooden frames surround its two board doors, one in each gable end. Plain metal frames trim its six pane windows, one in each gable end and five in the southwest facade. An exterior concrete block chimney appears on the northwest gable end.

35C. Shed; c.1942. The non-contributing, one story shed, also built in the early 1940's, is set on a high concrete foundation and sheathed with horizontal boarding, save for its open southeast facade. The asymmetrical gable roof is sheathed with asphalt roll paper and trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards. The open southeast facade is divided into three bays by exposed posts with braces. The only opening in the other walls is a board door in the southwest gable end.

36. Chipman - Mattson House; 1797/c.1880.
According to a tradition recorded in 1884, this house was built by Samuel Chipman in 1797. The main block has a post and beam frame of hewn timbers, as well as proportions typical of the late 18th century. The house appears to have been completely remodeled in the late 19th century, with new sash, front door, clapboards, trim and cornice. Emil M. Mattson, a musician in a military band, bought the house in 1920's, and apparently conducted a deed search which indicated a construction date of 1797. (source: Simonds, p.188) The wing's porch was probably also added at that time. Other additions from the 2Oth century, include the front entry porch, the laundry room wing, and the southwest wing's dormers. In the early 1980's, the present owners sealed off a door on the wing porch, built a deck on the end of the laundry room wing, added a few modern windows in the wing and the rear facade of the main block, and installed sky lights in the wing's roof.

The two-and a-half story, gable roofed Georgian Plan main block has a one story entry porch in the center of the street facade. On the rear (northwest) facade is a small, one story, gable roofed laundry room wing. A one-and-a-half story, gable roofed recessed wing to the southwest connects the main block to a one-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn. The wing also has a shallow, one story, shed roofed kitchen addition on its northeast gable end (to the rear of the main block), an inset porch in half of the southwest facade, and a one story, shed roofed porch spanning the southwest facade. The main block, set on a brick foundation, is clapboarded, and has a wide box cornice with moldings and frieze trimming an asphalt shingled roof. On the gable ends, the box cornice's frieze is rounded at the lower corners to blend with the beaded cornerboards. Two brick chimneys with wide bases and cylindrical metal flues topped by conical caps break the roof ridge.

The Queen Anne style glazed and paneled door includes small colored lights, and is topped by a molded lintel and sheltered by a one story porch. The porch's concrete floor is set on a brick base with inset brick steps. Two wooden columns on concrete plinths support a box cornice with frieze. The porch is now covered by a later corrugated metal gable covered by a later corrugated metal gable roof, with a flush boarded gable in which the date "1797" appears. The other bays of the main facade contain two-over-two sash windows with non-functional louvred shutters. The four first story windows, like the rest of the windows of the house, have lintels with drip moldings, while the frames of the five second story windows butt up against the frieze. The northeast gable end also has a four paneled door, topped by a lintel with drip molding. With the exception of a modern first story double window with six-over-six sash, and a double window with three-over-three sash, windows on the rear facade are the same as those found elsewhere.

The small, one-story, clapboard laundry room wing, attached to the rear facade of the main block, is set on a concrete foundation. Its gable roof, sheathed with both asphalt shingles and corrugated metal, is trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters and friezes and by slightly overhanging gable eaves with fascia boards. Plain frames surround the nine pane window on the southwest, the six panel door and the large single pane window on the northwest gable end. The gable end is covered by a small open deck with latticework base, board floor and steps, plain posts and railings.

The side wing is also clapboarded and is set on a brick foundation. The asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed by a box cornice with a frieze, but somewhat simpler moldings than the main block cornice. On each slope of the roof is a dormer with clapboarded sides and gable, cornerboards, plain window frame, simple box cornice, and asphalt shingle gable roof. Each dormer has a double window: three-over-three sash in the southeast dormer and six-over-six sash in the northwest dormer. The northwest roof slope also has two metal framed skylights, installed in 1983. In the north half of the main (southeast) facade appears non-contributing double window with three-over-one sash and a lintel with drip molding. The south half of the facade is occupied by a shallow inset porch with board floor and clapboarded walls. The porches's opening is topped by a lintel with drip molding and a valance board cut to give the opening a semielliptical arch. Plain frames surround a four panel door in the southerly side wall, a four panel door with three pane transom window, a glazed and paneled door and a double, sliding, metal framed single pane window in the back wall. The full wing porch (c.1880) has a board base decorated with round and diamond cutouts, as well as board floor and steps. Three chamfered posts with bases, molded capitals, and ornate sawn brackets support the pedimented box cornice with moldings and frieze, the flush boarded half gable, and the asphalt shingled shed roof.

Because of the slope of the land, the wing's basement level is half exposed on the rear (northwest) facade. In this basement level appears three large four pane windows with plain frames. In the main level is a modern double window with six-over-six sash and simply molded frame, an older six-over-six sash window, and a glazed and paneled door, the last two having lintels with drip moldings. The door is served by board steps and landing, protected by plain posts and railings. The northeast gable contains two six-over-six sash widows under lintels with drop moldings. The first story of this gable end is completely covered by a shallow, one story, windowless kitchen addition. Set on a concrete and brick foundation, the addition has clapboarded walls, sillboards, cornerboards, plain eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, and a corrugated metal shed roof.

The barn, attached to the wing's southwest gable end, is the same width as the wing. The barn is one-and-a-half stories high above a basement fully exposed on the southwest and northeast facades, and partially exposed on part of the southeast facade. The basement level is sheathed with wooden shingles. Above the sillboard that marks the top of the basement level, the barn is clapboarded, and trimmed with cornerboards. The corrugated metal gable is trimmed by a wide box cornice with moldings and frieze. In the main (south west) facade is a large sliding door whose six panels have chamfered edges and vertical board infill. A lintel with drip molding tops the sliding door and a main level window with twelve-over-twelve sash. Plain frames surround the beaded board hayloft door, and the twelve pane basement window. The southwest gable end has a four pane window, triple leaf board door in the basement, three small single pane windows in the main level, and a four-pane window in the gable. The rear facade has a large sliding board door and two boarded up windows in the basement, a four pane window and two boarded up windows in the main level.

36A. Gazebo and Swimming Pool; 1982. To the rear of the main block and the wings is a large wooden deck surrounding a swimming pool. Standing on the north corner of the deck is the non-contributing gazebo, built in 1982. The one-story octagonal gazebo has a plain frame, screened sides with latticework over the lower halves and latticework triangles in the upper canted corners, open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards, and a wooden shingled octagonal roof

36B. Shed; 1982.

To the rear of the barn is the non-contributing, 1 1/2 story shed, also built in 1982. It is sheathed with vertical boarding, trimmed with a plain box cornice, and covered by a corrugated metal gable roof. In the center of the roof is a ventilator with board sides, two rectangular louvers set in segmental arched openings, open eaves with exposed rafters, and a corrugated metal pyramidal roof. The shed has seven six-pane windows and board doors.

37. Wright House; c1880.
This house is most notable for its unusual billboard-like gable front, which is attached to a two-story main block behind. The gable front, which is one-bay deep and displays a formal, 3-bay, 2 1/2 story, sidehall plan facade to the street, projects slightly to the south, seemingly to hide the less formal structure behind it. The latter part of the house, marked by five irregular bays is the first floor and two in the second, may have preceded the gable front section .

The Italianate details of this vernacular building suggest a construction date in the 1870's or 1887's[sic]. About 1910, Richard Wright built a second story sunroom on the northeast addition and a small shed in the corner formed by the rear wing and the first barn. The present owner built an oil tank cover and an exterior chimney on the rear wing in 1955, installed novelty siding on the first barn in about 1956, railings on the side porch in 1972, a wider first barn door about 1975, and two new rear windows in 1985.

The house is a complex assemblage of units. The two-and-a-half story, gable front, sidehall main block has a one story, full front porch, and a large entry porch on the southwest eave side. The 3-bay facade, including the first eaves-side bay on the southwest wall, is wider than the rear of the main block, as if a 3 x 1 bay gabled facade were applied to a previous structure. The main block and the one-and-a-half story, gable roofed wing to its rear (northwest) share a shallow, one story, shed roofed addition on their northeast facades. Attached to the rear (northwest) gable end of the rear wing is a one-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn. A short gable roofed section connects the first barn with a second one-and a-half story, gable roofed barn Stretching to the southwest of the second barn is a one story, gable roofed open shed, and a one-and a-half story, gable roofed chickenhouse.

The main block is clapboarded, and trimmed with cornerboards topped by molded capitals, and trimmed with a wide frieze box cornice. The lower ends of the gable friezes are rounded to meet the corner boards. The asphalt shingled gable roof is broken by two brick chimneys, both with wide bases and one with a corbeled cap. The four panel main door at gable right has five pane full sidelights (now covered over) and a lintel with heavy molding. The two first story windows have two-over-two sash and lintels with drip moldings, the exceptions being a six-over-six window in the central second floor bay, and a peaked window in the gable. The front porch has a latticework base, board floor, and concrete steps. Three chamfered posts with molded bases and capitals stand on paneled pedestals, and support a box cornice with moldings, frieze and paired brackets below a low pitched hip roof. The side facades of the main block have two-over-two sash windows in the first story, and six-over-six sash in the second story. All windows have louvered shutters and lintels with drip moldings. The northeast facade has only two windows in each story. The shallow projection on the eastern end of the southwest facade has two first story windows and one second story window. The southwest facade proper has four first story windows, two second story windows, and a 4-panel door. The side entry porch has two square chamfered posts with molded capitals, and braces with round turned ornaments, that support molded valance with round pendants. The porch roof, a shed roof with an intersecting full-width gable is trimmed by eaves with moldings and frieze. Decoratively cut wooden shingles fill the gable above the entry and the half gables at each end, while asphalt shingles cover the roof.

The rear wing is clapboarded, and has an asphalt shingled gable roof rimmed by simple box cornices with friezes, and close verges on the rear gable. Lintels with drip moldings cover its few but diverse windows; a six-over-six sash window, two small, modern one-over-one sash windows, and eight-over-eight sash window and a twelve-over-twelve sash window. The southwest windows have louvred shutters. On the northeast facade of the rear wing is the clapboard, one story, shed roofed addition it shares with the main block. Its low pitched hip roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings and frieze. Louvred shutters and lintels with drip moldings cover its three six-over-six sash window. Directly above the main block portion of the addition is found the clapboard sunroom, which has a cornice like that of the main block. The sun room has two-over-two and six-over-six sash windows. In 1955, the northwest gable end of the rear wing received an exterior concrete block chimney and an oil tank cover, a small story structure with concrete foundation, horizontal boarding, a small board door, open eaves with exposed rafters, and an asphalt roll papered shed roof. At the western end of the wing's southwest facade appears another one story addition, in the corner of the wing and the first barn. It has a concrete foundation, walls of novelty siding, open eaves with exposed mulins, and a metal sheathed shed roof. Its only opening is a glazed and paneled door.

The first barn, attached to the western corner of the rear wing, is sheathed with board and batten siding, save for the southwest facade, which is covered with novelty siding. The asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed by plain eaves, and by open eaves with exposed rafters on the lateral facades,the more visible southwest eaves having fascia boards. The main door, (widened by the present owner), a large sliding board door in the front street gable end, and the beaded board hayloft door above it have lintels with drip moldings. The barn has a twelve pane window and a double sliding window with twelve pane sash in the southeast gable, two six pane windows on the southwest, a twelve pane window in the northwest gable, a four pane window and two more twelve pane windows in the northeast facade. The connector, between the northwest gable end the first barn and the southeast gable end of the second barn, is sheathed with board and batten siding and covered by an asphalt shingled gable roof with open eaves and exposed rafters. Its single sixteen-pane window on the northeast has a plain frame.

The second barn has board and batten siding, open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards, and an asphalt shingled gable roof. Most of its window and doors have no finish trim. In the center of the southwest facade are large vertical board double doors, topped by thirty-two pane plain framed transom window. The southwest facade also has two board doors, two boarded up windows, a six pane window and a four pane window. The gable ends each have a board door and twelve pane windows, three on the southeast and two on the northwest (including one in each gable). The northeast facade has two sixteen pane windows.

Covering part of the second barn's southwest facade is an open one story shed, sheathed with brown "brick" asphalt siding on the south east and with board and batten siding on the northwest. No finish distinguishes its asphalt shingled gable roof. The northwest facade has a single boarded up window, while the southeast facade contains one large opening.

Covering the southwest gable end of the shed is a one-and-a-half story, gable roofed chickenhouse, which is also sheathed with brown "brick" asphalt siding on the southwest and southeast. The northwest facade and the northeast gable are sheathed with vertical boarding, save for an area of asphalt shingles on the northwest. Cornerboards and open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards trim the facades and the asphalt shingled gable roof. The board door in the southeast facade has no finish trim. Simple frames surround the two six-over-six sash windows and the double window with twelve-pane sash in the southeast facade, the quadruple window with twelve-pane sash and the six-pane gable window in the southwest gable end.

37A. Icehouse; c.1910. Southwest of the house stands the icehouse, built in c.1910 by a former owner, Richard Wright, and mostly resheathed with novelty siding by the present owner in about 1956. The one story, gable roofed structure is covered with novelty siding, save on the horizontal boarded rear (north- west) gable end. The slate roof has open eaves with exposed rafters, and on the gables only, fascia boards. There is a four panel door in the southeast gable end, and a six pane window in each eave side. A simple trellis for a grapevine covers the rear gable end.

38. Hancock House; 1974-1975.
The non-contributing, Colonial Revival style Hancock house was erected in the 1974-1975 for Horace and Anne Hancock by a local builder Malcolm Streeter. A small open wooden deck was built on the rear by the present owner in 1985.

The house, a one-and-a-half story clapboard Cape, is connected by a one story, gable roofed section to a one story, gable roofed garage. The asphalt shingled gable roof is broken by a large brick chimney. The glazed and paneled door has tall, decorative louvred shutters. Windows all have eight-over-eight sash, simply molded frames, and decorative louvred shutters.

The short connector on the southwest gable end of the cape has walls of vertically grooved plywood, plain lateral box cornices, and an asphalt shingled gable roof. Its southeast facade is distinguished by an inset porch with concrete floor and plain framed opening with canted corners. The outer wall is clapboarded above the opening. In this southeast facade appears a paneled door with built-in window and plain frame, and an eight-over-eight sash window with simply molded frame and decorative shutters. Double sliding glass doors with plain trim in the northwest facade open onto a wooden deck with board floor and steps, plain railings, and built-in board seats.

The one story garage is clapboarded and has an asphalt gable roof. In the center of the roof is a metal ventilator with louvers, a flared pyramidal roof, and a crowning weathervane. There are two overhead garage doors in plain framed openings with canted corners. The two eight-over-eight sash windows in the southwest gable end have simply molded frames and decorative shutters.

39. Richardson House; c.1865.
Some elements of the Richardson house, such as the peaked lintels over the windows and doors, and the main entry, with its full sidelights, full transom window, and fretwork in the side panels, suggest a late Greek Revival period date in the 1860's. Other elements, more Victorian in character, such as the round corner moldings on the main block and the ornate balcony, suggest a later construction date in the 1870's. There is, in fact, a tradition that the house was built about 1875. The veranda may have been added later in the 19th century. The only recent change seems to have been the 1985 conversion of a portion of the rear wing into a workshop, with new windows and doors and new plywood sheathing.

The two-and-a-half story, gable front sidehall plan is fronted by a full width porch. Behind the main block is a one and a half story, gable roofed wing with a one story side porch on its southwest facade. The rear wing is attached at its west corner to a shed roofed addition leading to the one and a half story, gable roofed barn.

The main block, set on a cut granite block foundation, is clapboarded and trimmed with sillboards are round corner moldings, topped by small rounded caps. The slate gable roof is trimmed by wide eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, and a wide frieze. The main entry, found in the south bay of the three bay wide southeast gable end, is a two panel door with three-pane full sidelights. A three-pane transom window covers both the door and the sidelights. The entry has lower cornerblocks, wide side panels (the latter decorated with Greek fretwork), and a peaked molded entablature, now somewhat obscured by the veranda ceiling. Windows have six-over-six sash windows with peaked molded lintels and louvred shutters. In the gable, a pair of triangular arched double French doors with three pane leaves, and a molded lintel that echoes the shape of the doors, opens onto a small balcony supported by large sawn brackets. The balcony has a molded base, latticework railing with corner posts, and molded handrail. The front porch has a board floor, and concrete steps with wrought metal hand rails. The unusual posts have wide round-headed slots, plain bases, diagonal struts in the slots, and molded capitals. The four slotted posts support a box cornice with moldings, frieze and architrave, a beaded board ceiling and a slate hip roof. The southwest facade has a clapboarded-in window in each story. The northwest gable end has a four panel door with peaked molded lintel, as well as a single plain framed six over-six sash window in both the second story and the gable.

The rear wing, attached to the main block's northwest gable end, is clapboarded, save for a section of vertically grooved plywood at the western end of the southwest facade. The slate gable roof is trimmed by a simpler version of the main block eaves. The roof is interrupted on each slope by a dormer with clapboarded sides, cornerboards, flush boarded front, a six-over-six sash window, and a slate gable roof. The two six-over-six sash windows of the more visible northeast facade have peaked molded lintels and louvred shutters, while the two six-over-six sash windows of the southwest facade have only plain frames. The two southwestern doors, a paneled door with window and a plain modern door, have peaked lintels. The modern double sliding glass doors in the western plywood section of the southwest facade have a simply molded frame. The eastern three-fifths of the southwest facade is covered by a one story side porch with board base and floor, concrete steps, square boxed posts with molded caps, a plain box cornice with frieze, flush boarded half gable, beaded board ceiling, and asphalt roll papered shed roof. The wing's three bay northwest gable end has a modern paneled door with window and simply molded frame and two new six-over-six sash windows with plain frames in the first story. The central six-over-six sash window and flanking two pane windows in the gable all have plain frames.

The main block of the barn is set on a fieldstone foundation and trimmed with cornerboards. The street (southeast) gable end is sheathed with board and batten siding, the southwest facade with clapboarding and the northwest gable end with vertical boarding. The corrugated metal gable roof is trimmed by close eaves and verges, save on the southeast gable, which has a shallow box cornice with frieze. The southeast gable end contains a large sliding board door topped by a lintel with drip molding and a thirteen-pane transom window, which has its own lintel with drip molding. A smaller vertical board door also has a lintel with drip molding. The boards of both doors have shallow vertical grooves. A plain framed, diamond shaped, twelve pane window appears in the gable. The southwest facade has two boarded up openings, a doorless opening, two two-pane windows and two twelve-pane windows, all with plain frames. The rear northwest gable end contains a large, tall sliding board door and a nine pane gable window, both with plain frames. The shed roof addition that covers the entire northeastern side of the main block is set on a concrete foundation, is clapboarded on the northwest and the northeast, and sheathed with board and batten siding on the southeast (street) end. Its corrugated metal roof has a simple box cornice with frieze on the southeast, open eaves with exposed rafters on the northeast, and close verges on the northwest. Plain frames surround the three-leaf beaded board door in the southeast end, and the twelve-pane windows, two on the northeast and one on the northwest.

40. Underwood House; c.1900.
This house is believed to have been built by Joseph Underwood, who purchased the lot in 1897. The house appears in a photograph dated 1910. The building is a good example of turn of the century vernacular architecture in Westminster. In the 1960's, the present owner raised the southwest slope of the rear wing's roof to add two new bedrooms, and installed sliding windows for the kitchen in the same facade.

The two-and-a-half story main block has a shallow two story, gable roofed, projecting bay on the northern eaves side. A one story wraparound porch covers the main block's front gable end and its northern eaves side east of the projecting bay. Behind the main block stretches a gable roofed rear wing with an inset porch in its southwest facade. Attached to the rear wing's northwest gable end is a two-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn with full basement. In the north corner of the rear wing and the barn is found a shallow two story, shed roofed addition.

The main block and its shallow and slightly lower projecting bay are both set on a high brick foundation and are clapboarded, with trimming cornerboards topped by molded caps. Their slate gable roofs share the same box cornice with moldings, frieze, and returns. In the north bay of the three bay wide southeast (street) gable end of the main block is found the main entry, a glazed and paneled door with plain frame. Windows have two-over-one sash, plain frames, and louvred shutters. The porch has a latticework base, wooden columns with simply molded bases and capitals, low railings of vertical beaded boarding with molded top and bottom rails, and screened panels above. The porch entry bay contains a screened door, served by concrete steps, flanked by screened sidelights above plain panels, and topped by a screened transom. The asphalt roll papered roof is hipped, with a small gable above the entry, and is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings and frieze. The small entry gable contains a raised triangular panel.

The rear wing, attached to the northwest gable end of the main block, was a one-and-a-half story structure until the roof was raised on the southwest, making the southwest facade two stories high. The wing, clapboarded with cornerboards, is set on a concrete block foundation on the southwest and northwest, but on a brick foundation on the northeast. The asymmetrical gable roof, still sheathed with slate on the northeast, is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings and frieze on the southwest and with plainer eaves with frieze and sloping soffit on the northeast and the northwest. The western third of the southwest facade's first story contains a plain framed inset porch with a single square post. The recessed porch, an original but severely altered feature, has a board base, steps, and floor, clapboarded inner walls, and a beaded board ceiling. A glazed and paneled door with plain frame is found in each narrow side wall, while the back wall contains two two-over-one windows with plain frames and louvred shutters. West of the inset porch appear a bank of four sliding windows with single pane sash and a glazed and paneled door, both with simply molded frames. The second story contains four smaller two-over-one sash windows with plain frames. The northeast facade has four two-over-one sash window with plain frames, the three larger windows, also having louvred shutters. The northwest gable end has a plain framed two-over-two sash window in the gable.

The attached barn is clapboarded, trimmed with cornerboards and plain window and door trim, above a concrete foundation. The slate gable roof has eaves with friezes sloping soffits. The basement is exposed on all but the front gable end, which has a large sliding beaded board door, a beaded board hayloft door above it, and a two pane window in the gable. The basement level of the southwest facade, topped by a continuous sillboard, contains a three-leaf board door, a large two pane window, and three six pane windows. The main level contains two-over-two sash window. The northeast facade has only a six-pane window in the basement. The eastern two fifths of the northeastern facade is covered by a shallow addition which is two stories high (counting the lower level, corresponding to the barn's basement, at the first story). The addition is clap boarded, trimmed with cornerboards,and has a concrete foundation. It is covered by a slate sheathed, shed roofed extension of the barn roof, and by the same eaves as appear on the barn. Plain frames surround its two windows, a first story six pane window, and a second story narrow one-over-one sash window, both in the northeast facade.

The grassed lot is lower to the rear, necessitating a stone terrace wall southwest of the barn in line with the barn's southeast gable end. Behind the barn are found two large plywood dog kennels in a wire fenced enclosure. At the rear of the lot is a modern swimming pool, surrounded by a concrete floor, a chainlink fence on three sides, and a board fence on the northeast.

41. Averill - Whittle House; c.1795.
This house is one of the most architecturally significant, best preserved, and perhaps oldest house in the district. A tradition recorded as early as the 1870's states that Asa Averill (1739-1825) lived in this house, suggesting that it was probably built in the late 18th century. Averill may have lived in what is now the ell. There is some internal evidence that the main block once had a central chimney, and that, therefore, its interior was remodeled to the present central hall plan. The entrance and six-over-six windows were probably added in the mid-19th century, while the porches appear to date to the late 19th century. There is some internal evidence that the ell was extended to the rear. Interior clapboarding reveals that the garage postdates the barn. In the mid 20th century, vinyl siding was installed parts of the barn and the garage. The early 1980's saw the addition of a Dutch door and a casement window on the main block's rear facade and of overhead garage doors in the garage.

The two-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block has a one story front porch, while the two-and-a-half story, gable roofed ell to its northwest has one story, shed roofed porches on both the northeast and southwest facades. A one-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn is attached to the northwest gable end of the ell, and, in turn, has a small, one story, gable roofed garage on its own northwest gable end.

The brick foundation of the main block has been covered by plaster. The clapboarded walls are trimmed with sillboards, wide corner boards, and a wide pedimented box cornice with moldings and frieze. The rear slope of the slate gable roof is interrupted near the ridge by two small brick chimneys. In the center of the five bay wide front facade is the main entry: A six panel door flanked by four pane, two-thirds sidelights above panels. The entry frame is paneled with cornerblocks, plain lower cornerboards and upper corner blocks decorated with round patera. A molded cornice tops the paneled lintel. Windows have six-over-six sash, plain frames, and louvred shutters. The frames of the second story windows butt up against the cornice, as does the plain frame of the rear (northwest) facade's only second story window, a nine-over-six sash window. The rear facade's first story has a modern double casement window with four pane sash and simply molded frame, and a Dutch door with a plain frame ( the letter opening onto the ell's southwest porch). The front porch has a latticework base, concrete steps serving the central bay, and a board floor. Square pillars with rounded corners, molded bases and capitals, support a box cornice with moldings and frieze, a board ceiling with ceiling molding, and a low pitched, metal sheathed shed roof.

The ell, set on a brick foundation, is clapboarded, and trimmed with cornerboards and sill boards, save for a narrow section of vinyl siding covering the first two stories of the northwest gable end. The slate gable roof is trimmed by a shallow molded cornice with frieze and returns on the northwest and southwest, and by close eaves with a frieze on the northeast. In the northeast facade is a side entry, a four panel door with four pane, two-thirds sidelights and a molded cornice. Louvred shutters and lintels with drip moldings distinguish the first story's three six-over-six sash windows. The four nine-over-six sash windows in the second story also have louvred shutters, but their plain frames butt up against the cornice. The two bay wide porch that covers three-fifths of the northeast facade and shelters the side entry has a latticework base, board floor, concrete steps, square posts with chamfered edges and molded bases and capitals, board ceiling, a flush boarded half gable, a molded lintel, simple overhanging gable eaves supported by three sawn brackets, and a corrugated metal shed roof. Lintels with drip moldings top the southwest facade's fist story windows, three six-over-six sash windows and two nine-over-six sash windows, while the plain frames of the three nine-over-six sash windows in the second story butt up against the cornice. The six panel door in the southwest facade has a plain frame with cornerblocks. The three bay wide porch that covers the entire southwest facade is similar, but simpler in design, to the front porch, having a latticework base, stone steps, wood floor, chamfered posts with molded capitals, a board ceiling, a plain lintel, simple overhanging eaves, flush boarded half gable, and a corrugated metal shed roof. The northwest gable end's two nine-over-six sash windows, one in the first story, the other a raking window in the gable, have plain frames.

The tall one-and-a-half story barn, set on a concrete block foundation, is clapboarded and trimmed with sillboards, and cornerboards topped by molded caps, save for the southwest facade, which is covered by vinyl siding. The slate gable roof is trimmed by box cornice with moldings and wide friezes. In the northwest gable, the lower ends of the frieze are rounded to blend with the cornerboards. The northeast and southwest eave sides each contain a large, tall sliding board door, topped by a lintel with drip molding and fourteen pane transom window, whose plain frame butts up against the box cornice. Windows have six-over-six sash, and lintel boards with drip moldings. The basement, exposed on parts of the northeast and northwest facades, has three boarded up windows on the northeast, a six-pane window and a double paneled door on the northwest, all with plain frames.

Attached to the northwest gable end of the barn is the small, one story garage. The garage is clapboarded, save for narrow vinyl sided section of the southeast gable end that overlaps the barn. Plain eaves with frieze and sloping soffit trim the slate gable roof, save on the southeast gable, which has no eaves finish. Plain frames surround the two-over-two sash window and large sliding board door on the northeast and the two overhead garage doors in opening with canted corners on the southwest.

School Street

42. Collins House; c. 1865.
This house is said to have been built by John L. Collins. By the time the Collinses bought the property, however, it evidently already had a dwelling on it. The lot sold for $150 in 1862, $600 in 1863, and $1200 in 1865. Sarah Collins purchased the property in 1869 for $1900. As early as 1865, the owner of the property was assessed for a house and lot. The six-over-six sash windows and the peaked lintel of the entry are more indicative of the 1860's than of the 1870's. The present owner built the concrete steps, enclosed the porch in the 1950's, added the garage in 1959, and the woodshed in 1980, and sheathed the building with aluminum siding in the early 1970's.

The house consists of four units in a row, a one-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block, a two story, gable roofed rear wing (with a one story, shed roofed addition and enclosed porch on its southwest facade), a one story, shed roofed garage, and a one story, shed roofed woodshed.

The main block, set on a brick foundation, is covered by aluminum siding with narrow corner strips. The slate gable roof is trimmed by wooden eaves with narrow frieze and sloping soffit.

In the east bay of the three-bay-wide northeast gable end appears the main entry - a four panel door with five pane full sidelights, plain wide side trim, a peaked lintel board, and concrete steps. Windows have six-over-six sash and plain frames. The northwest and southeast lateral facades are virtually identical, each having three windows with plain frames in the main level and a gable wall dormer.

The rear wing has the same brick foundation, aluminum, plain wooden eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, and slate gable roof, as does the main block to its northeast. The northwest facade contains two six-over-six sash window and a narrow two-over-two sash window in the first story, and a three-over-three sash window in the second story. The southeast facade has two more three-over-three sash windows in its second story, the first story being covered by a one story addition and porch. This addition is sheathed with aluminum siding and is topped by open eaves with fascia boards, and covered by a corrugated plastic shed roof. The western half of the addition, a former porch now closed in, contains a double window with two pane sash, a tall two pane window, and a modern metal framed glass door, the later served by stone, brick and concrete steps with a wrought metal hand rail. Plain frames surround these openings, as well as the two-over-two sash windows in the addition's south half. The rear wing's southwest gable end has only a gable louver.

The concrete block garage, on the southwest end of the wing and its addition, has a low pitched corrugated metal shed roof, trimmed by close eaves on the main southeast facade, a shallow box cornice on the northwest, and close verges on the southwest. The long south east facade contains a four pane window and three overhead garage doors, all with plain frames.

Covering the southwest end of the garage is a woodshed, open on the southeast, with corrugated metal walls on the southwest and northwest. The corrugated metal shed roof is trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters on the southwest, open eaves with fascia boards on the northwest half-gable, and close verges on the southeast half-gable.

43. Westminster Seminary; 1850.
The village school district purchased this lot in 1848. The school building served not only the village schools, but also the newly founded Westminster Seminary. In its first catalog, issued in November of 1850, the Seminary announced that "the Seminary building, beautiful in its situation and appearance, is now finished"(2), implying that the school building was completed in the same year. An early stereoscopic view of the Greek Revival building shows that it had twelve-over-twelve sash windows, an entry porch on the southeast facade, a pedimented box cornice, and a crenelated square belfry in the center of its roof-none of which survive. Although the Seminary was short lived, the building continued to house the local schools until a modern school was erected in 1953. During the building's use as a school, the northwest facade acquired a one-story addition for restrooms (about 1925) and an exterior stairway (probably in the 1940's). The building was sold to George Cote in 1956 and extensively remodeled by him to accommodate five apartments. The belfry was removed, the basement entry was shortened, new windows were installed, and three new entries and four entry porches were built. Since the building retains so little of its original appearance, this structure is non-contributing to the district.

The two-and-a-half story, gable roofed building has a number of small appendages, such as a one story, hip roofed shallow wing on the northwest, four one story, gable roofed entry porches (one each on the northeast and southwest gable ends, two on the southeast facade), and a one story, gable roofed basement entry on the rear (southwest) gable end. The main block, set on a high brick found ation, is clapboarded, trimmed with sillboards, cornerboards, and plain window frames. The heavy box cornice with moldings, frieze, and returns is pedimented on the rear (southwest) gable, but has only returns on the street (northwest) gable, which replace the original pediment. A large brick chimney breaks the northwest slope of the slate gable roof. In the center of the southeast eaves side can still be seen the main entry, a paneled door with window in a frame of fluted side trim and lintel decorated by upper cornerblocks with round patera. This entry is sheltered by an entry porch, similar to the other three porches, with latticework base, concrete steps, board floor, square posts with plain bases and simply molded capitals, balustrades with square balusters and plain rails, a box cornice with moldings, frieze, and returns, a clapboarded gable, and an asphalt shingled gable roof. A similar porch shelters a paneled door with window at the south end of the facade. The southeast facade also has four palin-framed two-over-two sash windows in each story, the second story window being smaller. The street (north east) gable end has an off-center entry-another paneled door with window and plain frame sheltered by a porch of the same design. Four two-over-two sash windows appear in the first story and another two-over-two sash window in the second story. The second story also has a modern Chicago-type with large central plate glass window and flanking two-over-two sash windows. A twelve-over-twelve sash window is found in the gables of both gable ends. The southwest gable end has another off-center entry with a paneled door with window and the usual porch, as well as two-over-two sash windows, four in the first story, and three in the second. Attached to the southwest gable end is the basement entry, a one story structure sheathed with novelty slding above a brick foundation. The low pitched metal sheathed roof is trimmed by eaves with sloping soffit. The plywood door in the entry's southwest gable end has a plain frame. On the northwest facade of the main block appears the one story, hip roofed, clapboarded, shallow wing. Its asphalt shingled roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings and frieze. The wing has a plain framed two-over-two sash window in each narrow (south west and northeast) end. A single two-over- two sash appears in the first story of the main block's northwest facade on each side of the wing. The second story has three smaller two-over-two sash windows and a paneled door with window which opens onto an exterior stair way. The stairway has board steps and landing, plain posts and rails, exposed rafters with fascia boards and an asphalt roll papered shed roof. Beneath the stairway is a storage area enclosed by horizontal boards with cornerboards and served by a plain framed doorless opening.

43A. Shed; c. 1960. Behind the former Seminary stands a small non-contributing shed, built in the early 1960's by George Cote. Set on a concrete foundation, the shed is sheathed by horizontal boarding with trimming cornerboards. The asphalt shingled shed roof is trimmed by open lateral eaves with exposed rafters. Its only opening is a board door in the northeast gable end.

44. Westminster Seminary Boarding House; c. 1856/c.1900.
In its November 1856 catalog, the Westminster Seminary announced that "The people of Westminster have very liberally erected an additional Seminary Building the past year, capable of rooming forty pupils and containing a large Hall and ample recitation rooms for the Ornamental Department." After the Seminary closed, the building was used in part as a wheelwright shop. Sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, it was converted into a tenement house, and took on its present appearance. In 1975, the building was renovated for the Lobar family. Three first story windows on the rear facade of the main block were replaced by smaller modern kitchen windows. One new chimney replaced four older chimneys. A small gabled dormer was removed from the rear slope of the main block roof The ell's slate roof was resheathed with asphalt shingles. A ten foot addition was made to the shed to provide additional garage space.

The house is T-shaped in plan. Stretching behind the two-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block (which has a wide one story entry porch in the center of its northeast facade) are a two-and-a-half story gable roofed ell and a one-and-a-half story, gable roofed shed-garage.

The main block, now a duplex house, is clapboarded save for the upper sections of it gables and its broad-gabled wall dormer, which are sheathed with fishscale shingles. Its asphalt shingled gable roof, interrupted by a large gabled wall dormer in the center of its northeast slope, is trimmed by wide eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, and wide frieze. Lintels with drip moldings top its windows, most of which have six-over-six sash. The two main entries for the two units are found in the second and fourth bays of the five by wide northeast facade. Both are glazed and paneled doors with lintels with drip moldings. The two doors and the six-over-six sash window in the central bay are sheltered by the three-bay wide porch, which has a board floor, three chamfered posts with molded capitals, a beaded board ceiling, eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, and frieze, and an asphalt shingled hip roof. Windows have six-over-six sash, those of the first floor being distinguished by louvred shutters. The three bay wide southeast and northwest gable ends each have three full-size windows. The horizontal board that marks the lintel level of the gable windows also marks the division between the clapboards below and the fishscale shingles above. The rear (southwest) facade is variously fenestrated, including several original six-over-six sash windows. Four six-over-six sash windows, two on each side of the ell, appear in the second story.

The two-and-a-half story ell, only ten feet deep, has clapboarded walls, cornerboards, eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, frieze, and an asphalt shingled gable roof. The four pane windows of the one bay wide facades have lintels with drip moldings, save for the lateral second story windows, whose frames butt up against the frieze of the eaves.

The long attached one-and-a-half story shed, of the same width as the ell, is clapboarded with cornerboards. The asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters, fascia boards and friezes. The lateral (northwest and southeast) facades each contain two plywood doors topped by lintels with drip moldings. The northwest facade also has an overhead garage door, which, like the window in the southwest gable, has a plain frame.

45. Metcalf House; c.1865.
This Greek Revival style classic cottage, with a Gothic Revival inspired cross gable roof, was built by blacksmith George W. Metcalf. Metcalf purchased the lot for $50 in 1862, and his house is shown standing on this site in Beers' county atlas of 1869. The ell is thought to have been added later to connect the house and the barn. The barn was also extended to the rear at some unknown time. About 1940, a small northwest addition was built to enlarge the garage in the ell. In the 1960's, most of the building was sided with asbestos shingles, now being removed. The porch on the ell is a mid-20th century addition, perhaps added about 1970. About 1981, a door and a window on the rear facade of the main block were replaced by two newer windows.

To the rear of the one-and-a-half story main block stretch, in a row, the two story, gable roofed ell (with a one story porch on the southeast side, a shallow one story, shed roofed garage addition on the northwest), the one-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn, and the one story, gable roofed barn extension.

The main block has a brick foundation, plain eaves with frieze sloping soffits, and a slate roof. Plain brick chimney are found at each end of the main roof ridge. In the center of the five bay front facade is the main entry: a four panel door with five full sidelights, wide plain side trim, and a lintel board topped by a narrow molding. Windows have six-over-six sash windows with drip moldings on their lintels. In the cross gable above the entry is found a double window with four-over-four sash and a lintel with drip molding. The rear (southwest) facade has two modern twelve-over-twelve sash windows with simply molded frames in the first story and a double casement window with eight pane sash and plain frame in the cross gable.

The ell is sheathed with asbestos shingles, save for a small area of the southeast facade, where the shingles have been removed to reveal the older clapboarding. Eaves with moldings and sloping soffits trim the slate gable roof. Lintels with drip moldings cover the two-over-two sash windows in the first story, two on each lateral (northwest and southeast) facade. The plain frames of the short kneewall two-over-two sash windows (two on the northwest and three on the southeast) butt up against the eaves. The southwest facade with drip molding. Towards the rear on the same facade appear the garage doors, double board doors topped by a lintel with drip molding (and formerly by a transom window, now windowless). The one story veranda that covers the entire southeast facade has a board floor, save for that area directly in front of the garage door. A chamfered post and two square posts support eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, and frieze, and an asphalt shingled shed roof. On the southerly half of the ell's northwest facade is found the one story garage addition with blank walls of asbestos shingles, open eaves (with exposed rafters on the northwest), and an asphalt shingled shed roof.

Save for the visible portion of the southwest gable end, which is sheathed with board and batten siding, the older and taller main block of the barn, which is set on a fieldstone foundation, is clapboarded. Open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards trim its corrugated metal roof. Plain frames surround most of its openings, a large central sliding board door topped by a sixteen-pane transom window, three six pane windows, and a beaded board door in the south east facade, two six pane basement windows and a four pane main level window in the northwest facade. In the center of the northwest facade also appears a group, consisting of a central board door and flanking six-pane windows, sheltered by the same lintel with drip molding. The barn extension, which covers most of the southwest gable end of the main block, is clapboarded, save for the southwest gable, which is sheathed with vertical boarding. The open eaves with exposed rafters that trim the slate gable roof have fascia boards only on the gable. Because of the slope of the land, the basement level is partially exposed, with a windowless opening on the southeast facade, and a large board door, reached by a descending earthen ramp with fieldstone side walls, in the southwest gable end. The main level has a boarded up window on the southeast, a board door and three six pane windows on the southeast.

45A. Chicken Coop; c.1950. Southeast of the barn stands the non-contributing chicken coop, built sometime between 1940 and 1980, and moved to its present site in 1980. The small, one story structure, set on concrete blocks, is clapboarded with cornerboards. Open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards trim its shed roof, which is sheathed with asphalt roll paper. Plain trim surrounds a double window with six pane sash on the northwest, a board door and a wire screened opening on the southwest.

46. Tenney House; c. 1860. The Gothic Revival inspired ogee curves in the fascia boards and on the original entry entablature of what is essentially a vernacular Greek Revival house suggests that the house was built in the 1850's or 1860's. The shallow northwestern addition was built later. The side porch and ell windows are mid-20th century additions. The side wing was built in the 1960's. The vinyl siding was installed in the mid-1970's.

The one-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block, set with its gable end facing the street, has a shallow, one-story, shed roofed addition on its northwest facade, a one story, gable roofed side wing to its southeast (and overlapping the street facade's entry bay), and a one-and-a-half story, gable roofed rear wing to the southwest. The rear wing has a small, one story entry porch on its southeast facade. All of these units are now covered by vinyl siding.

The main block is set on a cut granite block foundation. Its slate gable roof is trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards whose lower edges are ornamented by sawn shallow ogee curves. On each slope is a shed wall dormer two two-over-two sash windows with plain frames. The entry bay, the eastern bay of the three bay wide northeast (street) gable end is now covered by the side wing. The four panel door, not visible from outside the enclosed porch, has full sidelights. Both door and sidelights are topped by a full transom window (now boarded in) and by an entablature, which has a shallow ogee curve cut into its lower edge. Two six-over-six sash windows, topped by lintels with drip moldings, can still be seen in both the first story and the gable. The shallow addition, set on a concrete foundation, has open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards, and a corrugated metal shed roof. Simply molded frames surround its modern one-over-one sash windows. The southeast facade of the main block has modern triple window, with large central plate glass window, flanking single pane casement windows, simply molded frame, end plastic roller awning. The southwest gable end, mostly covered by the rear wing, does have a raking window with four-over-four sash and plain frame.

The side wing, set on a concrete block foundation, is extended to the northwest, to cover the entry bay of the main block. The asphalt shingled roof, trimmed by similar open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards with shallow ogee curves, is hipped above the entry on the northwest, but is gabled on the southeast end.

Plain frames surround the opening. The narrow northwest end has a one-over-one sash window. The entry, in the overlapping bay of the northeast facade, is a paneled door flanked by tall single pane windows. The northeast and southwest lateral facades each have two double casement windows with six pane sash. The southeast gable end is dominated by a massive, wide fieldstone fireplace.

The rear wing is also set on a concrete block foundation. Its asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed by the same open eaves with exposed rafters and ogee curved fascia boards as are found on the main block. On the southeast slope of the roof is a shed wall dormer with two-over-two sash windows. The northwest facade has a modern one-over-one sash window with simply molded frame, and a three-pane kneewall window with plain frame. The southeast facade has an older six-over-six sash window with plain frame and two newer two-over-two sash windows with simply molded frames and plastic awnings. The southeast facade also contains the side entry, glazed and paneled door with plain frame that is sheltered by a small entry porch, with concrete block base, concrete floor, and wrought metal side rails. Two round metal posts support a vinyl siding gable, and an asphalt shingled gable roof, whose open eaves have exposed rafters and the same ogee curved fascia boards as the other eaves.

46A. Garage; c.1959. The non-contributing one-story, 3-car garage, which stands behind the house, was built in the late 1950's. The southern stall appears to be a later addition. The garage is clapboarded above a high concrete block foundation. The asymmetrical gable roof, sheathed with corrugated metal, has open lateral eaves with exposed rafters, and simple overhanging gable eaves with no trim. The main (southeast) facade contains a four panel door and three overhead garage doors. The northeast and southwest gable ends each contains two six pane windows. The rear (northwest) facade has two large eight pane windows and a chimney built of corrugated metal pipe. On the southwest end of the garage is found a small, one story, shed roofed open leanto, now rather dilapidated, although some of the corrugated metal roof still survives.

46B. Chicken Coop; c.1950. Behind the garage is a small, one story, non-contributing chicken coop, which was built on the nearby Jennison property in the 1950's, was moved to this property in the mid 1960's to serve as a shed. The walls show a variety of sheathing, mostly tarpaper, with some horizontal boarding and plywood. The gable roof, sheathed with asphalt shingles on the northwest and with metal on the southeast, has open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards. The north east gable end has a board door and a windowless opening, the southeast facade another opening. The southwest gable end has a doorless opening and the remains of a six-pane window.

47. Jennison Driveway.
The Jennison driveway is a right-of-way from School Street to a modern house that was not included in the District. The .2 acre parcel, 40 feet wide and 230 feet long, contains a central unpaved drive with flanking strips of grass. At the School Street end is a rough wooden sign inscribed with the family name and mounted on two metal posts.

48. Lafayette Ward House; c.1875.
The village's most striking late 19th century residence, this house was built for Professor Lafayette Ward, who lived in Westminster from 1853 until his death in 1882. The Italianate details and massing suggest that the house was built in the 1870's. The present owners, on acquiring the building in 1947, removed the louvred shutters, resheathed the clapboarded walls with asphalt shingles, and installed a cement floor on the rear wing's northwest porch.

The Lafayette Ward House has a rather complex plan. Stretching back from the street are three major, gable roofed units, the two-and-a half story main block, a narrower and shorter two story connecting wing on the main block's southwest gable end, and a wider two story rear wing on the connecting wing's southwest gable end. These three units are set with their northwest facades flush and continuous. Shallow, one story, shed roofed additions cover this continuous northwest facade, a side porch on the rear wing, a narrow addition on the connecting wing and the southerly portion of the main block, and a veranda on the northerly portion of the main block, that continues around the north corner to cover the main block's street (northeast) gable end. (The rear wing also has a small one story entry porch on its southeast facade.) At the south corner of the main block is found a three story square tower. Behind the main block and the tower (and to the east of the connecting wing) is a shallow, narrow, two story, shed roofed addition, which is almost hidden behind a wider and taller two story, gable roofed side wing to its southeast, also behind the tower. All of these varied units are now covered with asphalt shingles.

The main block is set on a brick foundation and is trimmed by sillboards and by cornerboards with rounded outer corners. The wide box cornice with frieze and architrave is decorated with moldings, large mutules, and small sawn brackets on the architrave, below the modillions. The rear gable has a plainer box cornice with only simple moldings and a shallow frieze. The ridge of the slate gable roof is broken by two brick chimneys, one retaining its wide base and corbeled cap. The western bay of the three bay wide northeast gable end contains the main entry: double paneled doors with tall glazed panels, covered by a "peaked" cornice. Similar peaked cornices top the two two-over-two sash windows found in both the first and second stories. The gable contains a peaked louver, topped by a peaked cornice similar to the cornices below. The first story of the three bay southeast facade has two more two-over-two sash windows with peaked cornices. The southern bay contains a bay window which butts up against the tower. Covered with asphalt shingles, the bay window retains its sillboards and continuous molded window sill and lintel. The two-over-two sash window of the board southeast side and the one-over-one sash window on the angled east side have plain side trim. The low pitched hip roof is trimmed by a box cornice similar to, the main block cornice. Flat cornices cover the three two-over-two sash windows in the second story of the southeast facade, as well as the two two-over-two sash windows in the second story of the northwest facade and the three pane gable window in the southwest gable end.

Both the front and rear porches are set on brick piers and have latticework bases, concrete steps at the entry, and board floors. Square columns with paneled backs and fronts, and molded based and capitals, stand on pedestals with paneled sides, and molded bases and capitals, to support a box cornice, that is similar to the main block's cornice, in design. The frieze at the tip of each bay is stilted to give each opening upper rounded corners.

The connecting wing on the southwest gable end of the main block has asphalt shingle sheathing trimmed by sillboards. The slate gable roof is trimmed by lateral box cornices with moldings and friezes. Cornices top the six-over-six and two-over-two sash windows.

The shallow, one story addition on the northwest facade of the main block and the connecting wing has the same cornerboards with rounded corners as the main block. Its low pitched asphalt covered shed roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings and frieze. In each narrow end is a paneled door with window, the northeast door (opening onto the front veranda) having a cornice, the southwest door (opening onto a rear wing's side porch) having a plain frame. The long northwest facade contains three two-over-two sash windows and a large plate glass window with six-pane transom window, all with cornices.

The two story rear wing, that covers and overlaps the southwest gable end of the connecting wing, retains its sillboards, but none of its corner trim. Again, cornices cover the doors and windows. The slate gable roof has a box cornice with moldings and windows. The slate gable roof has a box cornice with moldings and frieze.[sic] The three bay wide first story of the northwest facade has a central paneled door with window, a six-over-six sash window, and a two-over-two sash window. One two-over-two sash window appears in the second story. The side porch that covers the northwest facade now has a concrete floor and square posts. The low pitched shed roof, a continuation of the roof found on the addition to its northeast, has close verges, a simple lateral box cornice, and deep latticework valances. Two two-over-two sash windows appear in both stories of the two bay wide southwest gable end and in the second story of the two bay wide southeast facade. The north bay of the southeast facade contains a paneled door with window, topped by a peaked cornice, like those of the main block windows. The door is sheltered by a one-story porch, whose shed roof is continuous with the hip roof of the bay window to its south. The two bay wide porch has a concrete floor, turned posts, open lateral eaves with fascia boards and close verges, both with valance boards. The three sided bay window has asphalt shingle siding, sillboard, a continuous molded window sill, a plain continuous lintel, one-over-one sash windows on the angled sides, a central two-over-two sash window, and a simple box cornice with frieze.

The tower, sheathed with asphalt shingles, has cornerboards with rounded outer corners. The east corner of the first story is cut off by the angled entry, a paneled door with two tall semicircular arched lights and molded frame. The door is sheltered by a gabled hood, supported by ornate sawn and carved scroll brackets, and ornamented by eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, and small sawn brackets. The second story, which contains a single window, a two-over-two sash window with peaked cornice in the northeast facade, is topped by a simple cornice with small brackets and frieze. The third story has a narrow one-over-one sash window with molded frame in each facade. The third story windows' peaked molded lintels project up into the frieze of the wide box cornice, with frieze and architrave, which has the same ornate decoration as the main block cornice, including modillions and brackets, as well as small gables above each window. The tower has a bellcast mansard roof, with convex upper slopes. The lower slopes, with their flared eaves, are sheathed with slate shingles, cut in diamond and tear drop shapes, and are topped by a molded cornice. The metal sheathed upper slopes are topped by a small metal sheathed pyramid, which is crowned by a turned wooden finial.

On the southwest facades of the main block and the tower appears the shallow, two story addition, whose low pitched shed roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings and frieze. Molded lintels top the two-over-two sash window in the first story and the six-over-six sash window in the second story of its southwest (and only) facade.

The side wing, which covers the southwest end of the two story addition has a slate gable roof, the usual siding, sillboards, cornerboards with rounded outer corners, and the same elaborate box cornice as the main block and the tower. The rear gable cornice lacks modillions, brackets, and architrave, and has a simpler frieze. The first story of the southeast gable end has a three sided bay window, with asphalt shingles, sillboards, continuous molded sill and lintel, a box cornice to the main block cornice, a low pitched hip roof. The central window is two-over-two sash, while the angled sides contain narrow one-over-one sash windows. The wing's two-over-two sash windows have peaked cornices in the first story and straight cornices in the second story. In the rear northwest gable appears a small window with plain frame and louvred shutters.

48A. West Garage; c.1910. The west garage, which stands south of the house, appears to be contemporaneous with the house and was probably built as a carriage house. In 1983, the original flat roof was replaced by a gable roof and the building was enlarged slightly on the rear to accommodate a larger car. The one story, gable roofed garage is clapboarded and trimmed with cornerboards, save for the asphalt brick siding of the rear southeast facade and the horizontal boards that mark the rear addition on the southeast and northwest facades. Two paired sawn brackets of the old cornice can still be seen on southwest gable end, but the new asphalt shingled, asymmetrical gable roof has simple eaves with sloping soffit and frieze on the northeast, untrimmed overhanging eaves on the gables, and open eaves with exposed rafters on t he southwest. The three bay wide main (northeast) facade contains sliding beaded board doors, topped by a peaked lintel, in the central bay, and double board doors with plain frames in the side bays. A boarded up window and a twelve-pane window are found in the rear (southwest) facade.

48B. East Garage; c.1925. The east garage which, judging from its appearance, was probably built in the 1920's, was moved to this site from Saxtons River after 1947 and is, therefore, considered non-contributing. The one story garage is sheathed with horizontal boarding, trimmed with corner boards and eaves with frieze and sloping soffit, and is covered by an asphalt shingled pyramidal roof. Its main (northeast) facade contains two large, four panel, sliding doors with beaded board infill and plain frames. Plain frames also surround the six pane window on the southeast and the two twelve-pane windows on the southwest.

49. Valley Creamery; 1888.
This vernacular house was built as a creamery. In October, 1887, the newly formed Valley Creamery Association elected a board of directors and instructed them to build and equip a creamery. The land was purchased the following month. The creamery, built at a cost of $2550, began operations in November of 1888. The Association sold the building in 1913. It is said to have been operated as a creamery for a short period thereafter. However, by the early 1920's the building had been converted to a residence, acquiring a veranda and a more domestic appearance. At some unknown time, the wing's roof was raised. In the 1970's a few minor changes were made, including the removal of some veranda balustrades and an exterior stairway on the wing, the addition of two small windows on the rear of the wing, and two windows in the main block's northeast gable.

The one-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block has a one story, gable roofed wing on the southeast gable end, and a one story, shed roofed veranda on the southwest (street) facade and part of the northwest facade. Because of the steep slope of the land, the basement levels of both the main block and the wing are exposed on the side and rear facades.

The main block is clapboard and trimmed with cornerboards, plain window and door frames, and a brick foundation. The slate gable roof is trimmed by simple eaves with frieze and sloping soffit, and is broken by two chimneys on the ridge. The eight-bay wide street facade has two paneled doors with windows, five two-over-two sash windows, and a smaller one-over-one sash window. The northwest gable end has a beaded board door and a two-over-two sash window in the basement , two two-over-two sash windows and a paneled door with window in the main level, another two-over-two sash window and two single pane windows in the gable. The rear (northeast) facade has a two pane window, three two-over-two sash windows, and two sets of beaded board double doors in the basement level, five more two-over-two sash windows and a single pane window in the main level. The southeast gable end, largely covered by the wing, has a raking window with one-over-one sash.

The veranda is five bays wide with four bays in the front of the main block and a one bay wide, two bay deep extension beyond the main block, which overlaps the northeast gable end. The veranda's latticework base is tall enough on the downhill side to require a four panel door for the storage space beneath the porch. Wide board steps serve the board floor. The turned posts, decorated by ornate sawn brackets with turned pendants, support a box cornice with moldings and frieze, and bedded board ceiling, and a low pitched shed roof. The two westernmost bays have railings with plain balusters.

The wing is also clapboarded, trimmed with cornerboards and plain window and door trim, and has a brick foundation. Its slate gable roof is again trimmed by eaves with frieze and sloping soffit. A beaded board door appears in the southwest (street) facade. The southeast gable end has a beaded board basement door, two two-over-two sash windows in the main level, and a single-pane, diamond shaped window in the gable. The rear (northeast) facade has a boarded in window in the basement, as well as two new two-over-two sash windows and a beaded board door with window in the main level.

50. Buck House; 1974.
The non-contributing Buck House replaces the Atcherson House, a late 19th century house that burned in 1974. The present house, erected the same year, was designed by Mrs. Signa Buck and was built for the Bucks by John Latham of Walpole, New Hampshire.

The one-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block has a one story screened porch on its southwest gable end, an open deck, as well as a wall dormer with a second story balcony, on the northwest facade, and a one story wing on the northeast gable end. The wing shares a gable roof with a small inset side entry porch in its southeast facade. The main block and the wing are both set on concrete foundations and covered by asphalt shingled roofs with simple box cornices. They are both clapboarded, save that the main (southeast) facade of the main block and the east corner of its northeast gable end are faced with fieldstone, and that the veranda covered portion of the southwest gable end is sheathed with vertical boarding. The main block's three bay wide southeast facade has a central entry.

50A. Carriage House; c.1880. This structure set northeast of the house, was connected to the late 19th century Atcherson House and was presumably built at the same time. It appears in a photograph of the house published in 1899. The one-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn has a large cupola in the center of its roof and two one story, shed roofed additions on its northwest gable end. The building is set on a concrete foundation, is clapboarded, save for much of the northwest gable end, the gable itself being sheathed with board and batten siding, and the upper portion of the main level being covered with vertical boarding. The facades are trimmed with sillboards and cornerboards. The slate gable roof is trimmed by wide eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, on the more public southeast and southwest facades, but by open eaves with exposed rafters (and purlins) and fascia boards on the northwest and northeast. In the center of the southwest (street) lateral facade is a large paneled sliding door, its panels having chamfered edges and beaded board infill. The plain framed door is topped by a seventeen-pane transom window. Lintels with drip moldings appear over a smaller sliding door to the west of the central door, and a six-over-six sash window to its east, the latter also boasting louvred shutters. Plain frames surround most of the barn's other openings, a sliding door and two six-pane widows in the first story of the southeast gable end, a diamond shaped nine-pane window in the southeast gable itself, and a six-pane window in the rear (northeast) facade.

The low base of the cupola is paneled with vertical board infill and is topped by a coping. The louvred stage, smaller than the base, is sheathed with flush boarding and trimmed with cornerboards. In each face are found two tall louvers with plain frames and peaked tops that project into the frieze of the pedimented box cornice with moldings and frieze that frames the cross gable slate roof. A molding on the lower edge of the frieze follows the peaks of the louvers. Vertical boarding fills the four small pedimented gables. The cruciform tapered finial that crowns the roof is supported by four large curvilinear sawn braces that rise from the ridges of the four cross gable roofs, and is topped by a metal weathervane depicting a horse. The southern of the two one-story sheds that cover the barn's northwest gable end is found at the west corner. The small clapboard shed has one opening, a plain framed beaded board door on the northwest. The larger shed to its north, is also clapboarded and has a corrugated metal shed roof.

50B. Shop, c.1880. North of the house stands the one and a half story shop, which was probably built by the Atchersons in the late 19th century. The shop, set on a concrete foundation, is clapboarded. Its slate gable roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings, frieze, and returns. The southwest gable end is dominated by double doors with large lower panels filled with beaded boarding and upper windows, each with a large central pane and a border of eight small panes. A lintel with drip moldings tops these double doors and the four panel door is in the southeast facade. The building's six-over-six sash windows, have lintels with drip moldings, save on the northeast (rear) gable end. The southwest windows also have louvred shutters. Plain frames surround the rear windows and two small board doors, one in both the northeast and southeast facade.

50C. Chicken Coop. Behind the carriage house stands the small, one story non-contributing chicken coop, which according to the owner, was built sometime between 1935 and 1950. Sheathed with novelty siding and trimmed with cornerboards, the chicken coop is topped by an asphalt roll paper shed roof, with slightly overhanging untrimmed gable eaves, open eaves with exposed rafters on the northwest, and a shallow box cornice on the southeast. Plain frames surround a narrow five panel door on the northeast gable end, a screened opening on the southeast, and a doorless opening on the northwest.

50D. Horseshed; c.1965. The non-contributing horseshed, built for the Buck family, is a long, one story structure with an asymmetrical gable roof, sheathed with asphalt roll paper and trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters and friezes. Clapboarded, the horseshed has plain frames around its openings, a four panel door and a two pane window in the southwest (street) gable end, a large board door and an eight pane window in the northeast gable end, three large board doors and another eight pane window in the long southeast facade.

51. Fenn Brothers House; 1937.
This non-contributing single family house was built in 1937 as a two-family tenement by the Fenn Brothers, who then owned and operated this farm. The enclosed porch was added later, probably in the 1940's. Recent changes have included an exterior chimney (c.1980) and a new front entry (1984). The one-and-a-half story, gambrel roofed main block has a one story, hip roofed addition (formerly a porch) covering its southwest (street) facade and a small, one story, gable roofed basement entry on the southeast gable end. All three units are clapboarded and covered with asphalt shingled roofs. The main block is set on a concrete foundation and topped by a box cornice with plain moldings, frieze, and returns. Each slope of its gambrel roof is dominated by a wide shed roofed dormer, which each contains four four-over-one sash windows topped by lintels with drip moldings. A brick chimney also appears on the upper northeast slope of the roof. The south west facade of the main block is covered by the one-story, hip roofed addition, which is set on round metal posts, and topped by a plain box cornice with frieze. In the center of the addition's five bay wide southwest (street) facade is the house's main entry, a six panel door, flanked by three pane half sidelights above panels, served by concrete steps, and having a plain frame. Plain frames also surround the double windows with four-over-four sash in the four side bays of the street facade and the single bays of the southeast and northwest ends. The main block windows also have four-over-one sash, but differ in having lintels with drip moldings. The northwest gable end has three windows in both stories, as well as an exterior concrete block chimney. The southeast gable end has three windows in the gable, two single windows and a double windows in the first story. The four central bays of the six-bay wide rear (northeast) facade are occupied by single windows. The end bays each contain a paneled door with window, served by concrete steps with metal pipe hand rails, and topped by a lintel with drip molding. The half story basement entry on the southeast gable end is set on a concrete foundation and topped by plain eaves with sloping soffit and frieze. Double board doors in a plain frame appear in its southeast gable.

51A. Shop/Garage; c.1925. Interior clapboarding reveals that the eastern garage section was added later. The building consists of three gable roofed units, a wide, central one and a half story garage/shop, with a one-story garage on its southeast gable end and a one-story shop on its north west gable end. All three units have concrete foundations, clapboarded walls, cornerboards, plain window and door frames, and asphalt shingled gable roofs. The central garage/shop has open eaves with exposed rafters, fascia boards, and friezes. Its northeast facade contains two large sliding doors, each with six triangular panels, filled by vertical boarding. The southwest facade and the southeast gable end each have a first story eight pane window. The southeast gable also has a two-pane window. The western shop also has open eaves with exposed rafters and friezes, but fascia boards appear only on the northwest and northeast. A two panel door with board infill and a small beaded board door are found in the northwest gable end, and eight pane window in the northeast facade and double window with six pane sash in the southwest facade. The eastern garage is topped by a simple box cornice with frieze. Its only openings are two overhead garage doors in the southeast gable end.

51B. Barn; c.1880. The largest structure in the district, this barn is an excellent example of Late Bank Barn design. An undated postcard shows a large square ventilator in the center of the roof, which has since been removed. About 1970, the upper large doors, served by ramp, on the main (southwest) gable end were removed. Other 20th century changes have included the addition of the milkroom and the renovation of the first story of the main barn, including the exterior stall windows.

The large two-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn is connected by a short, one story gable roofed passageway at the south corner of its southeast facade to a one story, gable roofed milkroom, while a one story gable roofed shed is attached to the northeast gable end. The main barn, trimmed with cornerboards, is sheathed with clapboards on the southwest gable end and in the first story of the northwest facade, and with board and board siding in the second story of the northwest facade, and with board and batten siding on the northeast and southeast facades. The slate gable roof, protected by three lightning rods, has eaves with frieze and sloping soffit on the public southwest gable, but only open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards on the other three sides. The first story of the southwest gable end has two double windows with six triangular panels with board infill, include double sliding doors in the center, and a single door at each end of the facade. In the second story, the space formerly occupied by the main door now contains a smaller central sliding door with six triangular panels like the first story doors. The former transom window, composed of four three-pane windows, and the peaked lintel of the former opening still survive, as does a six-pane window in the gable. The northwest facade has seven quadruple windows with six-pane sash in the first story and a boarded up window in the upper level. The southeast facade has two more sliding doors, with six board filled triangular panels. The north door is flanked by a six pane window to its south, the central door by a six pane window on each side. The first story also contains four quadruple windows with six pane sash and a boarded up window. Unlike the plain framed first story windows, the five second story windows (three open, two boarded up) have peaked lintels. An earth ramp with concrete sidewalls leads up to the large double sliding beaded board doors with a peaked lintel, in the center of the northeast gable end's level. In the gable above the entry is a round window with plain frame. In the first story, to the east of the ramp are double two panel doors, while to the west is the attached one story shed. The shed has vertical board walls (covered with corrugated metal on the southeast) and a corrugated metal gable roof. The lateral (northwest and southeast) facades each have a single windowless opening. The northeast gable end is completely open beneath the vertically boarded gable.

The milkroom and its connector, at the south corner of the main barn, both have concrete block foundations and asphalt shingled gable roofs. The short connector has a clapboarded southwest wall and a northeast wall of horizontal boarding, topped by open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards. Plain frames surround the two panel door and the six-pane window in its southwest facade. The milkroom itself is clapboarded on the southwest, but covered with horizontal boarding on the other three facades. The roof, topped by a low asphalt shingled, gable roofed vent, is trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters, which also have fascia boards on the southeast, northwest, and southwest facades, all have plain frames. On the southeast gable end is found an exterior brick chimney, and a half story generator house, with horizontal boarding (save for the plywood covered northeast facade), open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards, and an asphalt shingled gable roof.

51C. Chicken Coop; c.1940. Behind the shop/garage stands the non-contributing chicken coop, built about 1940 and now used as a stable. The long, one story structure is set on a concrete foundation, sheathed with plywood, and trimmed by cornerboards, plain window and door frames. Its corrugated metal shed roof has plain lateral box cornices and open gable eaves with fascia boards. The long southeast facade has four triple windows with six-pane sash. A six-pane window and a plywood door appear in the southwest gable end, while the northeast gable end has double paneled doors with multi-pane lights.

52. Chapin House; c.1800/1885.
This possibly Federal period house has traditionally been dated 1796, a date consistent with the massing. The hip roof, windows, porch and trim date to a thorough late 19th century remodeling. The ell is thought to have been added later. In the 1970's, the original flat portion of the roof was covered by a small gable roof. In the same decade two kitchen windows were added in the southeast and northeast facades.

The two story main block now has a gable on hip roof and a one story entry porch. To its rear (northeast) is a two-and-a-half story, gable roofed ell with a one story shed roofed veranda on its south east facade.

The main block and the ell are both set on high brick foundations. Their clapboarded walls are trimmed by cornerboards and the similar sillboards with watertables. Their asphalt shingled roofs are trimmed by the same wide box cornice with moldings and frieze, save that the rear (northeast) gable of the ell, which projects over a horizontal extension of the box cornice, has close verges. The gable roof's simple box cornices have friezes on the clapboarded gables. Two brick chimneys with corbeled caps punctuate the ridge of the small gable roof. In the center of the main block's five bay wide southwest (street) facade is the main entry, a paneled door with large light and a lintel with drip molding. The entry is sheltered by a porch with concrete posts and steps, board floor, two turned posts, a beaded board ceiling, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, and a very low pitched gable roof. Most of the main block windows have two-over-one sash and molded lintels, the lintels of the second story windows butting up against the cornice frieze. The two-over-one sash windows have decorative louvred shutters, installed by the present owners in the 1980's. The southeast facade has two-over-one sash windows in the second story, as well as another two-over-two sash window and a newer, smaller six-over-six sash window in the first story. In the first story of the rear (northeast) facade, east of the ell, a new triple window with six-over-six sash and a paneled door with window, both have lintels with drip moldings.

The ell windows all have lintels with drip moldings, but the fenestration is varied. The southeast facade also has a paneled door with window and lintel with drip moldings which, like the main block's rear door, opens onto the three bay wide veranda that covers the southeast facade of the ell. The veranda has a high latticework base, two sets of concrete steps, a board floor, turned posts, open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards, a half gable sheathed with tarpaper and vertical boards, and an asphalt shingled shed roof.

52A. Playhouse; c.1975. Behind the house stand three outbuildings. The westernmost, the noncontributing playhouse, was built in the 1970's. The short and small, one-story structure has walls of horizontal boarding and open eaves with exposed rafters. Its asphalt shingled gable roof is extended over a board floored front porch on the southwest gable end, and supported by the porch's two plain posts. The southwest gable end has a doorless opening and a windowless opening. Each of the other three facades contains a windowless opening.

52B. Garage; c. 1938. East of the playhouse is the non-contributing garage; built to replace an earlier garage that burned in 1937. The one-story garage, set on a concrete foundation, is clapboarded. Its asphalt shingled gable roof has plain heavy eaves with sloping soffit. The entire southwest (street) gable end is occupied by three pairs of double board doors, the central pair being taller than its two companions. Plain frames surround the doors and the six pane windows, two in each lateral (northwest and southeast) facade, and one in the northeast gable end.

52C. Woodshed; c. 1975. The easternmost outbuilding is the non-contributing, one story woodshed four bays wide and one bay deep. Set on stone posts, with a board floor, a frame of plain posts, beams and simple diagonal braces, the woodshed is open on all sides beneath its corrugated metal shed roof. Occasional vertical boards are used between the bays and on the ends to keep the wood stacked up.

53. Waldron House; c.1880.
No building appears on this site in Beers' county atlas of 1869. The building was built as a store, and is said to have been built by the owner-resident of the neighboring house (now the Grange Hall, #58). A 19th century photograph shows the street gable end containing a storefront with a recessed central entry, large four pane display windows, and a full length, one story porch. By the 1920's, however, the building had been converted to a residence. The store front's entry and display windows were replaced by a more domestic door and sash windows. In the 1950's or 1960's, the front porch was removed, and the building's clapboards and cornerboards were covered by asphalt shingles.

The one-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block has a narrower, one story, shed roofed rear wing, to the northeast. The facades of both are now covered by asphalt shingles. The windows and doors all have plain frames. The main block is set on a brick foundation. Its slate gable roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings, and a frieze that is mostly covered by the asphalt shingles. Slightly off-center in the three bay wide street (southwest) gable end is the entry, a paneled door with window and wooden steps. Each first story side bay contains a double window with two-over-two sash, while two six-over-six sash widows appear in the gable. The main level of each side (northwest and southeast) facade contains a door and three window, mostly two-over-two sash. The side facades also have kneewall windows with six pane sash, gable end has two six over-six sash windows in each story, and, in the gable, a paneled door with window that opens onto the low pitched roof of the rear wing.

The one story rear wing is set on a concrete block foundation. Its low pitch shed roof is trimmed by close verges and by open lateral eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards. Plain frames surround a four pane window in the southeast facade, two four pane windows in the northwest facade, and a door in the northeast gable end. The northwest facade also has a tall and square exterior brick chimney.

53A. Workshop; 1985. North of the main building is the non-contributing workshop, still under construction in the summer of 1985. The first story of the two-story workshop is built of concrete block, the second story of wood. The asymmetrical gable roof, broken by a concrete block chimney on the southeast slope and now trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters, is extended to the southeast to cover a one-story open woodshed. The street (southwest) gable end has a paneled door and a large opening in the first story, the upper level not yet being closed in. The open woodshed that covers virtually all of the facade is enclosed on the northeast end by a wall of novelty siding.

54. Boyden Grange Hall; c.1870.
The Grange Hall was built as a residence. Like the neighboring store building (#53), it does not appear in the 1869 county atlas. The Italianate details of its veranda suggest a construction date in the 1870's or 1880's. In 1915, the building was purchased by Boyden Grange No. 157 and has served as a grange hall since. The Grange has made a few changes to the exterior of the building, such as boarding up three windows, installing a fire escape ladder (1960's), a rear wing foundation (1940's or 1950's), and corrugated metal roofs (late 1960's for the main block, c.1980 for the wing).

The two-and-a-half story, gable front main block has a one story, shed roofed front porch. The narrower two story, gable roofed rear wing has a small, one story shed roofed privy on its northeast gable end.

The main block, set on a brick foundation, is clapboarded, trimmed with cornerboards topped by molded caps. The doors and windows are covered by lintels with drip moldings. The corrugated metal gable roof is framed by a box cornice with moldings and frieze. In the east bay of the three bay wide southwest (street) gable end is a paneled door with two tall glazed panels. The porch has chamfered posts with molded bases and capitals, which support a lintel decorated with moldings, a board ceiling, and a low pitched shed roof.

The rear wing, set on a concrete block foundation, is clapboarded, and has a box cornice with moldings and frieze framing its corrugated metal gable roof. Two kneewall three-over-three sash windows on the southeast and a board door on the northeast. The small privy on the northeast gable end of the rear wing has vertical board walls, a small screened opening in the northwest facade, eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, and a corrugated metal shed roof.

55. Bradley/Willard House; c.1805.
One of the most architecturally significant buildings in the historic district, this prominently located and very well preserved house is also associated with two important figures in the history of Westminster. Especially noteworthy are the entrance surround, which displays carved urns, and the sidelights, which are separate from the surround, and which, unlike those of (#7), remain well preserved.

The house was built in the early 19th century by Stephen R. Bradley, who represented Westminster in the General Assembly of the republic of Vermont in 1780. In that year, he presented to the U.S. Congress the views of Vermont regarding the various claims made upon it by Massachusetts and New York, by a document entitled "Vermont's Appeal". In 1818, he moved to Walpole, New Hampshire, where he died in 1830.

His son, William C. Bradley, was born in Westminster in 1782, studied law at Amherst, Massachusetts, and at age twenty was both admitted to the bar, and appointed by the state legislature as attorney for Windham County. In subsequent years he served in the state legislature, and the U.S. Congress several times, and was appointed as an agent of the United States, under the Treaty of Ghent, responsible for fixing the boundary between Maine and Canada.

After Bradley's death in this house in 1867, his daughter, Sarah Bradley Willard owned it for a time, until the house passed out of the family. Her son, Henry K. Willard, bought the house back in 1909, the year of his mothers death. He made numerous improvements, including enlarging and electrifying the house, and adding the present Colonial Revival style front porch. In 1911, [he] held a large house-warming party in it, which was attended by guests from Washington, D.C., and various parts of New England. (Sources; "Anniversaries Observed at House-Warming in Henry K. Willard's Home, The old Bradley Homestead in Westminster", Vermont Phoenix, Brattleboro, November 10, 1911, as quoted in Simmonds, pp. 130 Fairbanks, pp. 591-593.)

The two-and-a-half story, eaves front , 5 x 2 bay main block has a one story, hip roofed veranda on its southeast (street) facade and a small, one-story, gable roofed wing on its northeast gable end. Behind the main block stretches a series of three gable roofed ells, a wide two-and-a- half story first ell, a narrower two-story second ell ( with one-story verandas on both the southwest and northeast facades), and a one-story third ell with a one story, shed roofed bathroom addition on its northeast facade. Covering the northwest gable end of the third ell is the two-and-a-half story, gable roofed attached barn, which has a one story, shed roofed hood on its northeast facade.

The main block, set on a brick foundation, is clapboarded and trimmed by sillboards with watertables and cornerboards with rounded corners. The slate gable roof is trimmed by lateral box cornices with moldings and frieze and by shallower gable cornices with friezes and returns. A brick chimney with wide base and corbeled cap breaks the ridge at each end of the main block. In the center of the southeast (Main Street) facade is the main entry - a sixpanel door flanked by fluted pilasters with molded bases and capitals, the latter decorated with carved urns, which support an entablature. The pilaster capitals and the entablature cornice include moldings ornamented by slots, giving the impression of denticulation. To each side of the entry is a narrow four-over-four sash window with plain frame and louvred shutters. The other four bays of the first story and the five bays of the second story contains six-over-six sash window with plain frames and the louvred shutters found on all of the main block windows. The second story window frames butt up against the cornice. The three bay wide front porch is a fine Colonial Revival porch with board floor and steps, and balustrades with turned balusters and molded rails. Wooden columns on pedestals with molded bases and capitals support the beaded board ceiling and the low pitched hip roof, trimmed by a Doric cornice and frieze, complete with triglyphs and mutules, both ornamented with guttae. The southwest gable end has two narrower four-over-four sash windows in both the first and second stories, an additional twelve-over twelve sash window in the first story and two four pane windows in the gable. The northeast gable end also has two four pane gable windows and narrower four-over-four sash windows in the lower stories, one in the first story and two in the second. On the rear (northwest) facade there appear, to the north of the ell, two twelve-over-twelve sash windows in the first story and two six-over six sash windows in the second story.

The one-story side wing on the northeast gable end of the main block is set on a high brick foundation. Its clapboarded walls are trimmed by cornerboards and sillboards with watertables, like those on the main block. The slate gable roof is trimmed by shallow lateral cornices with friezes and close molded verges with returns of lateral cornices Plain frames and louvred shutters surround the two nine-over-six sash windows in the northeast gable end and the twelve-over-twelve sash window found in each side (northwest and southeast) facade.

The first ell, set on a brick foundation, is clapboarded and trimmed with cornerboards and sillboards with watertables. The slate gable roof is framed by shallow lateral box cornices with moldings and narrow friezes and a wide box cornice with moldings and deeper frieze on the northwest gable. A brick chimney with corbeled cap is found on the west end of the roof ridge. Plain frames and louvred shutters distinguish the ell's sash windows, the six-over-six sash windows found in each story of the southwest facade, the two twelve-over-twelve sash windows found in each story of the northeast facade and the single six-over-six sash window in each of the first two stories of the northwest gable end.

The second ell, set on a brick foundation, is clapboarded, trimmed with cornerboards and sillboards, and is covered by a slate gable roof. The northeast facade, clapboarded continuously with the first ell's northeast facade, is topped by a the same shallow molded box cornice with frieze. The southwest facade and the northwest gable are trimmed by a wider box cornice with moldings and frieze. The usual plain frame and louvred shutters ornament the windows. The southwest facade has three six-over-six sash windows in each story, as well as a four panel door that opens onto the southwest porch. The northeast facade has two twelve-over-twelve sash windows in each story, and a paneled door with multi-pane window that opens onto the northeast porch. The two porches, the four bay wide southwest porch and the three bay wide northeast porch, are similar in design. Both have high latticework bases; chamfered posts with bases, molded capitals, impost blocks, and sawn curvilinear sawn brackets; board floor and steps; balustrades with square balusters, molded rails and square capped posts flanking the steps The southwest porch is topped by a board ceiling and a slate covered shed roof with flush boarded half gable and open eaves with exposed rafters, fascia boards and frieze. The northeast porch is covered by a beaded board ceiling and a metal sheathed hip roof, trimmed by a box cornice with moldings and frieze.

The one-story third ell is set on a brick foundation and is clapboarded with sillboards. The slate gable roof is trimmed by lateral box cornices with moldings and friezes. Windows have twelve-over-twelve sash with plain frames and louvred shutters. The western end of the ell is actually a passageway, having plain framed openings with canted corners in each facade, open on the southwest and closed by double beaded board doors on the northeast. The passage way has a concrete floor, clapboarded side walls, a board ceiling with exposed joists. A plain framed four panel door in the southeast inner wall of the passageway is served by board steps. On the northeast facade of the ell is a shallow, one-story bathroom projection. Clapboarded with sillboards and cornerboards, the bathroom addition has a twelve-over-twelve sash window with plain frame and louvred shutters in its northeast facade. The slate shed roof has open eaves with exposed rafters, fascia boards, and friezes.

The attached barn has a brick foundation, clapboarded walls, corner boards, plain window and door frames, and louvred shutters on most of the windows. A box cornice with moldings and frieze trims the slate gable roof, which has a brick chimney with corbeled cap. The southeast gable end has a paneled sliding door, with beaded board infill and chamfered edges on the panels, as well as built-in lights. The second story has an eight-over-eight sash window, and the gable, a twenty-four pane window. The southwest (School Street) facade has a six-over-six sash window and a paneled door with three lights in the first story, two eight-over-eight sash widows and a beaded board hayloft door in the second story. The northwest gable end has twelve-over-twelve, six-over-six and small two-over-two sash windows. The northeast facade has one twelve-over- twelve sash window in each story. The first story also has a four-over-four sash window and a beaded board door that opens onto a loading plat form with board floor and plain wooden railing, set on posts. The entire northeast facade is covered by a one story, shed roofed hood, supported by three heavy braces and a boxed post (at the northwest end). The slate covered shed roof is trimmed by close verges and open lateral eaves with exposed rafters, fascia boards, and friezes. The northwest end is partially enclosed by clapboarding in the half gable and the upper half of the opening. On the southeast end, the half gable and the triangular brace below it are covered by vertical boarding.

55A. Bradley Law Office; c.1810. Northeast of the house stands William Czar Bradley's law office, said to have been the only law office that he used during his career. The building is traditionally dated 1802, the year Bradley was admitted to the bar. However, it seems unlikely that Bradley would have built a law office here before his father-in-law purchased the property in 1804, or for that matter, before the Bradleys acquired the house in 1808. It is more likely that Bradley erected the vernacular, Federal period building soon after moving into the house.

The one-story, gable roofed building is set on a fieldstone foundation. The building is clapboarded with sillboards and corner boards, save for the southeast (street) gable end, which is sheathed with flush boarding. The slate gable roof is trimmed by a shallow molded cornice on the three public sides, but by close verges on the rear (northwest) gable. A massive brick chimney breaks the roof ridge towards the rear. The central entry in the three bay wide southeast gable end was covered about 1910 by a small shed roofed vestibule with vertical board sides, close eaves and verges, and an asphalt covered roof. The board door in the vestibule's southeast front and the single pane window in its southwest side has no finish trim. The side bays of the street facade are occupied by twelve over-twelve sash windows with molded frames and louvred shutters. Above the entry is a sign with raised letters identifying the Law Office. The windows of the two bay side facades have plain frames and louvred shutters, and a variety of fenestration, a nine-over-nine sash window and a sixteen-over-twelve sash windows on the northeast.

56. Chase House; c.1805.
The unusual fenestration pattern which this Federal style house shares with its neighbor, the Bradley House (#55), the narrower windows and four pane gable windows in the two bay wide gable ends, and the narrower windows flanking the main entry to light the wide central hall, suggests that the two main blocks were built at about the same time. The ell of the Chase House is, however, thought to be older than the main block. Later changes of unknown date have included the installation of the present Italianate style entrance and two-over-two sash windows, around 1870, and the front porch, around 1910. The present owners added a bank of windows on the first ell and, in 1984, an oriel window in the addition on the northwest side of the same ell. The house has recently undergone severe damage due to sandblasting.

The two-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block has a one-story, shed roofed entry porch on the southeast (street) facade. To the rear of the main block stretches two gable roofed ells, a two and a half story first ell with a one story shed roofed addition on the northeast, and a one and a half story second ell with a one story side entry porch on the southwest. All of these units, save the porches, are clapboarded.

The main block is set on a brick foundation and is covered by a slate gable roof. The roof is trimmed by lateral box cornices with moldings and friezes, and by shallow molded gable cornices with narrower friezes and returns. At each end of the roof ridge is found a brick chimney with corbeled cap. In the center of the southeast (street) facade is the plain framed main entry, a four panel door topped by a single pane transom window with segmental arched top and a simply molded frame. On each side of the entry are found narrower two-over-two windows with the plain trim and louvred shutters found on the main block's other first and second story windows. The four other bays of the first story and the five bays of the second story ell contain wider two-over-two sash windows. The two bay wide gable ends have two narrower two-over-two sash windows in the first and second stories, and two small plain framed four pane windows in the gable. The southwest gable end also has an additional first story window, a modern six-over-six sash window to the rear of the two-over-two sash windows.

The main entry in the southeast facade is served by a three bay wide, one story porch. Set on concrete posts and a flared clapboarded base, the porches's low clapboard walls are topped by molded coping. Central concrete steps with concrete sidewalls and wrought metal hand rails serve the board floor. Four wooden columns with molded bases and capitals stand on the clapboarded walls to support the box cornice with moldings and frieze, the beaded board ceiling, and the low pitched hip roof.

The first ell's slate gable roof is trimmed by shallow molded cornices with friezes on the northeast and southwest sides, and by close verges on the northwest gable. In the first story of the southwest facade is found a modern bank of four six-over-six sash windows with plain frame. The first story of the northeast facades appear two one-over-one sash windows with plain frames and louvred shutters. The northwest gable has a four pane window in plain frame. The first story of the northeast facade is covered by the shallow one story addition, set on a brick foundation, beneath an asphalt roll papered shed roof, trimmed with close eaves and verges. On the northeast facade of the addition is found a new three-sided oriel window with tapered clapboarded base, plain window frames, a central eight-over-eight sash window, six-over-six sash windows on the angles, and a steep asphalt shingled hip roof.

The second ell, on the northwest gable end of the first ell, is set on a brick foundation, and is covered by a slate gable roof, which again has shallow molded lateral cornices with friezes, and close verges on the northwest gable. Plain frames surround the doors and windows. The northeast facade has two six-over-six sash windows and a board door, the last served by concrete steps with a metal pipe rail. The northwest gable end has a small two-over-two sash window in the first story and two twelve-over-twelve sash windows in the gable. The southwest facade has two four pane windows, a four-over-four sash window, and a four panel door. The door opens onto a porch with latticework base, wooden steps on the front (southeast), concrete steps on the rear (northwest), board floor, chamfered posts with bases and molded capitals, a simple balustrade, beaded board ceiling and half gables, eaves with moldings, sloping soffit and frieze, and a slate sheathed shed roof.

56A. Garage; c.1850. The one-story, gable roofed garage stands just two feet from the northwest gable end of the second ell. The garage's post and beam frame of hewn timbers indicates a 19th century construction date. The garage is clapboarded, has a fieldstone foundation, corner boards, close eaves and verges, and a slate roof. The only opening is the double board doors with plain frame in the southwest gable end.

56B. Carriage Barn; c.1820. The one-and-one half story, eaves front carriage barn stands west of the house. The post and beam frame of hewn timber, the semielliptical arched opening, and the central door in the lateral facade, all point towards an early 19th century construction date, which would make it a very rare example of a Federal period carriage barn. Set on a brick foundation, the barn is clapboarded and trimmed with sillboards and cornerboards. Its slate roof is trimmed by shallow lateral box cornices with moldings and returns. In the center of the southeast (street) facade is a plain framed, sliding door, whose six panels have beaded board infill, and which is served by a concrete ramp. North of the door is a large, plain framed, semielliptical arched opening. In the second story is found a hay loft board door (above the sliding door) and two oculus kneewall windows, all with plain frames, and probably added c.1870. Plain frames also surround the two six-pane first story widows in the northwest facade, and the four pane windows (one in the first story and two in the second) in the southwest gable end.

57. Westminster Town Hall; 1889.
The original Westminster meetinghouse, built in 1769-1770, was struck by lightning and destroyed by fire on June 6, 1888. A fine Victorian eclectic town hall was erected on the same site in 1889 by a local Westminster builder, H. A. Willard, according to the plans of W. P. Wentworth, "a Boston architect, but a Bellows Falls boy" . Costing $4000, the new Town Hall was dedicated on January 8, 1890. The building conforms to the exact dimensions of the earlier meetinghouse - which since 1835 had been used as the town hall - 42 by 56 feet. The present cupola is surmounted by the original compass points and wind vane of the meetinghouse, and presumably date to 1770. The semi-circular, stained glass fanlight above the entrance was donated as part of the original design, by Joel H. Holton, of Burlington, Vermont and Dana P. Wiley of Detroit, both of whom had been born in Westminster. The cubic, hip roofed form of the building is probably a reference to the original Cumberland County, New York, courthouse built in Westminster (1772 - c.1806) at the north end of the district, and in which occurred the infamous Westminster Massacre. Alterations to the original design have been fairly limited, including a concrete block chimney on the rear facade, a fire escape and the consequent replacement of a second story window with an escape door, the closing of a first story door in the southwest facade in 1954, and the construction of a concrete wheelchair ramp in 1983.

The two story, hip roofed main block is topped by a large central "cupola" and is fronted by a lower two-story entrance/vestibule. The vestibule is covered by a hip roof, save for a slightly projecting pavilion, which is covered by a gable roof. Both the pavilion and the main block have a high brick foundation and sill boards with watertables. Their clapboarded walls are trimmed by cornerboards that have molded capitals. The slate roofs are framed by wide box cornices with moldings and friezes and, on the pavilion gable, returns

The pavilion's shallow gable-roofed projection contains the main entry: a large, paired five panel door, flanked by wide, large single pane sidelights above molded panels. The doors and sidelights are topped by an entablature ornamented with moldings and small modillions. The entry is served by three concrete steps on the south and by a long concrete ramp with metal pipe railing on the north. Above the entry is a painted wooden sign identifying the building and a large semicircular stained glass window, with a foliated glass pattern, a molded sill, and a semicircular molded frame ornamented by the same modillions used on the entablature below. A plain horizontal board, which crosses the entire gabled projection, marks the sill level of the semicircular window. On the pavilion's southeast (street) facade to each side of the central projection is a second story window with one-over-one sash and plain frame. The northeast and southwest side facades of the pavilion each have a second story double window with one-over-one sash and plain frame. Horizontal boards, marking the sill level of these four second story windows cross the two side facades, the narrow side bays of the pavilion's street facade (but not the gabled projection), and the southeast facade of the main block, which itself has no windows or doors.

The side (northeast and southwest) facades of the main block are each dominated by five large two story semicircular arches, which incorporate the first and second story windows and a panel of beaded boarding between the windows in the same plain frame. The first story contains a six-over-six sash window. The beaded boardings of the central panels is laid horizontally in the two end bays, vertically in the central bay, and diagonally in the two bays between the end and central bays. The second story of each arch contains a six-over-six sash window with semicircular arched upper sash. Horizontal boards are continued across the two facades at the sill and lintel levels of the first story windows an at the sill level of the second story windows. The southwest facade deviates from this pattern in two instances. In the central arch, the beaded board panel and the lower sash of the second story window have been replaced by a plain framed, four panel door and clapboarded infill. The door opens onto a metal fire escape with simple metal railing. In the west arch, the door that once appeared in the first story has been removed and the space clapboarded in. The rear (northwest) facade has a six-over-six sash window in the first story and two semicircular arched windows with three-over-three sash and arched upper sash in the second story. The windows are all set in plain frames and joined by horizontal boards crossing the facade at the sill and lintel level of the first story windows and at the sill level of the second story window. In the center of the rear facade is a tall plain concrete block exterior chimney.

Crowning the hip roof of the main block is a massive cupola. Its low base has slate sheathed, battered sides, topped by a box cornice with moldings and frieze. Each face of the main level contains two large semi-elliptical arched louvers, between large turned columns ornamented by incised bands, bases and capitals. The columns support elliptical arches, which are decorated with keystones. Above the arches, the main level is sheathed with flush boarding and trimmed by cornerboards. Above and between each pair of louvers is a large circle applied on the flush boarding. The shape of the circles is echoed in a molding that encircles the main level above the circles, and in upward segmental projections of the box cornice with moldings, small modillions, frieze and architrave that tops the main level. The cupola's slate covered pyramidal roof is two tiered. The large lower roof is topped by a small square base, whose flush boarded sides are decorated with a simple molding and small quatrefoil panels and are topped by a molded cornice. The upper roof is a small pyramidal roof with flared eaves, crowned by a turned wooden finial with an elaborate metal weathervane.

58. Hayward House; c.1900.
This vernacular house is believed to have been built about 1900 for Frederick E. Hayward. In the early 20th century, the small house was enlarged by the enclosure of part of the front porch and by the construction of two large shed roofed wall dormers. In 1973, the main block received a double casement window in the northeast facade and the rear wing acquired sliding glass doors. An exterior concrete block chimney was erected in 1978. In 1984, the floor of the rear wing's porch was extended as an open deck.

The one-and-a-half story main block has wide, shed roofed wall dormers on both slopes of its gable roof and a two story, gable roofed rear wing on its rear (northwest) gable end. One story shed roofed porches cover the southwest facades of both the main block and the narrower wing, with the main block porch being partially enclosed and the wing porch being extended by a open deck. Both the main block and the wing are set on brick foundations, and are clapboarded. Plain frames and, usually, louvred shutters, frame the two-over-two sash windows. Their asphalt shingled roofs are trimmed by the same eaves with moldings, sloping soffits and friezes. In the center of the eaves front is a paneled door with two tall lights and a plain frame. The three surviving screened bays of the front porch retain their lattice work base, board floor, board steps with a metal pipe rail, turned posts with sawn brackets decorated by turned ornaments and pendants, balustrades with square balusters and molded rails, screened panels and screen door, and beaded board ceiling. The small enclosed portion now has clapboarded walls with cornerboards above a concrete foundation. A single plain framed two-over-two sash window is found in both the southeast and south west facades. A tall painted concrete block chimney appears on the northwest facade. The main block's northeast facade has two-over two sash window and a modern double casement window with single pane sash and simple molded frame. The northwest gable end has a small single pane window in the main level and a two-over-two sash window in the gable.

The rear wing's southwest facade has double sliding glass doors in the first story and a single pane window in the second story. The doors open onto a one-story porch that covers the southwest facade. The two bay wide porch's board floor has been extended as an open deck to the southwest. The porch retains its turned posts, eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, frieze, clapboarded half gable, beaded board ceiling, and asphalt shingled shed roof. The wing's other two facades each have a single two-over-two sash window.

58A. East Shed; c.1910. Directly behind the rear wing stands the east shed, presumably built about the time the house was built and known to have been standing in the 1920's. The one and a half story, gable roofed shed is clapboarded, has fascia trim, and an asphalt shingle roof. Plain frames surround its few openings: a beaded board door in the southeast gable end, and two six pane windows in the southwest facade. A plain framed opening in the southeast gable has been clapboarded in, save for a small, narrow, three pane window.

58B. West Shed; c. 1910. The east corner of the west shed almost touches the west corner of the east shed. The west shed was also probably erected at the same time or soon after the house was built, and, again, is known to have been standing in the 1920's. The shed is composed of two units, a one and a half story gable roofed main shed, and a one-story, shed roofed, clapboard garage, overlapping the main shed's southwest gable end. (Interior clapboarding shows that the garage postdates the main shed.) The main shed is clapboarded, save for the rear (northwest) facade which is partly wooden shingled, but mostly sheathed with board and batten siding. Its asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed by close eaves and verges. The southeast (street) facade has double beaded board doors, a four-panel door and a four pane window in the main level, and a beaded board hayloft door in the upper level, all with plain openings. The northeast gable end has a single-pane window and a two-pane window in its first story, while the southwest gable contains a six-pane window. The rear (northwest) facade has a board door and a doorless opening for a wood storage space. Its asphalt roll paper roof is trimmed by open eaves with exposed rafters. The only opening in the garage are double board doors with plain frame in the southeast gable end.

59. Hall House; c.1880.
No building appears on this site in Beers¹ 1869 county atlas. But a stereoscopic view of Main Street, taken before the destruction of the old meetinghouse in June of 1880, shows the present house without the projecting bays on the northwest facades of the main block and the rear wing. The projecting bays, Stick style in character, were added probably in the late 19th century. Modern renovations, probably made in the 1950's, included new kitchen windows in the rear wing, and the enclosure of the two porches. In the early 1960's, the house was resheathed with vinyl siding.

The two-and-a-half story, gable front , sidehall plan main block has a full, enclosed front porch. It has a shallow, two story, gable roofed, projecting bay on each side (southwest and northeast) facade. The northeast projecting bay shares a continuous northeast facade with a similar shallow, two story, gable roofed, projecting bay on the northeast facade of the two-and-a-half story, gable roofed rear wing. The rear wing also has a one-story enclosed porch and a one-story shallow addition, which together cover its southwest facade. Attached to the northwest end of the shallow addition is the one-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn with a one story, shed roofed addition covering its northeast facade.

The main block and the rear wing share a wide box cornice with moldings, frieze, and paired sawn brackets. The brackets and friezes do not appear in their rear (northwest) gables. On the southeast (street) gable of the main block can still be seen the molded lower corners of the cornice frieze, which curve to blend with the corner pilasters, the latter now surviving only as molded capitals. The main block's slate gable roof is broken by a small brick chimney on the northeast slope. Lintels with moldings cover the windows and doors of the three bay wide southeast gable end: a paneled door with window in the south bay, and two-over-two sash windows. The first story is completely covered by a porch which now has low walls of vinyl siding, plain window and door frames, a box cornice with moldings, frieze, and paired sawn brackets, and a low pitched shed roof- The northern two-thirds of the enclosed porch project beyond the southern third, which contains the entry, a door with multi-pane window, flanked by tall two-pane widows. The northeast end of the porch is covered by two four-pane windows. The rest of the porch is covered by large screened panels in the summer of 1985. The projecting bay's slate gable roof has the same lateral box cornice with moldings, frieze and paired brackets as the main block cornice. But the gable's box cornice with moldings and frieze is supported by large sawn corner brackets. On the northeast facade, the first story window has a molded lintel and modern six-over-six sash. The plain frame of the two-over-two sash window in the second story butts up against the cornice. The two paired projecting bays on the northeast facade of the main block and the rear wing have separate slate gable roofs with the same lateral and gable cornices seen on the main block's southwest projecting bay. They are covered by vinyl siding with vertically grooved vinyl siding in the gables. Molded lintels cover their two-over-two sash windows.

The ridge of the rear wing's slate gable roof is broken by a small brick chimney. Plain frames surround its windows, the second story window frames butting up against the lateral cornice. The northeast facade windows (a modern triple window in the first story and two single windows in the second) have two-over-two sash. The northwest gable end has a paneled door with window and molded frame in the first story, a two-over-two sash window in the second story, and a two-pane windows.

More two-over-two sash windows appear in the southwest facade, two in the first story (on the enclosed porch) and four in the second story. The first story is covered by a shallow addition to the west and by an enclosed porch to the east, which share an asphalt roll paper shed roof and a box cornice with moldings, frieze, and paired sawn brackets. (The brackets and frieze have now been covered by the slight projection of the enclosed porch's new walls.) The five bay enclosed porch has vinyl sided walls, a central multi-pane glass door with wooden frame, four screened openings, and plain trim. The shallow addition, which takes up just over half of the facade and is covered with vinyl siding, has paneled door with window opening onto the porch to the southeast, as well as a plain framed four panel door and two two-over-two sash windows with louvred shutters and molded lintels in the southwest facade.

The one-and-a-half story main block of the attached barn is sheathed with clapboards on the southeast (street) gable end, with board and batten siding on the southwest, and with wooden shingles on the northwest (rear) gable end. The slate gable roof is trimmed by wide eaves with paired sawn brackets and frieze on the public southeast gable, and by simple eaves with sloping soffit on the southwest and northwest. Lintels with drip moldings top the more visible openings, a two-over-two sash window and a large sliding beaded board door with a twenty-pane transom window in the first story the southeast gable end, another two-over-two sash window in the southeast gable itself, and two six-pane windows in the southwest facade. A board door in the southwest facade, another board door and a four pane window in the northwest gable end have no finish trim. The northeast side of the main barn is covered by a one story addition with a slate sheathed shed roof. The addition shows the same variety of wall treatments. The southeast (street) end is crowned by a flat topped false front. The windowless southeast facade, and the rear of its false front, is clapboarded, trimmed with sillboards, cornerboards, and close eaves with frieze. A plain box cornice tops the board and batten-sheathed northeast facade and the wooden shingled northwest end. The northeast facade has three small plain framed windows (two four-pane windows and one two-pane window), while the northwest end has only a boarded up window and boarded up door.

60. Smith House; c.1890.
This house, which appears in neither the 1869 county atlas or the stereoscopic view of Main Street, is a vernacular building, whose form and elements, notably the bay window and the former porch, suggest a late 19th century date. The Duncans who owned the house from 1946 to 1983 made a few changes, installing two new windows in the northeast facade of the main block in the late 1940's, enclosing the porch in the early 1950's, and adding a northeast window on the rear wing.

The two-story, gable roofed clapboard main block has a small, one story, shed roof rear wing on its northwest gable end. On the southwest facade is a bay window abutting a one-story former porch, now enclosed.

The slate gable roof, with its central brick chimney, is trimmed by eaves with simple moldings, sloping soffit, and frieze. In each story of the two bay wide southeast (street) gable end are found two two-over-two sash windows with louvred shutters and lintels with drip moldings. In the east bay of the maim southwest facade is a bay window, clapboarded, and trimmed with sillboards, cornerboards, a deep box cornice with moldings, frieze and architrave, and a low pitched hip roof. The narrow one-over-one sash window on the angled south side and the two-over-two sash window on the front (southwest) side share a continuous sill and lintel. The former porch, in the center of the main block's southwest facade, still retains its latticework base topped by a coping. The main level is now clapboarded with cornerboards. A box cornice with moldings, frieze and architrave trims its low pitched shed roof. The south corner of the porch has been angled for the entry: a paneled door with window and plain frame, served by board steps with a wrought metal hand rail. The porch's northwest and southwest facades each contain a double window with two-over-two sash and plain frame. The west bay of the main block's southwest facade contains a double window with one-over-one sash and a lintel with drip molding. The northeast facade's older first story window has two-over-two sash, lintel with drip molding, and louvred shutters. Plain frames surround the northeast facade's new first story windows, a two-over-two sash window and a double window in the upper level. Lintels with drip moldings top the northwest gable end's two-over-two sash windows, one in the first story, two in the second.

The small, one-story, shed roofed rear wing has a fieldstone foundation, clapboarded walls, cornerboards, plain eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, and a slate roof. Plain frames surround a board door on the southwest, a two pane window on the northwest, and a newer three-pane window on the northeast.

60A. Garage; early 1950's. Southwest of the house stands the non-contributing garage, built by the Duncans in the early 1950's. The one story, one-stall garage is clapboarded above a high concrete block foundation. Close verges and open lateral eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards trim its asphalt shingled gable roof. Plain trim surrounds an overhead garage door in the southeast gable end, a four panel door in the northeast facade, and two six-pane windows in the rear (northwest) gable end.

61. Arnold House; c.1880.
The Arnold House does not appear in Beers' 1869 county atlas. It does appear in the pre-June, 1888 stereoscopic view of Main Street, although without the projecting bay on the northwest facade. The porches' wooden columns are early 20th century in date. In the mid-20th century, a one story chicken house was added on the rear of the barn. (This structure was later converted to a garage.) Vinyl siding and a modern window on the northeast facade of the rear wing were installed in 1983.

The two-and-a-half story, gable front main block has a one story veranda on its southeast (street) gable end and a two story, gable roofed projecting bay on the northeast facade. The one-and-a-half story, gable roofed rear wing, attached to the main block's half story, gable roofed rear wing, attached to the main block's north west gable end, has a one story side porch on the southwest. Attached to the wing's northwest gable end is a one-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn, with a one story shed roofed garage on northwest facade and a one story, shed roofed privy in the north corner of the barn and the rear wing.

The main block, set on a brick foundation, is sheathed with vinyl "clapboards" and trimmed with narrow corner strips. Its slate gable roof is framed by eaves with simple moldings and sloping soffit, and has a tall brick chimney with corbeled cap on its northeast slope. In the south bay of the southeast (street) gable end is the main entry, a paneled door with large window. The first story is also distinguished by a three sided bay window on the veranda, now covered by vinyl siding with narrow corner strips. The bay window's three one-over-one sash windows also have narrow vinyl frames. Three two-over-two sash windows in the second story and a gable window permanently covered by louvred shutters have similar frames. The three-bay-wide veranda that covers the entire southeast facade has a latticework base, a board floor, concrete steps, four wooden columns with molded bases and capitals, balustrades with square balusters and molded rails, a beaded board ceiling, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, and a low pitched hip roof. The three bay wide southwest facade has two-over-two sash windows, save for a blind window in the first story, covered by permanent louvred shutters The southwest windows all have wooden frames with drip moldings on the lintels, but the northeast facade windows, a single two-over-two sash window in each story, have narrow vinyl frames.

The shallow, two story projecting bay at the west end of the north east facade has the same foundation, sheathing, and eaves as the main block, although its slate gable roof is lower than the main block roof. Narrow vinyl strips surround a two-over-two sash window in each story of the southeast and northeast facades, as well as a small one-over-one sash window in the first story of the northeast gable end. The northwest gable end of the main block has a two-over-two sash window with narrow vinyl trim in the first story and a three-over-three sash window with plain wooden frame in the gable.

The rear wing, set on a brick foundation, is covered by vinyl siding on its public southwest and northeast facades. But the rear (northwest) gable end is still clapboarded, with trimming sillboards and cornerboards. Eaves with simple moldings and sloping soffit (and a frieze on the rear gable) trim the slate gable roof. The southwest facade has two two-over-two sash windows, a paneled door with window, and a board door with window in the first story, and a kneewall three-over-three sash window in the second story, all with narrow vinyl frames. The upper level also contains a wall dormer with a two-over-two sash window with narrow vinyl frame, eaves with sloping soffit and simple moldings, and a slate sheathed shed roof. The two-bay-wide side porch that covers the eastern half of the southwest facade is similar to the front porch, with a latticework base, concrete steps with a wrought metal rail, board floor, balustrades with square balusters and molded railings, two more wooden columns, a beaded board ceiling, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, and a low pitched hip roof. The northeast facade of the rear wing has a modern one-over-one sash window, two older two-over-two sash windows in the first story, and a kneewall three-over-three sash window in the upper level, all with the usual narrow vinyl frames. But the six-pane window in the rear (northwest) gable still retains its plain wooden frame.

The attached barn is set on a fieldstone foundation, trimmed with cornerboards, sheathed with flush boarding on the southeast (street) gable end, and clapboarded on the other three facades. The slate gable roof is trimmed by simple eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, save on the rear (northwest) gable, which has close verges. The southeast gable end has a large board door in the first story, and a hayloft board door above it. Plain frames surrounds these doors and the windows, a twelve-pane window on the southwest, two small single-pane windows on the northeast, and a small single pane window in the northwest gable.

The privy in the north corner of the barn and the rear wing is clapboarded. A simple box cornice with frieze trims its slate covered shed roof. Plain frames surround a single pane window in both (northeast and northwest) facades and the board cleanout door on the northwest.

The garage (the former chicken house) that covers the northwest gable end of the barn is set on a concrete block foundation, and is clapboarded with cornerboards. Simple eaves with sloping soffit and frieze trims its corrugated metal shed roof. Again, plain frames surround an overhead garage door in the southwest facade and a three pane window in the northwest facade.

62. Peck House; c.1880.
A very well preserved example of a late 19th century vernacular house, does not appear in the 1869 county atlas, but does appear in the pre-June 1888 view of Main Street. Between the mid 1940's and the mid 1960's, Ralph Jones made several changes and additions. He enclosed the side porch and added a northeastern triple window on the house. About 1945, he built the large concrete block garage for his produce business. He also remodeled the first and second garages, building a small concrete block addition of the first garage, and installing new garage doors. The large concrete block garage was also given a wing to its northeast and a shed on its northwest.

The one-and-a-half story, gable front main block has a full front porch, and a bay window on its southwest facade. The one-and-a-half story rear wing (attached to the main block's northwest gable end ) has a one story enclosed porch on its southwest facade and a narrow one story, shed roofed addition on its northwest gable end. Covering the southwest facade of the narrow addition and part of the rear wing's southwest facade is a square, one story, shed roofed addition. Covering the northwest facade of both of the narrow and the square additions is the one-and-a-half story, gable roofed first garage, which has a shallow, one story, shed roofed concrete block addition on its northeast facade. On the northwest facade of the first garage is the one-story, shed roofed garage, which has a shallow, one-story, shed roofed concrete block addition on its northeast facade. On the northwest facade of the first garage is the one-story, shed roofed second garage, which, in turn, has a one story, shed roofed shed on its shed are covered by a large one story concrete block garage with a convex roof. The concrete block garage has a one story concrete block garage has a one story concrete block wing on its northeast facade, which is separated from the shed by a narrow alley. Finally, on the northwest facades of the concrete block garage and its wing appears another one-story, shed roofed shed.

The main block, set on a brick foundation, is clapboarded, and has a slate gable roof, broken by a brick chimney with wide base on the northeast slope. It is trimmed by eaves with moldings, sloping soffit, and frieze. Lintels with drip moldings top its older openings, and louvred shutters trim its windows. In the south bay of the three bay wide southeast (street) gable end appears the main entry, a paneled door with window. Two two-over-two sash windows appear in both the first story and the gable. The front porch has a latticework base, concrete steps with a wrought metal hand rail, board floor and ceiling, chamfered posts with simple bases and molded railing and supported by sawn brackets, a box cornice with moldings And frieze, and a low pitched hip roof. The northeast facade has two older two-over-two sash windows and a modern triple window with a large central plate glass window, flanking four-over-four sash windows, and plain frame. Above the triple window is a wall dormer with clapboarded walls, cornerboards, and older two over-two sash window, eaves with moldings, sloping soffit and frieze, and a slate gable roof. The southwest facade has another older two-over-two sash window and a three-sided bay window. The bay window has a red asphalt brick siding base, panels beneath the windows, continuous window sills and lintels, a central two-over-two sash window, one-over-one sash windows on the angled sides, louvred shutters, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, and a low pitched hip roof. Above the bay window is another wall dormer of the same design as its northeast counterpart.

The narrower rear wing, set on a brick foundation, is clapboarded, and trimmed with cornerboards and sillboards. Its slate gable roof has the same eaves as the main block does. Its northeast facade, continuous with the main block's northeast facade, has a two-over-two sash window, topped by a lintel with drip molding, and a double window with two-over-two sash, plain frame, and louvred shutters. A kneewall window with three-over-three sash, plain frame, and louvred shutters appears in the upper level of both the northeast and southwest facades. The southwest facade, whose first story is covered by a porch and the square addition, also has, at its eastern end, a shed roofed wall dormer, clapboarded with cornerboards, eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, two two-over-two sash windows with plain frames and louvred shutters, and a slate roof. The wing's northwest gable end has a plain framed nine pane window in the gable.

The enclosed porch that covers three-quarters of the rear wing's southwest facade has red "brick" asphalt siding on its base. Concrete steps with wrought metal hand rails serve it slightly off center entry, a paneled door with large multi-pane glass window and two-thirds four pane sidelights above panels The entry is sheltered by a hood with plywood ceiling, flush boarded gable, decoratively cut board sides, and a low pitched gable roof. The porch has the same railings of vertically beaded boarding with molded rails as the front veranda and the same flower boxes on sawn brackets. The door and the five large four pane windows all have plain frames. The low pitched shed roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings and frieze.

The narrow one-story addition covering the northwest gable end of the rear is clapboarded. Its long shed roof, sheathed with asphalt roll paper, is trimmed by a lateral box cornice with moldings and frieze on the southwest, but with close eaves and verges on the northeast and northwest. Its only opening is a double casement window, with single pane sash, and simply molded frame, in the northeast facade.

The square one-story addition covering the southwest facade of the narrow addition and the western quarter of the southwest facade is set on a brick foundation and is clapboarded with cornerboards. Its low pitched shed roof has a box cornice with moldings and frieze. The double window in the southwest facade and the single window in the southeast facade both have one-over-one sash and plain frames.

The first garage, on the northwest side of the narrow and square additions, is clapboarded with cornerboards. Its slate gable roof has shallow eaves with sloping soffit and frieze, save for the close verges of its rear (northwest) gable. Plain frames surround the two overhead garage doors in the southwest facade and the four-pane gable window on the southeast. The northeast facade of the first garage is covered by a shallow, one-story addition with concrete block walls and clapboarded northwest half gable. The addition's asphalt roll paper sheathed shed roof has lateral eaves with sloping soffit on the northeast and open eaves with fascia boards on the northwest half gable. A ten-pane window with simply molded frame is found in the northeast facade.

The one-story second garage is clapboarded on the northeast facade. The narrow southeast facade is sheathed with vertical boarding. Close eaves and verges trim its asphalt paper sheathed shed roof. The northeast facade contains a plain framed overhead garage door. The narrow southeast facade, squeezed between the first garage and the concrete block garage, is barely wide enough for a frameless plywood door with a board gate. The one story shed on the northwest facade of the second garage is sheathed with horizontal boarding (as well as some corrugated metal on its northeast facade). The asphalt roof paper sheathed shed roof is trimmed by close verges on the northeast half gable and by a plain box cornice on the northwest facade. The only opening is a paneled door with built-in window and no finish trim in the northeast facade.

The large concrete block garage is a tall one story structure with concrete block walls, gables sheathed with asphalt brick siding above plain horizontal boards, and a large convex roof sheathed with asphalt roll paper and trimmed by close verges and simple lateral box cornices. The southeast (street) "gable" end contains two large, tall overhead garage doors with plain frames, both topped by a shallow shed roofed hood with exposed rafters and fascia boards. South of the overhead garage doors is a paneled door with built-in window, simple molded frame, and a gabled hood, supported by sawn brackets and having a metal sheathed roof, close verges, and open lateral eaves with fascia boards. Plain trim surrounds the rectangular metal louver in the southeast, northeast and northwest facades, and three in the southwest facade.

The one-story, gable roofed concrete block wing has tall windowless concrete block walls and a northeast gable sheathed with asphalt brick siding above a cross gable horizontal board. A plain box cornice trims the asphalt roll paper roof. The only openings are two rectangular metal louvers in the gable.

On the northwest facades of the concrete block garage and its wing is a tall, one story shed, covered with asphalt brick siding. Its shed roof is sheathed with asphalt roll paper and trimmed by a plain lateral box cornice and open gable eaves with fascia boards. The northeast and southwest "gable" ends each contain tall large double board doors with plain frames.

The grounds are grassed with trees and shrubs, save for a paved drive southwest of the house to a broad paved parking area in front of the garages, as well as a paved walk from the drive to the front porch steps. Behind the building, a portion of the property is planted to crops by a local farmer.

63. Burke House; 1791.
Although the present owners believe this Federal style house was built c.1770, the firmest evidence of its construction date is the inscribed date "1791" on the soapstone lintels of the fireplaces. During the Greek Revival period, the building was enclosed across the street and the east halves of the two gable ends by a rare, one story, Doric columned porch, with shallow one story projections covering the west halves of the gable ends, which today, unfortunately, only partially survives, in reconstructed form. In 1970, the present owners remodeled the shallow projection of the northeast gable end and the porch on the northeast gable end and the southeast (street) facade. The southwest portion of the porch was then rebuilt as a wider side porch. 1970 also saw the construction of a one-story living room addition on the southwest side of the ell and the installation of overhead garage doors in new openings with canted corners in the first shed. An exterior stairway and a second story door were installed on the gable end of the first shed in 1983.

On the southwest gable end of the two-and-a-half story, gable roofed main block is found a one story porch and a shallow one story addition. To the rear (northeast) of the main block is a short two story, gable roofed ell, which has a one story, shed roofed living room addition covering its southwest facade. Northwest of the ell there stretches in a long, impressive row, a long, one-and-a-half story, gable roofed first shed; a second, one story, shed roofed shed; a third, one-story gable roofed shed; and a one-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn.

The main block, set on a stone foundation, is clapboarded and trimmed with sillboards and cornerboards. Its asphalt shingled gable roof, broken by two large brick chimneys, is trimmed by a pedimented box cornice with moldings and frieze. In the center of the five-bay-wide southeast (street) facade is the main entrance, a six-panel door, flanked by four pane two-thirds sidelights, and served by a granite step. Plain narrow pilasters framing the door and the sidelights support a simple entablature with moldings. The four first story windows and the five second story windows all have two-over-two sash, as well as the plain frames typical of the main block windows. All of the main block's second story window frames butt up against the cornice. The two bay northeast gable end has a two-over-two sash window and a six-over-six sash window in each of the first two stories, as well as two nine-over-six sash windows in the pedimented gable. The southeast gable end has one two-over-two sash window in the first story, two two-over-two sash windows in the second story, and, again, two nine-over-six sash windows in the pedimented gable. The rear (northwest) facade has six-over-six sash windows, one in the first story and two in the second story.

The eastern half of the main block's southwest gable end is covered by a one story, two bay wide and two bay deep porch, the rebuilt remainder of the porch that once covered the entire southeast facade as well. Four fluted Greek Doric columns, set on the board floor, support a box cornice with moldings and frieze and a roof sheathed with asphalt roll paper. The roof to the rear, is hipped on the easterly (street) front. Its northwest half gable is clapboarded. The rear (western) half of the main block's southwest gable end is covered by a shallow one story addition. Set on a concrete foundation, the addition is clapboarded with sillboards, and corner boards. A box cornice with moldings and frieze trims its hip roof, which is sheathed with asphalt roll paper. Plain frames surround two two-over-two sash windows in the southwest facade and a south eastern paneled door with built-in window that opens onto the porch.

The ell is clapboarded with sillboards and cornerboards. Its asphalt shingled gable roof is trimmed by lateral box cornices with moldings and frieze and by close molded verges on the northwest gable. Plain frames surround the three six-over-six sash windows in the northeast facade's first story. The second story windows, a two-over-two sash window on the northeast and one-over-one sash window on the southwest, have lintels with drip moldings. The first story of the southwest, have lintels with drip moldings. The first story of the southwest facade is covered by a small addition, set on a concrete foundation and clapboarded with cornerboards. The two twelve-over-eight sash windows in its southwest facade have plain frames. And the low pitched, graveled shed roof is trimmed by a box cornice with moldings, frieze and architrave.

The long first shed to the rear of the ell is set on a concrete foundation and clapboarded with cornerboards. Its corrugated metal gable roof is trimmed by open lateral eaves with exposed rafters, fascia boards and friezes, and by plain eaves with friezes on the gables. Plain frames surround its openings. A two-over-two sash window, a paneled door with window, and two overhead garage doors in openings with canted corners appear in the southwest facade. Two six-over-six sash windows, a board door, and double board doors are found in the northeast facade. In the gable of the northwest end is another six-over-six sash window and a modern multi-paned glass door with wooden frame. The door is served by an exterior stairway with board steps and floors, square posts and simple railings. The stairway has two flights of steps and two landings.

The small, one-story second shed is sheathed with board and batten siding on the northeast facade and with vertical boarding in the southwest facade. Open eaves with exposed rafters frame its shed roof, which is sheathed with asphalt roll paper The two six-over-six sash windows on the northeast have plain frames, but no trim surrounds the three large four-pane windows on the southwest, which were added by the present owners.

The small, one-story third shed is sheathed with board and batten, save for some vertical boarding on the southwest facade. The corrugated metal gable roof has open eaves, which have exposed rafters on the southwest, fascia boards on the southeast gable, and a frieze on the northeast. The only openings are unframed windows, a single pane window in the southwest facade and a nine-pane window in the southeast gable.

The barn is sheathed with vertical boarding, save for the northwest gable, which, like the gable roof, is sheathed with corrugated metal, and the southeast gable, which is partially sheathed with horizontal boarding. Close eaves and verges appear on the northeast and southeast, but no eaves trim is found on the northwest and southwest. No trim frames the barn's openings, a windowless opening and a large board door (with inset board door) in the southeast gable end, large double board doors in the northeast facade, two nine-pane windows (one in each story) in the southwest facade.

64. Fullam House; 1962.
The non-contributing Fullam House was built in 1962 by a local developer in a contemporary vernacular style. Changes appear to have been limited to the addition of the of a garage later in the 1960's and of an open deck in 1984.

The main block is split level in design, being one story high on the southeast (street) front and two stories high on the high on the northwest (rear) facade, and therefore covered by an asymmetrical gable roof. The gable roof that covers the small one-story wing projecting from the north end of the southeast facade also shelters a small entry porch to the south of the wing. A one-story, gable roofed connector (with a one-story porch on its southwest facade) connects the northwest facade of the main block with a one story gable roofed garage, which has a one story, shed roofed addition on its rear (southwest) gable end.

The main block and the shallow front wing are set on a concrete foundation and sheathed by painted asbestos shingles. Their asphalt shingled roofs are trimmed by close verges and by lateral box cornices with moldings. Their windows have simply molded frames and, often, decorative shutters. At the north end of the main (southeast) facade of the main block is the small front wing, which has a double window with two-over-two sash in its southeast gable end. Just south of the wing is the main block's main entry, a plain modern door with three small single pane windows, and a simply molded frame. The door is sheltered by a small entry porch, with the same concrete foundation and gable roof as the front wing. The porch has concrete steps with wrought metal hand rails, plywood floor and ceiling, one square corner post, and valance boards with curved lower edges. In the south bay of the main block's street facade is a bowed oriel window. The twelve pane window has a molded frame and lintel, and decorative shutters. The northeast and south west gable ends each have a two-over-two sash window in each story The northeast gable end also has a small single pane window in the second story, as well as the side entry, a paneled door with built-in window, simply molded frame, wooden steps with a wrought metal hand rail, and a light metal and plastic awning. The northeast gable end is covered by a broad open deck, set on short wooden posts. Its board floor is enclosed by board seats, interrupted by square planters with board sides. The second story of the northwest (rear) facade is cantilevered two feet beyond the first story. The two first story windows and the three second story windows (the central window being a double window) all have two-over-two sash.

The connector has vertically grooved plywood walls. Its asphalt shingled gable roof, which has wide overhanging eaves with sloping soffit on the northeast, is continued as a shed roof over a small concrete floored porch on the southwest Paneled doors with built-in windows and simply molded frames appear in the connector's two narrow facades, a single door on the northeast, a double door on the southwest.

The gable roofed garage and its shed roofed addition on the southwest gable end both have concrete foundations, vertically grooved plywood walls, and cornerboards. Their roofs, sheathed with asphalt shingles on the garage and with asphalt roll paper on the addition, share close verges and plain lateral box cornices. The two overhead garage doors in the garage's northeast gable end, the two pane window in its northwest facade, and the two pane window in the addition's southwest facade, all have simple molded frames.

65. Sisco House; c.1785.
The Sisco House is believed to be one of the oldest houses in the village. Certainly, a late 18th century date is indicated by the form of the house, its relatively simple eaves trim, its asymmetrical main facade, and the pairing of its main facade windows. It may be the oldest surviving house on the west side of Main Street, having been built shortly after, or moved at the time, the street was narrowed from 10 rods to 6 rods wide - a change of width accomplished by relocating the west side. A small shed roofed leanto was obviously added on the rear of the cape, probably at an early date. The front porch must date from the late 19th century. An internal evidence reveals that the barn postdates the shed. About 1935, the cape acquired an exterior brick chimney. In the mid 20th century, An overhead garage door replaced a sliding door on the barn.

The vernacular Cape that forms the main block of the house has a one story entry porch on its southeast front. Its entire rear (northwest) facade is covered by a shallow one story, shed roofed addition to the south. Behind the ell stretch a one and a half story, gable roofed shed and a one-and-a-half story, gable roofed barn.

The Cape is clapboarded, and trimmed with sillboards and corner boards. Its gable roof, sheathed with asphalt shingles on the southeast and with corrugated metal on the northwest, has close molded verges on the gables and a shallow lateral box cornice on the southeast front. In the central bay of the five-bay-wide southeast (street) facade is a paneled door with window and plain trim. This main entry is sheltered by a two bay wide entry porch with board floor and ceiling, turned posts, lateral box cornice with frieze, flush boarded half gables with open eaves, and a shed roof with asphalt roll paper. Plain frames and louvred shutters distinguish the cape's windows, the four six-over-six sash windows in the southeast facade, the six-over-six window in each gable, the six-over-six sash window and the two-over-two sash window in the first story of each gable end, and the additional one-over-one sash window in the first story of the southwest gable end. It should be noted that the main (southeast) facade windows are grouped in two pairs, instead of being spaced evenly. The northeast gable end also has a paneled door with built-in window and a lintel with drip molding, while the southwest gable end has a square exterior brick chimney.

The shallow shed roofed addition, that covers the southern three fifths of the cape's rear (northwest) facade, is clapboarded with sillboards and cornerboards. Its corrugated metal roof has verges like those of the cape and close lateral eaves. The southwest "gable" end contains a six-over-six sash window with plain frame and louvred shutters. The northwest facade contains a six pane window, a six-over-six sash window, and a beaded board door, all with plain frames. The door is served by brick and timber steps.

The small ell is clapboarded. Its gable roof is covered by corrugated metal. The northeast facade, the only visible facade, has a six-over-six sash window in the main level and a kneewall twelve-pane window. Both have lintels with deep drip moldings, the first story window also having louvred shutters.

The shed attached to the northwest gable end of the ell is clapboarded with cornerboards (save for a small section of board and batten siding) on the northeast, and is sheathed with board and batten siding (save for a small section of clapboarding) on the southwest. Its corrugated metal gable roof has close eaves on the northeast, but is flared over a shed roofed hood on the southwest. The hood has exposed rafters and a vertical board frieze, and is supported by simple braces. The hood's northwest half gable and brace are covered by a triangle of horizontal boarding, trimmed by close verges. The main level of the southwest facade contains a single pane window, and a two panel door, both with plain trim as well as double board and batten sided doors, topped by a lintel with drip molding. The wood shelters two kneewall windows, a nine-pane window and a six-pane window. The northeast facade also has a nine-pane window and a six-pane window, both with plain frames.

The barn which covers the northwest gable end of the shed is sheathed with vertical boarding, save for some clapboarding in the lower levels of the northeast and southeast facades. Its doors and windows have plain frames. Open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards trim its corrugated metal gable roof. The main (southwest) facade has an overhead garage door (with a beaded board hayloft door above it), a small single pane window, and a six-over-six sash window. The northwest gable end has a board door and a six-over-six sash window in the first story and a windowless opening in the gable. The northeast facade has two twelve-pane windows.

65A. The Hall House; 1934 or 1935. Southwest of the house is a summer house, built in 1934 or 1935 for the Halls by Frank Harlow. The one-story shed roofed building has low walls of vertical boarding (topped by a coping) beneath screened openings. A doorless opening appears in the northeast facade. Square posts support short upper walls of vertical boarding and a shed roof with corrugated metal sheathing and open eaves with exposed rafters and fascia boards.

66. Westminster Town Cemetery; 1736.
In 1736, the committee charged with laying out the house lots in new township was also instructed by the town proprietors to include a burying ground in the village plan. The Westminster Town Cemetery was in use before the Revolution and is still receiving burials today, although a second town cemetery later had to be established outside the village as Westminster's population grew. About 1910, a fine iron fence, the gift of Henry Kellogg Willard, was erected around the cemetery.

The outline of the cemetery, as defined by the fence, is that of a rectangle with a rounded eastern corner and slightly indented northern and southern corners. The iron fence has square pointed spindles, two plain rails, and posts with large, ornate pointed tops. The fence is ramped up at both sides of the entry in the center of the southeast (street) side. The entry is distinguished by two large posts, built of rock faced stone blocks with dressed margins. The base of each post has a smooth dressed watertable. But the cap blocks are simply rock faced with dressed margins. The double entry gates are a more elaborate version of the fence, with an upper hand of scrolled ironwork, and square spindles topped by the more ornate points found on the fence posts. The fence also has two smaller gates, a simple gate, differing little from the rest of the fence, on the northeast side, and a more elaborate gate near the south end of the street side. This small street side gate has spindles crowned by the more elaborate pointed tops, and flanking iron posts whose molded caps are crowned by small globes

An unpaved drive from the main gate divides the cemetery, which is grassed with some scattered trees. The rows of monuments face southeast towards the street. Four of the grave plots are enclosed by granite curbs. The grave markers range in date from the 18th to the 20th century, and include the full range of types, early slate and marble slabs, more elaborate 19th century monuments, and the simpler markers of the 20th century. Most are relatively simple, but a few should be noted in more detail. Among the early monuments, is a double table monument, two marble slabs (with now in decipherable inscriptions) sharing stone legs. Notable among the later markers are five obelisks: two tall pedestals crowned by urns, and five tall octagonal shafts, of particularly note is the William French monument, erected in 1873 by the State of Vermont to honor a victim of the Westminster Massacre, and the elaborate Gothic style May monument. The Wright monument is covered by an ornate Gothic canopy. But perhaps the most interesting markers are the two separate Henry A. Willard monuments, each having a marble statue of a recording angel. The freestanding angel is set on a tall marble pedestal with a stepped base. The other angel is a marble version of the original "Recording Angel" sculpted in snow in Brattleboro by Larkin G. Mead, Jr. (1835-1910) on New Year's Eve, 1857. This rather unusual work, widely reported in the newspapers of the day, helped to establish the sculptor's reputation. Later during his distinguished career, which included carving the statues atop the present State House in Montpelier, Mead made more permanent copies of the work. In May 1910, while visiting the sculptor's studio in Florence (just six months before Mead's death), Henry K. Willard commissioned this version of the statue from the artist, who also designed the monument in which it is placed. The statue stands in the glass fronted, semicircular arched niche in a tall rectangular marble monument, set on a stepped and molded marble base, and topped by a marble "gable" roof, with simple acroterions at the corners.

The largest structure in the cemetery is the Gothic style, mid-19th century Bradley Mausoleum, built of uncoursed stone beneath a slate covered gable roof, trimmed with close wooden eaves and verges. The rear (northwest) gable end has a clapboarded gable. But the southeast (street) gable is hidden by the stepped parapet of the Gothic frontispiece. In the center of the southeast facade is a Gothic arched doorway, with smoothly dressed granite jambs, impost blocks, and pointed arch. The doorway is now filled by inscribed marble slabs. At each end of the southeast facade is a square stone corner buttress, topped by a tall pyramidal finial formed of a single smoothly cut granite block. The rear and side walls are quite simple walls of rough stone, ornamented only by three large inscribed marble slabs which were later mounted on the northwest and northeast walls.

67. Richmond House; c.1884.
Finding his house, a three-quarter cape, too small for his family, Benjamin Richmond tore it down and built this Victorian vernacular structure on the same site. Unfortunately, two separate modern newspaper accounts give slightly different periods for the construction of the house, either 1882-1884 or 1884-1886. Several changes were made in the 1970's. The veranda which originally covered the entire street facade was replaced by a small entry porch. A screened porch and a double casement window for the kitchen were added to the northeast facade of the wing. The barn received a new foundation, a large second opening in the street facade and projection from the rear facade.

The two story main block has a three-sided bay window on its southwest facade and a small one story entry porch on its southeast facade. To the rear (northwest) is a two story wing with a one story, shed roofed, screened porch on its northeast side and a one story, shed roofed veranda on its southwest facade. Covering the rear (northwest) gable end of the rear wing is a two-story barn with a small basement entry porch on the northeast.

The main block and the rear wing are set on a brick foundation, clapboarded, and covered by slate roofs. They share the same box cornice with moldings and frieze. The sidehall plan main block is trimmed by corner boards with molded capitals. In the center of the main block's hip roof is a small rectangular flat deck, which is metal sheathed above its shallow molded cornice with frieze. The flat deck is interrupted by a central brick chimney with wide base and corbeled cap. In the south bay of the main block's three bay wide southeast (street) facade is the main entry, double paneled doors with large built-in windows and a lintel with moldings. The entry is served by small entry porch, with lintel with moldings. The entry is served by a small entry porch, with latticework base, stone steps, board floor, two turned posts with molded capitals, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, and an asphalt shingled hip roof. The windows of the main block have two-over-two sash, molded lintels, and louvred shutters. (The frames of the second story windows butt up against the cornice frieze.) The exceptions are the false windows which are clapboarded within the usual frame with molded lintel. The street facade has two functional windows in each story, and a false window in the central bay of the second story. The three bay wide northeast facade has two functional windows in each story, the central bay containing false windows. The southwest facade has the same arrangement in the three bay second story, functional windows in the side bays and a false window in the central bay. In the first story is found a functional two-over-two sash window to the east and a one story, three sided bay window to the west. The bay window has a brick foundation, sillboards, a panel beneath each window, continuous molded sills and lintels, three one-over-one sash windows with louvred shutters, a box cornice with moldings, frieze, and architrave, and a low pitched, metal sheathed hip roof. The rear (northwest) facade has a plain framed doorway (now clapboarded in) in the first story and a two-over-two sash window in the second story.

The rear wing is trimmed with cornerboards on the southwest facade, the northeast facade being clapboarded continuously with the adjoining facades of the main block and the barn. The first story of its southwest facade has two two-over-two sash windows and two four panel doors, all with molded lintels like those seen on the main block, the windows also having louvred shutters The first story of the northeast facade has two more two-over-two sash windows and a glazed and paneled door with molded lintels, as well as a modern double casement window with six-pane sash and simply molded frame. The second story of both facades contain three small two-pane windows, whose plain frames butt up against the cornice. The entire southwest facade is covered by a one story veranda, with board floor and ceiling, concrete steps, one central chamfered square post with molded base and capital, a box cornice with moldings and frieze, and a low pitched, corrugated metal roof. On the northeast facade is a modern screened porch serving the northeast door. This porch has a high latticework base, board steps with plain rail, a screen door with transom screen, large screened panels, a simple frame of two by four posts, half gables of vertically grooved plywood, a simple box cornice with moldings, and a shed roof, sheathed with asphalt roll paper.

The barn covers the northwest end of the rear wing and overlaps it to the south. Set on a stone and concrete block foundation, the barn is clapboarded with cornerboards. Its slate roof, has the same box cornice as the main block and the wing. Indeed the gable roofs of the rear wing and the barn are joined so that they are hipped at the north corner of the building. The basement level of the barn is half exposed on the sides and the rear. In the southeast (street) facade appears two large, plain framed openings, the southern opening being doorless, the north one having a large sliding board door. Above the sliding door is a hayloft board door, topped by a lintel with drip molding. On each side of the hayloft door is a plain framed six-pane window. Lintels with drip moldings cover the tall six-pane window of the southwest gable end, two in the first story, one in the second. The rear (northwest) facade has a door less opening and a six pane window in the basement, a six-over-six sash window and a six-pane window, both with lintels with drip moldings, in the main level. Beneath the six-pane window and above the basement opening is a projection built for a car longer that the barn. Supported by two small posts, the projection is triangular in profile, with a steep asphalt shingled shed roof and clapboarded sides. The northeast end of the barn has a six pane window and a board door in the basement. The plain framed basement door is reached by descending stone steps, and is sheltered by a low shed roofed porch. The very simple porch has two square posts, a plain lintel, exposed rafters, and an asphalt shingled board roof. In the main level of the northeast end are three two-over-two sash windows, with molded lintels like those on the main block and the rear wing, while two plain framed six pane windows appear in the second story.

The grounds are mostly grassed with trees and shrubs, save for unpaved drive that serves both the barn and a modern house on a separate lot to the rear of the property. The earth ramp up to the main barn doors has a fieldstone sidewall. Northeast of the house is a small flagstone patio and a stone wall, interrupted by an arched trellis with latticework sides and exposed framework. The property continues to the northeast over the wooded bluff.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The Westminster Village Historic District, one of the very first village settlements in Vermont, has high architectural and historical significance, most of which was established in the 18th century. The unusually wide street layout, a remnant of an originally much wider layout dating to 1736, is probably the oldest town plan in Vermont still in use. It appears to have been conceived in the tradition of baroque city planning, which is very unusual in New England. The Westminster Massacre, which occurred in the district on March 15, 1775, was one of the steps leading not only to the American Revolution, but to the formation of the independent republic of New Connecticut, later called Vermont, the independence of which was formally declared in Westminster on July 2, 1777. In addition to being a county shire town, Westminster became the new republic's unofficial capital in its early years, and continued as a major commercial center into the early 19th century. The district is today characterized predominantly by numerous houses built during this early period of prosperity, including one very rare example of the Georgian style in Vermont, #16, and several fine examples of the Federal style, such as #s 10, 55 and 63. During the nearly two centuries ensuing, Westminster has lived in the shadow of its early significance, revered for its history, but undergoing only very modest economic development, save for a brief surge immediately following the completion of the Vermont Valley Railroad in 1850. Even the 1889 Town Hall, built after fire destroyed the original one, harks back to the previous century by its cubic, hip-roofed form that mimics the court house (destroyed c.1806) in which occurred the Westminster Massacre. In the early 20th century, the pristine, historical town was discovered by wealthy outsiders in search of seasonal homes, one of whom donated the Colonial Revival style Westminster Institute (#19).

In response to the large number of petitions for land grants between the Merrimack and Connecticut Rivers, the Great and General Court of Massachusetts ordered a survey of land in that area on January 15, 1735. Of the twenty-nine six mile square townships subsequently laid out, only "Township No. 1", as Westminster was originally called, was located in the great wilderness west of the Connecticut River, probably due to the protection afforded it by the fort at nearby Walpole, New Hampshire, just across the river.(1)

Township No. 1 was granted in November, 1735, to a group of petitioners predominantly from Taunton, Massachusetts, who named it "New Taunton".(2)

The grantees held their first meeting in Taunton on January 14, 1736 and appointed a committee to lay out house lots in the township and to begin satisfying other conditions of the grant, such as laying out roads, and choosing sites for a meeting house, training field, cemetery, saw mill and grist mill. In the following year, according to Child's Gazetteer, the present Main Street was laid out, originally 10 rods (165 feet) wide and named the "King's Highway", after King George III.(3) In 1739, Richard Ellis built a house and cleared some land in the southern part of the district, and by 1740, a saw mill had been built, other roads laid out, and fences built, in preparation for full settlement.(4)

The King's Highway, and perhaps other early improvements, remarkably survived the more than two decades of political uncertainty, and fitful settlement and abandonment that followed. when the northern boundary of Massachusetts was set on March 5, 1740 (5), excluding New Taunton, settlers feared the nullification of their grant, and loss of their land. These fears were soon superseded by the more pressing threats of war. The Cape Breton war in 1744, and the French and Indian War from 1754-1763, forced the settlers of New Taunton to retreat to the fort at Walpole three times, despite the reassurances provided by a new town charter issued by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth on November 9, 1752.(6) The charter was the third issued in what is now Vermont, and renamed the township "Westminster". Strong financial inducements, and a renewed charter, finally brought about rapid settlement. Three years after the end of the French and Indian war, over 50 families had settled in Westminster, and the town became an important economic center west of the Connecticut River.(7)

Westminster's enormously wide Main Street was assigned functions more typically accommodated in New England by town greens: it served as the training ground for the militia, was the focal point of local activity, and in 1769-1770, it became the site of the meetinghouse, which was built right in the center of it, in line with the present Town Hall (#57).(8) The location of a soldiers barracks toward the southern end of the district in this period (9) indicates that the training ground was located south of the church, and that a second public building, the barracks itself, may possibly have been located in the middle of the street as well. The meeting house, an eaves front, towerless structure with one primary central entrance, probably faced south, oriented toward the training field. It terminated a long vista up the street for traffic approaching from the south along the Connecticut River Valley. School Street and Grout Avenue, which very likely existed by 1770, (10) intersected just south of the church, perhaps in the exact middle of the training field, thus adding another formal element to Westminster's first town plan (see diagram).

Since establishing the locations of primary roads, a meetinghouse, and a training field was one of the very first requirements of the original 1735 land grant, a town plan such as that reconstructed above must have been conceived of shortly thereafter. Indeed, "the ten rods highway" is mentioned in a document as early as 1740 (11), and its unusual width proves that some effect of grandeur was sought through a formal town plan, at least as far as the road was concerned. That the training field was intended for the center of the highway since the 1730's is clear, since there would have been no other logical place for it. That the meetinghouse lot was placed in the center of the highway at that time is strongly suggested not only by documentary evidence, but by how well it would have fit, allowing ample room for traffic to pass on both sides, and by how such a location would have accentuated the formality of the wide road (see diagram).

There was ample precedent for linear town plans nearby that could easily have been known to Westminster's early settlers, such as those of Springfield, Deerfield and Greenfield, Massachusetts, all found along the Connecticut River corridor. The formalized use of a broad, axial highway for public functions however, and the termination of vistas by a landmark building--principles characteristic of baroque city planning are what separate the Westminster plan form the others. In Greenfield, for example, a town green and church were merely arranged alongside a highway of typical width (under 100 feet).(12)

Formal planning in the baroque tradition is, according to John Reps, quite rare in New England, since it "...would not have been keeping with the Spartan...philosophy adhered to by the Puritan founders..."(13) Outside of New England, a city plan that would have been known to educated northerners and that may be related to the Westminster plan is the French baroque-inspired plan for the colonial capital of Williamsburg, Virginia, designed by Francis Nicholson in 1699, and realized soon thereafter.

The major element of that plan is also a straight, broad street--6 rods (99 feet) wide as compared with Westminster's 10 rods (165 feet). The central avenue of the plan terminates at the west with the College of William and Mary, crossed a "Market Square" at the Center, where a perpendicular cross street, church and powder magazine are also located, and splits at the east end to circumvent the Capitol, which terminates that end of the street axis.

Though on a greatly simplified level, the major elements of the Williamsburg plan appear in the original Westminster plan; a formal public building on the central street axis terminates long views, the primary street carries traffic around both sides of one such building, and a public square, crossed by a secondary, perpendicular street, is located on the central axis (in this case, the square is the street). We can speculate that the soldier's barracks were constructed in the street, facing the church, perhaps equidistant from the cross street, but south of it.

While in Williamsburg the "Market Square" is bisected by the main street, thus forming two squares, and farther to the east, the same street is bisected by a formal building, such a solution would have been impractical in Westminster, which accommodated a population less than a quarter the size of Williamsburg. The modest, northern outpost, in which physical cohesiveness was certainly a high priority for both safety and sense of community, could hardly have benefitted from two public squares, much less supported them. Dividing the highway to run along the perimeter of both sides of a central square would have been equally impractical and decentralizing, considering the size of the village, while placing the public square and meeting house alongside the highway, as at Greenfield, would have undermined the grand Baroque effect which clearly appears to have been sought.

The extremely simple solution of the Westminster plan is actually quite ingenious when compared with the Williamsburg plan. Not needing as formal a separation of spaces as the Colonial capital, the Westminster plan allowed a mixture of uses in one wide space in order to preserve an impressive baroque plan on a small scale.

Traffic headed toward the meetinghouse while passing between or around any other activity that may have been occurring in the street, such as a militia training or local commerce, and then deviated slightly to pass the building. The extreme width of the street was necessary to provide an adequate training field and to provide ample space on each side of the church for traffic, in this case, 54.5 feet. (14)

This unusual example of baroque planning in New England must have been considered a failed experiment, for just eleven years after the plan was realized by the completion of the meetinghouse, it was dismantled. In 1781, the width of the street was reduced to the present 6 rods (99 feet), the meetinghouse was moved to the side of it, and a tower added to its new gable front--perhaps in compensation for its lost prominence. Though the meeting house was destroyed by fire in 1888, the present Town Hall (#57) was built on its foundations, and conforms to its exact 56 x 40 foot dimensions.(15)

This dramatic, very conscious shift to a linear plan with no public square signalled the beginning of the development of the present appearance of the historic district. Though the street remained unusually wide for so small a town, matching Williamsburg's 6 rods (99 feet), it took on an appearance much more typical of New England. Perhaps the street had simply been inconveniently wide. In narrowing the street, only the west curb was shifted (see diagram), thus reducing the distance the massive meetinghouse had be moved, and allowing buildings on the east side to remain. Indeed, the three Capes in the district, 5, 8, and 9, all of which appear to date to the 18th century, are all located near one another on the east side of the street, and may together constitute a fragment of a simple frontier-like appearance of the town before 1781. These unornamented, functional Capes are a clear contrast to the grand Georgian plan, Georgian and Federal style houses that line the street today, and that began to appear in the late 18th century.

In addition to its original town plan, the Westminster Village Historic District is significant for the events that occurred here involving resistance to New York, and ultimately, British authority, resistance that helped bring on the American Revolution. After the establishment of the Massachusetts border in 1740, which excluded Westminster from that colony, New Hampshire twice issued new charters under which settlements of the town proceeded.(16) Settlers were no more secure of their property under these charters, however, since New York had laid a conflicting claim to this land west of the Connecticut River. The dispute was eventually referred to the King himself, who in 1764 decided in favor of New York, thus leaving Westminster settlers with an invalid charter for a second time.(17)

In subsequent years, New York had created Cumberland County, which included the land in Vermont east of the Green Mountains. Chester was originally chosen as the county shire town, but according to Child's Gazetteer, due to that town's "...distance from the Connecticut River, and its backwardness as compared with other settlements...", the courts were relocated in 1772 to Westminster--a town already of great regional importance.(18) A courthouse (destroyed c.1806) was built in the same year, on the edge of the hill at the north end of the district.

The government of New York had made new land grants to new grantees in Westminster, and though arrangements were made with those possessing earlier New Hampshire charters that they might remain as before, the earlier settlers nevertheless complained of discrimination by New York courts that seemed all too eager to usurp their land.(20) Another problem was that "...families were nearly beggared"(21) by the high court fees, and debtors were liable to imprisonment.(22)

Tensions were heightened by the larger conflict beyond the borders of Cumberland County. At a series of conventions held at Westminster in 1774 and 1775, residents of Cumberland county adopted the resolves of the Continental Congress opposing Great Britain. They also attempted to obtain reform of the court system from the New York legislature. The New York administration refused to accept the results of any of these conventions and accused those who attended them of treason.(23) A network of resistance to New York authority, known as the Liberty Boys, had taken shape in Westminster, parallel to Ethan Allen's legendary Green Mountain Boys on the west side of the Green Mountains. Indeed, Allen was a frequent visitor to Westminster as part of a mutual cooperation between the two sides.(24)

At opposite ends of the town were two taverns-separate congregation points for Whigs (who opposed New York) and Tories (New York sympathizers), and visual reminders of this conflict between neighbors.(24a)

When a session of the Court of Common Pleas was scheduled for March 14, 1775 in Westminster, the Whigs decided that it would not be held, and were organized enough to effectively oppose it. On March 12, 1775, about forty men from the Westminster area went to Chester, where Judge Chandler lived, to try to dissuade him from holding court. Chandler promised that he would conduct only one urgent murder trial, with no armed guard, and then close the session if they wished. The group, cautiously trustful, thereupon returned to Westminster.

The following day, about sixty-five men arrived in Westminster from all parts of the county after having obtained information that Chandler was bringing armed force to hold court, despite his promises, and that armed guards would be posted during the proceedings to keep them out. Hearing this, about one hundred men armed themselves with sticks, and took over the courthouse between five and six o'clock, planning to hold it all night. Sheriff William Paterson soon arrived with an armed group from Brattleboro and other areas to demand surrender of the building. Only after Judge Chandler's personal assurances did the Whig occupiers agree to allow the court to convene the next morning, and to present their case before it. Most then left the courthouse for the night, leaving a strong guard to hold it.

During these negotiations, the sheriff had sent out word for more help, and about 11:00 p.m. approached the courthouse with an armed band, larger than before. After being refused entry, they opened fire, wounding ten, two mortally. All seventeen occupiers, including the wounded, were thrown into the jail in the lower floor of the building. Twenty-one year old William French of Brattleboro was propelled to martyrdom after taking five bullets, one in the head, and dying the next day. His fate is recorded in epitaphs on his tombstone and a commemorative monument in the cemetery, #66. Daniel Houghton of Dummerston died nine days later.

Immediately following the shooting, which became infamous as the "Westminster Massacre", messengers had been sent out in all directions, such that by noon the next day, over 400 people, mostly of local militias, about half from New Hampshire, had assembled at Westminster. By the 16th,"...it was computed that there were five hundred good martial soldiers, well equipped for war" at Westminster, who had come from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, west of the Green Mountains, and southern parts of Cumberland County, besides others who had come as private citizens.(25) The town had become so crowded, according to Hayes, that it was difficult to find houses, barns and food to accommodate all (26) --an understandable dilemma, considering that the population of the town had approximately doubled in two days, the newcomers being concentrated at the ³ten rod highway", within the present historic district.(27)

Though the agitated crowd saw little action at Westminster, save for the arrest of the sheriff¹s party and its fifty-man escort down river to Northhampton, Massachusetts, for trial, the event reinforced the town's already central role in regional affairs. On April 11, 1775, eight days before the official start of the Revolution with the Battle of Lexington, a meeting was held there relative to the "late unhappy transactions² at which a resolution was passed declaring it the "duty" of the inhabitants of the county "wholly to renounce and revisit the administration of the government of New York."(28)‹one of the earliest formal declarations of war in the American Revolution.

This and other resolutions laid the groundwork for various Vermont conventions, culminating in the January 15, 1777 meeting at Westminster at which a formal "Declaration of Independence" from New York was adopted. During another meeting at Westminster on July 2, 1777, the independent republic of "New Connecticut", later called "Vermont", was formed, with its own constitution and formal government.(29)

Westminster served as the unofficial capitol of the new republic in its early years. Consequently, it was also here that, the following summer (1778), Vermont's first printing office was established, by Judah Paddock Spooner and Timothy Green. These two were appointed state printers in October of the same year by an act of the legislature, and in February, 1781, they started the first newspaper ever printed in Vermont, The Vermont Gazette, also entitled Green Mountain Post Boy.(30)

The Vermont General Assembly, which held its sessions in Westminster for several years, divided Cumberland County in two parts in 1780, and the following year created the present Windsor and Windham Counties in the southern of the two new parts. Westminster and Marlboro became half shire towns of Windham County, until 1787, when Newfane became the sole county town, thus forever reducing Westminster's political importance.(31)

Though no longer a political center of Vermont, according to Zaddock Thompson, Westminster "...maintained its reputation as a place of considerable business and trade..." (32) Indeed, the population of the town rose steadily, according to available statistics, from 478 in 1771 to 1,601 in 1791, and to a high of 1,942 in 1800. That the state bank was established here in 1807 (though after only four years was moved to Woodstock)(34) suggests that the economic prosperity of the town continued into the early 19th century.

The significant three-fold rise in population between 1771 and 1791 was due in part to a large immigration to the area from Worcester County, Massachusetts in about 1785. Joining subsequent migrations north from southern New England was Eleazar May, who arrived in Westminster in 1789 and opened what was, according to Child, the first store in town in the front part of his house, #16.(36) This very fine example of the Georgian style, which displays corner quoins and numerous carved modillions, demonstrates the refinement which was to be found in Westminster at the time.

Though few, if any, buildings survive from the time of the Westminster Massacre (see above), people associated with that period later built houses in Westminster which survive today. Stephen Row Bradley, for example, who in 1780 represented Westminster in the General Assembly, and presented to the U.S. Congress the views of the republic of Vermont regarding its unique political situation in a document entitled ³Vermont¹s Appeal," built the very fine Federal style house, #55, across from May's house and store around the turn of the eighteenth century. Another fine Federal style house, #17, built in about 1790, is attributed to Joel Holton, one of Westminster's earliest settlers, who arrived in the 1760's.(38) Other significant, and quite large, houses dating to this general period include numbers 5, 8, 9, 10, 13, 41, 56 and 63. They characterize the district today, and indicate the importance of this period relative to later ones.

Indeed, between 1800 and 1840, the population of Westminster dropped by 20% and Zaddock Thompson noted in the latter year that "...of late years, [the economy of Westminster] has been rather stationary, if not on the decline." Correspondingly, there are comparatively few significant buildings in the district from this period, those being the outstanding brick, late Federal style Dickinson House, #33, built c.1830, the Greek Revival/Gothic Revival style Congregational Church, #21, built in 1835, and a pair of identical, modest, late Federal style farmhouses #s 4 and 6, at the north end of the district, both built c.1830.

Like the rest of Vermont, Westminster became deforested because of its great investment in sheep husbandry by the mid-nineteenth century. According to Thompson's statistics, in 1840 Westminster had 1,739 head of cattle, 1,185 swine, 301 horses, and 16,976 sheep. (40) The sheep industry provided an adequate backbone for the economy until the crash of that industry in 1848 and 1849 due to congressional removal of a protective tariff on fine wool.(41)

Fortunately, the Vermont Valley Railroad was completed in 1850, and stimulated a general increase in economic activity. The small line was the final link between Burlington, Vermont and Massachusetts. Other spur lines soon extended to nearby Bellows Falls from Rutland and Maine.

Though no fortunes were made in Westminster as a consequence of the railroad, there being no major resources to exploit, commerce in general clearly increased and Westminster regained some of its importance as a center of trade and commerce. One indication of this progress is a mild population increase from 1,546 in 1840 to 1,721 in 1850.(43) Both the Greek Revival and Gothic Revival styles were introduced into the district during the 1850's and 1860's, the most notable example being #39, a combination of both styles. Numbers 2, 4, 5, and 46 are two simpler examples of the Gothic Revival style from this period. While #14 may be the only large house in the district dating to this period, extensive alterations has made dating of the structure difficult.

A significant vestige of this period are Greek Revival style door ways which were added to impressive Federal style houses in the district. Most notable is the doorway of #10, which displays paneled pilasters infilled with a raised, Greek key fret motif. More simple Greek Revival style door surrounds, consisting of wide fascia boards, appear most notably on numbers 13 and 41. In 1850 the Westminster Institute (also called the Ward Seminary), #43, was built and opened by Lafayette Ward, perhaps partly in response to the railroad, which could bring in students from all over New England.

Following the economic boost provided by the railroad, which was quite mild in Westminster compared with other Vermont towns, the economy again slowed, and diversified. The population dropped to 1,377 by 1880, and continued a gradual decline to 1,327 by 1910.(44) In 1880, Hamilton Child described the town much as it appears today, having "...one church, three stores, a carriage shop, blacksmith shop, schoolhouse, and about fifty dwellings. It lies almost entirely on one broad street..."(45) (The description includes the "Lower Street", which lies to the north of the district.)

Supporting the economy of this small town in the late nineteenth century was a diversity of activities, including tobacco cultivation, sheep grazing, dairy production, and a variety of small industries on Morse Brook, north of the district. Typical of this period is Henry S. Bond, who came to Westminster in 1872 and raised tobacco on rented land. In about 1875, he began utilizing local slate for a roofing business, and in 1884 built his modest house, #11‹the only house in the district with polychromatic slate roofing.(46)

Merino sheep continued to be raised widely, though not to be extent that sheep were raised prior to 1850, until the late 1880's, when the dairy industry replaced it. In November, 1888, the Valley Creamery Association was formed, and built a plant at Westminster (47), thus making the town a regional center for dairy production. Part of the creamery survives at the northwest end of the district, #49. In 1899, the Bellows Falls Times declared that "the Creamery is today the leading factor in the constantly increasing prosperity of families in Westminster, Rockingham, East Putney, Walpole, Alstead, Langdon and Westmoreland." In 1898, the creamery had produced 139,332 pounds of butter, and scored higher than all but one creamery in Vermont at the Chicago Exposition.(48)

Other, smaller industries in Westminster in the late nineteenth century, included William Penn Gage's three-story workshop built on a small brook north of the district in 1863. By 1880, it was locally referred to as the "largest manufacturer of hand-made baskets in the United States."(49)

Several orchards, for example, began significant production in the late nineteenth century, as did maple sugaring operations. In 1893, Reverend Charles Albert Dickinson, who lived in #33, started the New England Hattin Home for Boys in a former hotel just northwest of the district.(50)

Several vernacular houses date to this period, the most notable of which are the striking Lafayette Ward house, which displays an ornate tower and ell, and the Goodridge House, #35, a very fine example of the Italianate style. The latter is referred to in a late nineteenth century deed as the "Mansion House," (51) which indeed it is when compared with the other far more modest houses in the district from that time, such as numbers 11, 17, 35, and 37.

Even the most impressive building in the district, which dates from this period, the Town Hall, #57, reflects the modest means of the town at the time, for it evidently would have been more ornate had more money been available. The Bellows Falls Times noted in 1890 that "the architects original plans for the building had to be somewhat modified to bring the cost of the building within the appropriation..."(52)

Through the early twentieth century, the population and level of economic activity of Westminster remained steady overall, as the small diverse industries of the previous century continued and in some cases expanded. Very few significant buildings were erected during this period. When the early nineteenth century store built by Eleazar May was destroyed by fire in 1922, it was replaced by the very simple one today, #15. That the most significant residence of the period in the district is #28, a very modest example of the Four Square house type, attests to the quiet times that had set in at Westminster.

It was the quiet, and the beauty of the town, that attracted at least two men of wealth from outside Westminster in the early twentieth century. Henry K. Willard of Washington, D.C., bought the Bradley House, #55‹a family homestead‹in 1909, added the present Colonial Revival style front porch, and enlarged and electrified it. Two years later Bradley held a reception in it which was attended by 150 to 200 guests from Washington, D.C., Vermont and Massachusetts--perhaps the largest gathering of outsiders in the town since the Westminster Massacre. The Willard family kept the house as a summer retreat and made small contributions to the town, such as the watering trough now in front of the Town Hall, #57, but originally atop the hill at the north end of the district.

Another "summer person" to come to Westminster was Vermont born Texas lumber king George A. Dascomb, who realized his dream of starting an orchard in Vermont by organizing the Connecticut Valley Orchard in Westminster in 1911. The approximately twenty acre orchard was providing apples to New York City and all of New England by the 1920's.

It contributed significantly to the 16.3 acres of orchard and approximately 8,000 apple trees in the town at the time. Though Dascomb's orchard did not lie within the district, Dascomb had an important influence on the district through his generous donations to the town, the most notable of which was the Westminster Institute, #19, in 1923. The building is one of the three most prominent buildings in the district (the church, #21, and town hall, #57, being the other two).

The advent of motorized transportation assisted a few small Westminster business, due to the town's advantageous location for shipping. In 1934, for example, Gay's Express Trucking Company commenced operation, and by 1940, the Williams Brothers vegetable growing business, which was started in 1916, had fifty acres in cultivation, and four trucks for wide delivery. Similarly, in about 1945, Ralph Jones built the large, two-bay truck garage (#62) for his produce business. Also by the 1940's, most farmers were sending their milk to the Bellows Falls Creamery, thus yielding a once significant portion of the town's agricultural economy.

The influence of the automobile is represented in the district by two very simple examples of roadside architecture: the small John Stone Poultry stand, #31, built in 1936, and the Westminster Motor Inn, built about 1952, (non-contributing due to age). A third example, #27, was built as a gas station next to the motel, also about 1952, but has recently been remodeled, obscuring its original function. All three buildings are clustered at the southern end of the district to aggressively attract motorists as they first enter the village.

The district has suffered only one major loss in the past fifty years, that being a large, early nineteenth century house which stood on the site of #18, and burned in 1948. Alteration of historic buildings, however, such as replacement of siding, windows and doors, and in one case, the sand blasting of a wooden structure, continues to erode the architectural quality of the historic district. Nonetheless, a strong sense of the historic importance of the town survives today, as it always has in Westminster. The Westminster Massacre was commemorated in 1877 and 1901 by monuments in the cemetery, #66, and perhaps in 1889 as well by the Town Hall, #57, which resembles the old Cumberland County Courthouse, as seen in an engraving. Beginning in 1979, it has again been remembered by annual reenactments of the event at the town hall,#57, by Westminster sixth graders.(53) An active historic society, and the recent local effort to have the town listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will continue to ensure an appreciation of Westminster's historic resources.

FOOTNOTES:
1. Zaddock, Thompson, Natural History of Vermont (Burlington, 1842), Part III, p. 187.
2. Rev. F. J. Fairbanks, "Westminster", Vermont Historical Gazetteer, Vol. V, (Brandon: Abbey Maria Hemenway, ed., 1891), p. 564.
3. Hamilton Child, Gazetteer and Business Directory of Windham County Vermont, 1724-1884 (Syracuse: Hamilton Child 1884). p. 304/60.
4. Ibid, p. 304/58
5. Fairbanks, p. 565
6. Child, pp. 41, 304/59; Fairbanks, p. 568
7. Fairbanks, p. 566
8. Fairbanks, p. 563; "The Good Old Town of Westminster Has a New Town Hall", (Bellows Falls Times, January 16, 1890), p. 16 (Hereinafter referred to as: Town Hail).
9. Fairbanks, p. 576
10. Both streets appear as early as 1856 on McClellan's Map of Windham County. Numbers 16, 41 and 55 are all prominent, late eighteenth and early nineteenth century structures clustered at the intersection, #16 originally having been a store. School Street leads to Westminster West, while Grout Avenue leads to the Connecticut River--both important destinations from Westminster for which roads would have been needed by 1770.
11. As quoted in Fairbanks, p. 565
12. John W. Reps, The Making of Urban America (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1965), pp. 121, 138, 139.
13. Ibid, p. 124.
14. The Meetinghouse measured 56' x 40' (Town Hall, p. 16).
15. Ibid, p. 16; That the street was narrowed in the same year that the meeting house was moved is strongly suggested by the presence of several eighteenth century buildings on the west side of the street.
16. Fairbanks, p. 566.
17. Lyman Simpson Hayes, History of the Town of Rockingham, Vermont, 1753-1907 (Bellows Falls, Vermont, 1907 p. 204.
18. John M. Comstock, The Congregational Churches of Vermont and Their Ministry: 1762-1942 (St. Johnsbury: The Cowles Press, Inc. 1942), p. 32.
19. Child, p. 32; Fairbanks, p. 569.
20. Hayes, p. 205.
21. Fairbanks, p. 570.
22. Hayes, p. 205.
23. Ibid, p. 204.
24. Ibid, p. 203.
25a. Ibid, p. 563.
25. Ibid, p. 573/13
26. Hayes, p. 204.
27. Account derived from: Fairbanks, pp. 570-574; and Hayes, pp. 210-210.
28. As quoted in Child, p. 304.
29. Hayes, p. 222.
30. Thompson, Part II, p. 76.
31. Hayes, p. 204; Fairbanks, p. 571; Child, p. 33-34.
32. Thompson, Part III, p. 188.
33. Hayes, p. 745; Child, p. 304/60 Comstock, p. 142.
34. Fairbanks, p. 576.
35. Elizabeth Minard Simonds, History of Westminster, 1791-1981, (Westminster: Town of Westminster, 1983, p. 27.
36. Child, p. 304/67.
37. Fairbanks, p. 591.
38. Simonds, p. 184.
39. Thompson, Part III, p. 188.
40. Ibid, Part III, p. 188.
41. Charles T. Morrisey, Vermont: A Bicentennial History (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1981), p. 112.
42. Child, p. 46.
43. Thompson, Part III, p. 188; Comstock, p. 32.
44. Child, p. 304/59; Comstock, p. 32
45. Child, p. 304/60; Though today there is only one store, there is also motel and restaurant.
46. Souvenir Edition of the Bellows Falls Times, Devoted to the Town of Rockingham. Bellows Falls: W C Belknap & Co., April 8, 1899 , Pp. 24-25 (Hereinafter referred to as: Souvenir, Rockingham).
47. Simonds, p. 27.
48. Souvenir, Rockingham, p. 27.
49. Simonds, p.45.
50. Souvenir, Rockingham, pp. 27-28.
51. Simonds, p. 189.
52. Town Hall, p. 3.
53. Simonds, p. 203.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

A. General

Bellows Falls Times (Bellows Falls) July 1 & 8, 1929 (World War I Honor Roll).

Child, Hamilton, Gazetteer and Business Directory of Windham County, Vermont, 1724-1884, Syracuse, New York, 1884.

Comstock, John M., The Congregational Churches of Vermont and Their Ministry, 1762-1942, Historical and Statistical, The Cowles Press, Inc., St. Johnsbury, Vermont, 1942.

Fairbanks, Rev. F. J., "Westminster", Vermont Historical Gazetteer, Vol. V, Brandon: Vermont, pp. 561-636.

Hall, Alfred S., Address Delivered at the Marking of the Site of the Old Court House at Westminster, Vermont, September 17, 1902, Brattleboro,1902.

Hayes, L. S., Bellows Falls and Vicinity Illustrated, Bellows Falls, 1908.

Hayes, Lyman Simpson, History of the Town of Rockingham, Vermont,1753-1907, Published by the Town of Bellows Falls, Vermont, 1907.

Morrissey, Charles T., Vermont: A Bicentennial History, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1981.

Reps, John W. The Making of Urban America, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1965.

Simonds, Elizabeth Minard, History of Westminster 1791-1981, Westminster, 2nd ed., Published by the town of Westminster, Vermont, 1983 (1st ed., 1941).

Souvenir Edition of the Bellows Falls Times, Devoted to the Town of Rockingham, Bellows Falls, Vermont: W.C. Belknap & Co., Publishers, April 8, 1899.

Souvenir Edition of the Bellows Falls Times, Devoted to the Towns of Walpole and Westminster, Bellows Falls, Vermont: W.C. Belknap & Co., Publishers, July 1, 1899.

"The Good Old Town of Westminster Has A New Town Hall", Bellows Falls Times, January 16, 1890, p. 16

Thompson, Zaddock, Natural History of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, 1842.

Vermont Historic Sites and Structures Survey of Westminster, Vermont, 1974 (Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, Montpelier, Vermont.

"Westminster Charter and Records, 1736-1769" (manuscript, Westminster Town Offices, Westminster, Vermont).

"Westminster Deeds" (manuscripts, Westminster Town Offices, Westminster, Vermont).

"Westminster Property Tax Data Collection Cards" (manuscripts, Westminster Town Offices, Westminster, Vermont).

"Westminster Town Records, Liens and Miscellaneous", Volumes 1 and 3 (manuscripts, Westminster Town Offices, Westminster, Vermont).

Interviews:

Katherine Palmer, June 20, July 11, 1985.

David Wright, June 11, July 9, 1985.

J. Kevin Graffagnino (correspondence).

Photographic Collections:

Westminster Historical Society, Westminster Town Hall, Westminster, Vermont.

Putney Historical Society, Putney Town Hall, Putney, Vermont.

Wilbur Collection, Bailey-Howe Library, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont.

Maps:

"Map Formerly Made of the Subdivision of the Town of Westminster in the County of Cumberland .... recorded... 19th September 1774" (manuscripts, Westminster Town Offices, Westminster, Vermont and Windham County Courthouse, Newfane, Vermont).

J. Chase, Jr. McClellan's Map of Windham County, Vermont (Philadelphia, 1856).

F. W. Beers, Atlas of Windham County, Vermont (New York, 1869).

B. Individual Properties

#1 correspondence, Henry and Phyllis Anderson. interview, Barbara Greenough, July 12, 1985. interview, Henry and Phyllis Anderson, July 22, 1985.
#3 interview, Colleen Leavitt, June 7, July 24, 1985. interview, Malcolm Streeter, July 10, 1985. interview, Charles A Aiken, July 11, 1985. Newspaper clipping, dated February 9, 1933, in scrapbook, collection of Butterfield Library, Westminster, Vermont.
#4 interview, Myrtle Parda, June 10, 1985.
#5 interview, Mildred Freeman, June 10, July 24, 1985. interview, Myrtle Parda, July 24, 1985.
#6 interview, Gerald LeFevre, June 10, 1985.
#7 interview, William Holton, June 11 & 13, 1985. interview, Joel Holton, June 10, 1985. interview, Wilhelmina Holton, June 14, 1985. "Herbert Wheaton Congdon Collection, Carton Five, Folder 93" (manuscript, Bailey-Howe Library, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont).
#8 interview, Tony and Stella Kissell, .June 10, 1985. correspondence, Claire Torrey. interview, William Holton, July 11, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985.
#9 interview, Claire Potter~ June 10, 1985 interview, Robert Potter, June 15, 1985 interview, George Cote, June 18, 1985.
#10 interview Carol Courcier, July 9, 1985. correspondence, Sandy Reese.
#11 interview, Janice Mulligan, June 11, 1985. interview, Patrick Mulligan, June 18, 1985.
#12 interview, William Holton, June 11, 1985. interview, George Cote, June 18, 1985.
#13 interview, Linwood Larson, June 11, 1985.
#14 interview, Terri Lowe, July 3, 1985. photograph collection of Michael and Terri Lowe, Westminster, Vermont. correspondence, Claire Torrey. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985. newspaper clippings, dated January 18 & 19, 1940, in scrapbook, collection of Butterfield Library, Westminster, Vermont.
#l5 interview, Michelle Weeks, June 11, 19~5. undated newspaper clipplings, collection of Herbert and Michelle Weeks, Westminster, Vermont. interview, Frederick DeBell, June 19, 1985. interview, Eugene Metcalf, July 9, 1985.
#16 interview, Mary Leonard, June 13, 1985. interview, Katherine Palmer, July 11, 1985.
#17 interview, Thomas Mills, June 11, 1985.
#18 interview, Diane Bazin, June 11, 1985. interview, David Wright, July 9, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, June 6, July 11, 1985. interview, Gretta Wood, July 13, 1985.
#19 "Letter to the Citizens of the East Parish of Westminster, from the Board of Managers of the East Parish, August 1, 1922" (manuscript, Westminster Town Offices, Westminster, Vermont). newspaper clippings, dated 1924 and 1930, in scrapbook, collection of Butterfield Library, Westminster, Vermont.
#20 interview, David Wright, June 6 & 10, 1985.
#21 "Records of the First Congregational Society of the East Parish of Westminster" (manuscripts, Westminster Town Offices, Westminster, Vermont). Pliny H. White, A Sermon Preached in Westminster, Vermont June 11, 1867 on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Organization of the Congregational Church (Bellows Falls, 1867). Manual of the Congregational Church in Westminster, Vermont (Keene, 1900 200th Anniversary, First Congregational Church, Westminster, Vermont 1767-1967 Westminster, 1967 .
#22 "Records of the First Congregational Society of the East Parish of Westminster" (manuscripts, Westminster Town Offices, Westminster, Vermont).
#23 interview, Annette Safford, June 14, 1985. newspaper clippings, dated September 20 and November 7, 1940, in scrapbook, collection Butterfield Library, Westminster, Vermont.
#24 interview, Edward Cray, July 8, 1985.
#25 interview, Eugene Descoteaux, July 5, 1985. interview, Edward Cray, July 8, 1985.
#26 interview, Allen Lober, July 5, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985 interview, Edward Cray, July 8, 1985.
#27 interview, Eugene and Karin Descoteaux, July 5, 1985. interview Edward Cray, July 8, 1985. interview, Eugene Metcalf, July 13, 1985.
#28 interview, Eugene Metcalf, July 9 & 13, 1985 interview, Gretta Wood, July 13, 1985.
#29 interview, Peter Harrison, June 15, 1985. interview, Cora Jennison, July 10, 1985.
#31 interview, David Wright, July 9, 1985. interview, James and Barbara Holton, July 9, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985. interview, Eugene Metcalf, July 13, 1985. interview, Josephine Stone, July 15, 1985 (interview conducted by Betty Holton).
#33 interview, Charles Edson, July 9, 1985. interview, Richard Michelman, July 25, 1985. correspondence, Marion Berry.
#34 interview, Lewis and Edith Moore, June 15, July 27, 1985. Albert T. Bolles "Abstract of Title" (manuscript, collection Lewis and Edith Moore, Westminster, Vermont).
#35 interview, Vincent and Julianna Bukckholz, June 17, 1985. interview, David Wright, July 9, 1985. interview, James and Barbara Holton, July 9, 1985. interview, Lynn Fullam, July 10, 1985. photograph collection of Allen Lober, Westminster, Vermont.
#36 interview, Janet and Robert McIver, June 17, July 27, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985. interview, Eugune Metcalf, July 13, 1985.
#37 interview, Floyd Woodward, June 17, July 27, 1985. interview, David Wright, July 9, 1985.
#38 interview, David Murray, June 18, 1985. interview, David Wright, July 9, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985.
#39 interview, Michael and Linda Fawcett, June 20, 1985.
#40 interview, George Cote, June 18, 1985. photograph collection of Betty Holton r Westminster, Vermont.
#41 interview, Marjorie Hornbeck, June 19, 1985. interview, Katherine Palmer, July 11, 1985.
#42 interview, Charles A. Aiken, June 18, 1985.
#43 Catalogue, of the Officers and Students of Westminster Seminary For the First Three Terms of the Institution, November, 1850 (Windsor, 1850). interview, Phyllis Weltz, June 12, 1985. interview, George Cote, June 18, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 12, 1985. interview, Eugene Metcalf, July 13, 1985.
#44 Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Westminster Seminary, Westminster, Vermont, November, 1856 (Bellows Falls, 1856). interview, Nancy DiBernardo, June 19, 1985. interview, Allen Lober, July 5 & 9, 1985 photograph collection of Allen Lober, Westminster, Vermont.
#45 correspondence, Stephen Kerr. interview, Eugene Metcalf, July 13, 1985.
#46 interview, Frederick and Hazel DeBell, June l9, July 27, 1985. interview, Cora Jennison, July 10, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July ll, 1985.
#48 interview, Cora Jennison, June 19, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985.
#49 interview, Marcia Haines, June 14, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985.
#50 interview, Ralph and Signa Buck, June 18, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985. interview, Eugene Metcalf, July 13, 1985.
#51 interview, Gayle Kingsbury, July 1, 1985. interview, Carleton Greenwood, July 1, 1985. interview, William Holton, July 11, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 12, 1985. interview, Eugene Metcalf, July 13, 1985. newspaper clipping, dated September 16, 1937, in scrapbook, collection of Butterfield Library, Westminster, Vermont.
#52 interview, Kandace Bisbee, June 20, 1985. interview, David Wright, July 9, 1985. intervlew, Allen Lober, July 9, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985. newspaper clipping, dated November 11, 1937, in scrapbook, collection of Butterfield Library, Westminster, Vermont.
#53 interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985. correspondence, Woodbridge Fuller. correspondence, Winnifred Prior.
#54 interview, Parker Wade, June 19, 1985. "Boyden Grange No. 157 Records, September 3, 1909 to December 17, 1915" (manuscript, Westminster Town Offices, Westminster, Vermont).
#55 interview, Katherine Palmer, June 20, 1985. Frank L. Fish, "William Czar Bradley, 1782-1867" Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society for the Year 1926-1927, pp 103-124. Clarence R. Williams "William Czar Bradley" Dictionary of American Biography (New York, 1929) Vol. II, p. 576. "Herbert Wheaton Congdon Collection," (manuscript, [Carton Five, Folder 93] Bailey-Howe Library, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont).
#56 interview, Mae Kawaky, June 20, 198S.
#57 interview, Betty Holton, July 1, 1985. Historic Westminster., Dedication of the New Town Hall, Wednesday, January 8th, 1769-1890 (Bellows Falls, c.1890).
#58 interview, Donna Rice, June 17, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985.
#59 interview, Pauline Brennan, July 1, 1985.
#60 interview, Patrick Vondle, July 1, 19~5. correspondence, Gerda Horst
#61 interview, Pearson Dawkins, July 11, 1985.
#62 interview, Pearson Dawkins, July 11, 1985. interview, Charles A. Aiken, July 11, 1985.
#63 interview, Elsie Weiser, July 15, 1985. interview, David Wright, July 9, 1985.
#64 interview, Robert Byington, July 1, 1985.
#65 interview, Herbert Hall, July 1, 1985. interview, Katherine Palmer, July 11, 1985
#66 interview, Kathering Palmre, July 11, 1985. Mary R. Cabot, Annals of Brattleboro 1681-1895 (Brattleboro, 1922).
#67 interview, Stephen Foltz, July 2, 1985. interview, Malcolm Streeter, July 10, 1985. The News-Review (Bellows Falls) September 6, 1973. undated newspaper clipping, collection of Stephen and Kathleen Foltz, Westminster, Vermont.

FORM PREPARED BY: Matthew Cohen, Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, 109 Orchard Street, Somerville MA.(original) and David Ruell, 16 Hill Street, Ashland, NH (revision) Tel: not given. Date: August 27, 1985; Revised March 1988.

DATE ENTERED: July 14, 1988.
(Source 127)

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