Bradford Village Historic District

DESCRIPTION:

The Bradford Village Historic District covers the business district of the village, the early industrial area around the falls of the Waits River to the south, and adjacent residential areas to the north and west. The site of the village is a narrow alluvial terrace which rises abruptly above the floodplain of the Connecticut River to the east.(1) The village conforms in layout to the linear north-south orientation of the terrace with most of its buildings along one north-south axis, Main Street. Near the-south end of the village (and the historic district), the Waits River cascades over exposed bedrock to the level of the Connecticut River, which it joins directly east of the village. The large open floodplain east of the village has remained undeveloped (except for recreational and agricultural uses) owing to its frequent flooding.

The need of suitable gradient caused the railroad (originally the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad when it reached Bradford in 1848)(2) to follow the floodplain along the Connecticut Valley and bypass Bradford village about one-half mile to the east. The Bradford depot was built about one mile northeast of the business district and marks the northeastern extremity of the Bradford Village Historic District. The former Boston and Maine Railroad depot [1] was built in 1890(3) to replace an earlier frame building which was then converted into the freighthouse. The depot, which itself has recently been converted into a store, is a 1-1/2-story, 5 bay, clapboarded, gable-roofed building with canopy supported by outriggers encircling it above the first story and an agent's office bay on the backside (east) elevation.

From the depot, the boundary of the Bradford Village Historic District follows the railroad track southward across the Waits River to the prominent escarpment which defines both the floodplain and the southeastern side of the historic district. The oldest existing building in the historic district, the Bliss Farmhouse [55], stands only slightly above the floodplain on a small bench at the base of the escarpment. The farmhouse was built probably in 1777 by Ellis Bliss(4); and it is a simple 1-1/2-story, clapboarded, gable-roofed house with a center chimney. Northwest of the Bliss Farmhouse on the opposite side of the Waits River the last of the early water-powered mill buildings stands at the base of the falls. Asa Low, who was a prominent local entrepreneur, built the former Grist Mill [54] in 1847 using bricks from his own kiln on High Street to the west.(5) The mill is a large 2-3/4-story, 5 bay, brick, gable-roofed building set on a high cut stone foundation at the edge of the river.

Another building owned by Asa Low and constructed in 1835 is the present American Legion Hall [59], which stands to the west of the grist mill near the head of the falls on South Main Street. Low also used his own bricks in this building, which contained his general store and printing shop. It is a 2-1/2-story, 6 bay, gable-roofed building with end chimneys and twin entrances on the main (east) elevation. A former portico on the front elevation has been removed.

Across Goshen Road to the north of the former Low store the former residence of Asa Low stands on a knoll overlooking Main Street and the valley to the east. Built probably between 1797 and 1807 by Col. Micah Barron and acquired by Low in 1824(6), the Low Mansion [53] is a large 2-1/2-story, 5 bay, Greek Revival clapboarded house. The main (east gable) elevation is distinguished by a 2-story portico with four Doric columns surmounted by a pedimented gable. A balcony is recessed in the gable pediment under a semi-elliptical arch flanked by small bull's-eye windows.

South of the Low buildings along South Main Street above the falls of the Waits River stand some of the older buildings in the district. Next to the Low store is the Sawyer House [60], a 2-1/2-story, Federal style house built in 1826 with a pedimented gable on the main (east) elevation and a verandah extending around the east and south elevations. Next door the Harry Stevens House is virtually identical but was erected 29 years later.[61]

Farther south on the same side of the street is the Strickland House [65], a clapboarded, 2-1/2-story, 5 bay, gable-roofed house built in 1807. Next is the Crafts House [66], a 2-1/2-story, 5 bay, clapboarded I-house built in 1785 with a portico on the main (east) elevation. The brick first storey of the Gamsby House [67] next door, a 5 bay, 2-1/2-story building with a front gable elevation, was built in 1807, the clapboarded second and attic stories being added later.

Southeast of the Gamsby House on the east side of Mill Street next to the Waits River is the Woodward House [68]. It is unique in the Bradford Village Historic District for being only one room deep in its main section, a 2-1/2-story, 5 bay, Greek Revival clapboarded structure built in 1833. The main (west) elevation displays a semicircular louvered fan over the gable window and a semi-elliptical louvered fan and sidelights on the entrance.

Southwest of the Woodward House on the west side of South Main Street the Zwicker House [71] defines the southwest corner of the Bradford Village Historic District. It is a 2-1/2-story, 5 bay, clapboarded I-house built in 1825 with an entrance porch on the main (east) elevation.

This end of the district is visually terminated by the clapboarded, 2-1/2-story, Farmers' Exchange Store [70] with a 2-story porch across its front gable elevation located in the triangular intersection of South Main and Mill Streets.

Along the southwest side of the district around the intersections of South Pleasant Street, Goshen Road, and North Pleasant Street, a group of Greek Revival houses stands on the hillside to the west of South Main Street. The houses include the Hopkins [72], Calvin Davis [73], Allen [74], Corwin [75], Warren Davis [76], and Low [77]. The 1-1/2-story, gable-roofed Hopkins House was built in 1839 of locally-made brick. The Allen House is the only stone building in the Bradford Village Historic District, built circa 1839 of horizontally coursed rubble slabs. The Calvin Davis House, built also in 1839, is a 1-1/2-story, 3 bay, clapboarded house with pedimented gable dormers on both slopes of the gable roof and an entrance porch with paired columns. The Low House (1850) is a 1-1/2-story, clapboarded, gable front house which was occupied by workers on the Low family farm immediately behind it. The Warren Davis House, originally a center chimney "Cape Cod," displays an elaborate Doric cornice across its front (north) elevation.

North of the Low Mansion stands the Dwinell House [52] on the southwest edge of the Bradford business district. Built circa 1824, it is a 2-1/2-story, 5 bay, Federal style I-house, clapboarded and gable-roofed with an entrance porch on its main (east) elevation. The doorway is surmounted by a semi-elliptical fan and flanked by sidelights.

The business district of Bradford village occupies a three-block area north of the former Grist Mill along U.S. Route 5 and Main Street. The Woods Library Building [56], which stands at the intersection of U.S. Route 5 and South Main Street is the focus of the south end of the business district. Built in 1894-95,(7) the library was designed by Lambert Packard of St Johnsbury, Vermont, in his adaptation of the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Owing to the sloping site, the building is 1-1/2 stories on its main (west) or South Main Street elevation and 2-1/2 stories on its east (U.S. Route 5) elevation.(8)

The library is of brick construction with rusticated stone sills, water table, and foundation on an irregular plan and has a polygonal north apse capped by a polygonal roof with projecting gable dormers, a 2-story octagonal tower with a belcast peak on the west elevation next to the main entrance, and transverse gables intersecting the hip roof over the main body of the building. One-story circular tourelles with conical peaks swell from the southwest and southeast corners of the building. The main gable entrance pavilion abutting the tower on the south has a round portal, the arch form being repeated in the windows on the transverse gables, the tower, and apse. Foliated terra cotta panels and finials provide polychrome ornament. Denticulated and decorative brick bands define cornice and belt courses around the perimeter of the building and crown the round arch fenestration. A granite public water box (one of three remaining in the village) is located at the point of the intersection between South Main Street and U.S. Route 5.

North of the library on the south corner of Main and Bank Street stands the Bank Block [47], a less ornate building designed by Lambert Packard. Built in 1891,(9) it is a 3-story, brick commercial block with stone lintels, sills, and foundation and a conical-roofed 2-story copper-sheathed turret on the truncated northeast corner above the main entrance. The southwest corner of the building is similarly truncated. The building displays considerable ornamental brickwork including a corbeled cornice and round arch hoods over the third story windows and a checkerboard band between the second and third stories. Two storefronts whose display windows are separated by cast iron pilasters occupy the ground floor on the main (east) elevation on Main Street.

Across Bank Street to the north along the west side of Main Street are two similarly scaled 3-story, brick commercial buildings. The Stevens [46] and Union [45] Blocks, built in 1884 and 1883, respectively, share corbeled denticulated cornices, keystoned segmental-arched third story windows, and rusticated stone lintels and sills. Both have storefronts opening onto Main Street. The cornice of the Stevens Block is punctuated by arches and is surmounted by a slate-sheathed parapet on three sides. Its main entrance takes the form of a round arch. Together the three commercial blocks present a uniform facade and cornice line along the west side of the street.

Opposite the three commercial blocks the buildings along the east side of Main Street display a different scale and architectural character. Four nineteenth century 2-1/2-story, frame buildings with front gable elevations [48-51] are flanked on either side by 1-story, flat-roofed stores constructed or rebuilt in 1947 following a disastrous fire.(10) The most prominent of the four nineteenth century frame buildings is the former Bliss Hotel [49], a clapboarded, 2-1/2-story, Greek Revival building dating from 1806. Its main (west) elevation is distinguished by a 2-story portico with balcony surmounted by a pedimented gable.

North of the business district the principal residential section of the village extends along North Main Street and contains a streetscape of architecturally significant houses, three churches, and the former high school. The predominant architectural style is Greek Revival, and several of the houses are built of locally-made brick,(11) possibly From the brickyard which formerly was located behind the Tompkins House [2] at the head of the street. The granite used for sills, lintels, and foundations in these brick houses was quarried in Fairlee.

The nucleus of public buildings­the three churches and the school­is located about halfway along North Main Street between the business district and the head of the street at Wrights Avenue. The oldest of the existing buildings on North Main Street is the 'Old Church' [99], the former Congregational Church, which now stands to the rear of the present Congregational Church on the west side of the street. Moved onto the site of the newer church and enlarged in 1836,(12) and in 1875 moved back from the street to make way for construction of the present church, the Old Church was originally built in 1793-95 on a site to the north of the village.(13) Converted now into a theater, it is a Greek Revival clapboarded building with a truncated pilastered belfry above the east gable peak. Its main (east) elevation displays Ionic pilasters surmounted by a pedimented gable sheathed with flush horizontal boards and louvered semicircular fans over the main entrance and former windows.

The present Congregational Church [28], which was built in a vernacular High Victorian Italianate style in 1876, is a much larger clapboarded, gable-roofed building. At its southeast corner the 116-foot "Town Clock" steeple with louvered belfry rises to a polygonal peak.(14) To balance it, a truncated hip-roofed tower with metal cresting stands at the northeast corner. Both towers display corner quoins on the first story and pilasters on the second. Projecting hoods over round-arched windows, a bracketed cornice, and a large finial with pendent at the east gable peak are the church's decorative features.

Diagonally opposite the Congregational Church on the east side of North Main Street stands the Methodist Church [25]. Constructed on its present site in 1849, the church was enlarged in 1859 and received its vernacular High Victorian Gothic style west front and corner steeples in 1874 apparently in emulation of the Congregational Church completed three years earlier. While both of the Methodist Church steeples rise to polygonal peaks sheathed with slate,(15) the southwest steeple rises to a height of 116 feet, with its louvered belfry, equal to its Congregational counterpart. The main (west) elevation and steeples are distinguished by pointed-arch windows and main entrance, the other elevations having flat-topped windows. Decorative features include a denticulated cornice, a finial on the west gable peak, and corner quoins on the steeples

Next to the Methodist Church on the south and set back from the street stands the former Bradford high school, the Woods School Building or Bradford Academy [26]. Designed by George Gurnsey of Montpelier, Vermont, and built in 1893-94,(16) it is a brick building with 2-1/2 stories on its main (west) elevation and 3-1/2 stories on the east owing to its situation on the edge of the terrace above the floodplain. A four-story tower with arcaded belfry rises above the southwest corner of the building to an octagonal peak. he hip roof is punctuated by projecting gable dormers and is surrounded by a corbeled and denticulated cornice. The main (west) entrance is recessed behind a rusticated stone round-arch whose form is repeated in small flanking windows. The lintels, sills, and foundation are also of rusticated stone.

The majority of the houses along North Main Street share several basic configurations of the Greek Revival style. Numbers 30, 23, 19, 17, 16, and 10 are 2-1/2-story, gable-roofed houses of brick construction with granite foundations, sills, and lintels, and, except for No. 23, with their 5 bay front elevations parallel to the street. No. 15 is 1-1/2 stories high and like No. 23 has a gable elevation fronting on the street. Interspersed among these brick houses are eight gable-roofed, 1-1/2-story, frame houses with front gable elevations fronting the street (43, 33, 24, 13, 12, 9, 8, and 2); three French Second Empire houses (34, 14, and 11); one clapboarded, 2-1/2-story, Greek Revival style house [37] with a 5 bay gable front elevation which is architecturally similar to the Low Mansion [53] but which lacks the monumental portico and was built some thirty years later, and one Federal style brick house which is architecturally similar to the street's Greek Revival style brick houses. While the street has suffered no damaging visual intrusions, the tree-lined character of the streetscape has suffered the loss of a large number of its trees. Some of the street's outstanding examples of residential architecture include the Governor Farnham House, the Congregational Parsonage, the Munn House, the Nourse House and the Curtis House.

The Governor Farnham House [34] is a 2-story, vernacular Second Empire style clapboarded building with a hip roof capped by a square hip-roofed cupola. The house, which was built in 1869 and occupied by a former governor (1881-82) of Vermont, Roswell Farnham, is marked by a bracketed cornice, bracketed hoods over the windows, first story window bays on the south and east (street) elevations, and a portico on the south elevation.

The only example of the Federal style along North Main Street is the exceptionally fine Congregational Church Parsonage [18]. Built of brick in 1834, it is a 2-1/2-story, 5 bay, gable-roofed house with gable end chimneys and pedimented gable sheathed with flush horizontal boards on the 3 bay west (street) elevation. Louvered fans ornament the pedimented gable end and surmount the first story windows and entrances below keystoned lintels.

The Munn House [15] is a 1-1/2-story, brick, Greek Revival style cottage with granite sills and lintels erected in 1853. Dominated by an expansive gable roof supported by a bracketed cornice, the house has an elaborate porch with a bracketed cornice supported by square paneled columns across the front (south) and east gable end elevations.

The only mansarded example of the Second Empire style in the district is the large Nourse House [11]. Built in 1874, it is a 3-story, clapboarded house with mansard roof and projecting hooded dormers. The north, east, and south elevations each display 3-story window bays and hooded windows with an entrance porch on the east (street) elevation.

To the north of the Nourse House on the west side of the street stands one of the finest examples of the Greek Revival style buildings along North Main Street, the Curtis House [10]. Built of brick with stone lintels, sills, and foundation in 1849, it is a 2-1/2-story, 5 bay, gable-roofed house with gable end chimneys. The house is oriented parallel to the street with an entrance porch centered on the main (east) elevation. Behind a 1-1/2-story brick ell on the west stands a large brick carriage barn with jerkinhead roof capped by a cupola. Erected in 1859, the Cove House [17], on the opposite side of the street north of the Congregational Parsonage, is almost identical.

North of the Curtis House, North Main Street is intersected from the west by Wrights Avenue. In the center of this intersection is another of the three granite former public water boxes remaining in the village. Wrights Avenue connects North Main Street with the parallel North Pleasant Street. The boundary of the district follows (or parallels) the latter street northward from Goshen Road and extends north of Wrights Avenue to the east-west line of Darby Brook. The boundary then turns southeastward and follows the brook behind the houses along the north side of Wrights Avenue.

Most of these houses are built in a vernacular Queen Anne style and date from the period 1882-87. The outstanding example is the Sleeper House [3] on the north corner of Wrights Avenue and North Main Street. Built in 1882, it is a large 2-1/2-story, clapboarded house with a hip roof, truncated on the east, with gable dormers on both the east and south slopes. A 3-story polygonal tower rising to a conical peak stands at the southeast corner surrounded by a verandah which extends along both the east and south elevations. The south elevation is marked by a 2-story window bay.

From the vicinity of Wrights Avenue, the boundary of the Bradford Village Historic District continues southeastward along Darby Brook to the Depot Street bridge. There the boundary turns onto Depot Street and follows it to the railroad track on the north side of the depot described above.

FOOTNOTES
1. Harold W. Haskins, A History of Bradford, Vermont. (Littleton, New Hampshire: Courier Printing Co., 1968), p. 13.
2. Ibid., p. 228.
3. Ibid., p. 407.
4. Ibid., p. 46.
5. Ibid., p. 380.
6. Ibid., p. 288.
7. Ibid., p. 298.
8. Ibid., p. 407.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid., p. 280.
11. Ibid., p. 109.
12. Ibid., p. 132.
13. Ibid., p. 125.
14. Ibid., p. 134.
15. Ibid., p. 141.
16. Ibid., p. 163.

INVENTORY OF HISTORIC STRUCTURES LOCATED WITHIN THE BRADFORD VILLAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT

1. Former Boston and Maine Railroad depot (Depot Street): 1890, 1-1/2 stories, 5 bays, frame, clapboarded (shingled under gables) gable roof, encircling canopy above first story, agent's office bay on East.

2. Tompkins House (North Main Street): 1840, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, 3 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 3 gable dormers on East, 1-story ell on East.

3. Sleeper House (North Main Street): 1882, Queen Anne, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, hip roof (truncated on East) with gable dormers on East and South, 3-story polygonal tower with conical peak at Southeast corner, bracketed cornice, 2-story window bay on South, veranda around East and South.

4. Parker House (Wrights Avenue): c. 1878, Second Empire (vernacular), 2 stories, frame, clapboarded, mansard roof with projecting hooded dormers, 3-story square tover at Southwest corner, bracketed cornice, Ionic portico around first story, window bays at Southeast corner and on East, 1-1/2-story gable-roofed wing on North.

5. Johnson House (Wrights Avenue): c; 1883, Queen Anne (vernacular), 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded (shingled under gables), gable roof with transverse gable on East, paired windows, veranda around East and South with circular pavilion (conical peak) at Southeast corner.

6. Craig House (Wrights Avenue): c. 1885, Queen Anne (vernacular), 2-1/2 stories, 3 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 2-story window bay on East, veranda on South, 1-1/2-story wing on North.

7. Winship House (Wrights Avenue): c. 1887, Queen Anne (vernacular), 2-1/2 stories, 3 bays, frame, clapboarded (shingled under gables), gable roof, 2-story window bays on East and South, veranda around East and South, 1-1/2-story wing and barn on North.

8. Conant House (North Main Street): c. 1870, Greek Revival with Queen Anne additions, 1-1/2 stories, 3 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 2-story tower with polygonal peak on South, bracketed cornice, 1-1/2-story wing and barn on East.

9. Jones House (North Main Street): c. 1871, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, 3 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, ornamental woodwork under West gable, porches on West and South, 1-1/2-story ell on South.

10. Curtis House (North Main Street): 1849, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays, brick (stone lintels, sills, foundation), gable roof, end chimneys, entrance porch on East, 1-1/2-story brick ell on West, brick barn with jerkinhead roof and cupola to West.

11. Nourse House (North Main Street): 1874, Second Empire, 3 stories, frame, clapboarded, mansard roof with projecting hooded dormers, 3-story window bays on North, East, and South, hooded windows, entrance porch on East, 1-1/2-story gable-roofed wing on West.

12. Blake House (North Main Street): 1856, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, transverse gable on South, bracketed cornice, entrance porch on West.

13. Nelson House (North Main Street): 1850, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 1-story wing on East.

14. Osborne House (North Main Street): c. 1866-76, Second Empire (vernacular), 2 stories, 3 bays, frame, clapboarded, hip roof, bracketed cornice, 1-story window bay on South, portico on East, 1-1/2-story gable-roofed wing on West.

15. Munn House (North Main Street): 1853, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, brick (stone lintels, sills), gable roof, bracketed cornice, 1-story window bay on South, portico on East and South, 1-1/2-story frame, clapboarded wing on West, barn on West.

16. Hale House (North Main Street): 1836, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays, brick (stone lintels, sills, foundation), gable roof, portico on East; 1-1/2-story frame, clapboarded ell on West, barn on west.

17. Gove House (North Main Street): 1859 (frame ell - 1811), Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays, brick (stone lintels, sills, foundation), gable roof, end chimneys, portico on West, 2-1/2-story frame, clapboarded ell with 2-story porch on East, barn on East.

18. Congregational Church Parsonage (North Main Street): 1834, Federal, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays on main (south) elevation with 3 bay gable end to street, brick, gable roof, pedimented gable on West with flush horizontal boards; louvered fans in gable over first story windors (semicircular), doors (semi-elliptical); keystoned lintels on first story, semi-elliptical entrance porch on South.

19. George House (North Main Street): 1850, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, entrance porch on East, 1-1/2-story wing on West.

20. Prescott House (North Main Street): 1860, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, entrance porch on West, 1-1/2-story ell on East, barn with cupola on East.

21. Porter House (North Main Street): 1849, Cape Cod, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, window bay on South, entrance porch on North, 1-1/2-story wing on East.

22. Methodist Church Parsonage (North Main Street): 1898, Queen Anne, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded (shingled under gables), gable roof, 2-story window bays on North and South, veranda on West and South, 1-1/2-story wing on East, barn on East.

23. Crook House (North Main Street): 1834, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, brick (stone lintels, sills, foundation), gable roof, recessed entrance with fanlight, bracketed canopy on East; 1-1/2-story wing on West with clapboarded gables.

24. Hay House (North Main Street): 1840, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, window bay under dormer on South, 1-1/2-story wing on West.

25. Methodist Church (North Main Street): 1849 (enlarged 1859, steeples added 1879), High Victorian Gothic (vernacula, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, steeples at Northwest and Southwest corners with polygonal peaks (slate), Southwest steeple has louvered belfry, pointed arch windows on West, corner quoins on steeples, 1-1/2-story wing on East.

26. Woods School Building or Bradford Academy (North Main Street): 1893-94, 2-1/2 stories on West, 3-1/2 stories on East, brick (rusticated stone lintels, sills, foundation), hip roof with projecting gable dormers, corbeled denticulated cornice; 4-story tower with arcaded belfry with octagonal peak at Southwest corner, ornamental gablets; main (west) entrance recessed behind rusticated stone round arch flanked by semicircular windows, paired windows on West, 3-story brick wing (added 1934-35) on East.

27. William Stevens House (North Main Street): 1840, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 2-story window bay on South, portico on East, 1-1/2-story wing on West, barn with cupola to West.

28. Congregational Church (North Main Street): 1876, High Victorian Italianate (vernacular), frame, clapboarded, gable roof; steeple with clock, louvered belfry rising to polygonal peak at Southeast corner; truncated hip-roofed tower at Northeast corner, bracketed cornice, projecting hoods over round-arched windows, corner quoins and pilasters on towers.

29. Old Church (North Main Street): 1793-95 (moved 1836 and 1875), frame, clapboarded, gable roof, pilastered louvered belfry on East gable peak, pedimented East gable with flush horizontal boards, Ionic pilasters; louvered semicircular fans over main (east) entrance, former vindows.

30. Burroughs House (North Main Street): 1828, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays, brick (stone lintels, sills, foundation), gable roof, end chimneys, entrance porch on East, 1-1/2-story ell on West.

31. F. W. Doe House (off North Main Street): 1851 (moved 1898), Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 1-story wing and barn on East.

32. Nelson Doe House (North Main Street): 1826, Greek Revival (gothicized), 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 1-story window bay on South, entrance porch on West, shed wing on South, barn with cupola to North.

33. Noyes House (North Main Street): 1800, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, window bay on South, portico on East, 1-1/2-story wing on West, barn on West.

34. Governor Farnham House (North Main Street): 1869, Second Empire, 2 stories, frame, clapboarded, hip roof with square hipped cupola, bracketed cornice, bracketed hoods over windows, 1-story window bays on East and South, portico on South, 1-1/2-story gable-roofed wing on West, barn on West.

35. Clarke House (North Main Street): 1851, L-plan, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, carved bargeboards on West gable, entrance porch on West, 1-story wing on South.

36. Hutchins House (North Main Street): 1865, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, window bay on South, veranda on West and North, 1-1/2-story ell on South.

37. Jenkins House (North Main Street): 1836, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, bracketed cornice, entrance porch on South, recessed entrance on East, 1-1/2-story wing and barn on West.

38. Sisco House (North Main Street): c. 1870, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, window bay on South, veranda on East and South, 2-story wing on West.

39. Nye House (North Main Street): 1834, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, porticoes on East and South, 2-1/2-story wing on West.

40. Judd House (North Main Street): 1831, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 2-story window bay on South, portico on Past, 2-1/2-story wing on West.

41. Young House (North Main Street): 1875, 2 stories, frame, clapboarded, hip roof, enclosed entrance porch on East, corner pilasters.

42. Healey House (North Main Street): 1850, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, entrance porch on East, 2-1/2-story ell on West.

43. Wilson House (North Main Street) : 1850, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, window bay on South, entrance porch on East, 1-1/2-story wing on West.

44. Former Edwards House (North Main Street): c. 1852, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof; first story converted to auto showroom circa 1928, sheathed with enameled metal.

45. Union Block (North Main Street): 1883, 3 stories, brick (rusticated stone lintels, sills), flat roof, corbeled denticulated cornice, keystoned segmental-arched windows on third story, 2 storefronts on East.

46. Stevens Block (North Main Street): 1884, 3 stories, brick (rusticated stone lintels, sills), flat roof, slate parapet, corbeled arcaded cornice, keystoned segmental-arched windows on third story, round arch main (east) entrance, 3 storefronts on East.

47. Bank Block (North Main Street): 1891, 3 stories, brick (stone lintels, sills, foundation), flat roof, corbeled cornice, truncated Southwest and Northeast (main entrance) corners, 2-story copper-sheathed turret with conical peak above round arch main entrance, round arch hoods over windows on third story, 2 storefronts on East with cast iron pilasters.

48. Former Post office (North Main Street): c. 1848, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, projecting pedimented gable (former columns removed), storefront on West.

49. Former Bliss Hotel (North Main Street): 1806, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 2-story portico with balcony on West, arcade on South, 2 storefronts on West, 2-1/2-story wing on East.

50. Former Doe Brothers store (North Main Street): c. 1851, 3 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, end chimneys, storefront on West, 2-story wing on East.

51. Former Tin Shop (North Main Street): c. 1850, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, storefront on West.

52. Dwinell House (Pritchard House) (South Main Street): c. 1824, Federal, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 1-story window bay on South, entrance porch on East, semi-elliptical fan and sidelights on main entrance, 2-1/2-story ell on West, barn with cupola to West.

53. Low Mansion (South Main Street): c. 1797-1807, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, pedimented gable on East with recessed semi-elliptical arch balcony flanked by round windows, 2-story portico with 4 Doric columns on East, 2-1/2-story wing on West.

54. Former Grist Mill (U.S. Route 5): 1847, 2-3/4 stories on North, 3-3/4 stories on South, 5 bays, brick (stone lintels, sills, foundation), gable roof with shed dormer on East slope, service entrances on 3 stories of main (north) elevation.

55. Bliss Farmhouse (U.S. Route 5): 1777, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, center chimney.

56. Woods Library Building (South Main Street): 1894-95, Richardsonian Romanesque, 1-1/2 stories on West, 2-1/2 stories on East, brick (rusticated stone sills, water table, foundation), hip roof with transverse gables on West and East, corbeled denticulated cornice, 1-story circular tourelles with conical peaks at Southwest and Southeast corners, 2-story octagonal belcast tower with peak on West, polygonal North apse capped by polygonal peak roof with gable dormers, main (west) entrance recessed behind round arch, hooded round arch windows, polychrome foliated terra cotta ornament.

57. Merchant House (South Main Street): c. 1880, double house, 1-1/2 stories on West, 2-1/2 stories on East, 6 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, entrance porches on West.

58. Former Waitsville Fire House (South Main Street): 1871, 1-1/2 stories on West, 2-1/2 stories on East, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, belfry on West gable peak, 2 entrance bays on West.

59. American Legion Hall (South Main Street): 1835, 2-1/2 stories, 6 bays, brick (stone lintels, sills, foundation), gable roof, end chimneys, double entrances on East.

60. Sawyer House (South Main Street): 1826, Federal, 2-1/2 stories, frame, composition siding, gable roof, pedimented gable on East, veranda around East and South, 2-1/2-story ell on West.

61. Harry Stevens House (South Main Street): 1855, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, pedimented gable on East, veranda around East and South, 2-1/2-story ell on South.

62. Warden House (South Main Street): 1847, L-plan, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof.

63. Elder House (South Main Street): 1847, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded (shingled under gable), gable roof, entrance porch on West.

64. Former Bradford Primary School (South Main Street): 1895, 1-1/2 stories, brick, gable roof, frame gable ends (shingled), corbeled denticulated cornice, belfry with pyramidal peak on center of ridge.

65. Strickland House (South Main Street): 1807, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, louvered transom over main (east) entrance, 2-1/2-story ell on West.

66. Crafts House (South Main Street): 1785, I-house, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, portico on East, 2-1/2-story ell on West.

67. Gamsby House (South Main Street): 1807, 2-1/2 stories on East, 1-1/2 stories on West, 5 bays, brick first story; frame, clapboarded upper stories; gable roof; 2-story frame, clapboarded ell on North.

68. Woodward House (Mill Street): 1833, Greek Revival, 2-1/2 stories (one room deep), 5 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, side chimneys; louvered fans over gable window (semicircular), main (west) entrance (semi-elliptical) with sidelights; 1-1/2-story wing on East.

69. Couillard House (Mill Street): c. 1855, Greek Revival (gothicized), 1-1/2 stories, 3 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, twin gables above first story window bays on West, lattice under gable peaks on West, pedimented arcaded entrance porch connects window bays.

70. Former Farmers' Exchange Store (corner of South Main Street and Mill Street): 1856, 2-1/2 stories, 3 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 2-story porch on North, 2-1/2-story wing and barn on South.

71. Zwicker House (South Main Street): 1825, I-house, 2-1/2 stories, 5 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, portico on East, 1-1/2-story ell with gable entrance porch on West.

72. Hopkins House (South Pleasant Street): 1839, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, brick, gable roof, frame shed dormers (shingled) on East and West (over main entrance), 1-1/2-story frame, clapboarded wing on South.

73. Calvin Davis House (South Pleasant Street): 1839, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, 3 bays, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, pedimented gable dormers on South and North, 2 window bays on East connected by entrance porch with paired columns, 1-1/2-story wing and barn on West.

74. Allen House (Goshen Road): c. 1839, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories on North, 2-1/2 stories on South, 5 bays, stone (coursed rubble slabs), gable roof, center chimney, bracketed canopy over main entrance; 1-1/2-story frame, clapboarded wing on West; barn on West.

75. Corwin House (Goshen Road): 1850, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, 1-1/2-story wing on South with second story window bay under transverse gable.

76. Warren Davis House (Goshen Road): 1851, "Cape Cod", 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, center chimneys, Doric cornice, 1-1/2-story ell and barn on South.

77. Low House (Goshen Road): 1850, Greek Revival, 1-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, portico on South, 2-1/2-story wing on North.

78. Braley House (Bank Street): 1881, Queen Anne (vernacular), double house, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded (shingled under gables), transverse gable roof, entrance porch on South.

79. Hale House (North Pleasant Street): 1855, 2-1/2 stories, frame, clapboarded, gable roof, end chimneys, portico on East, paired windows with bracketed hoods, 1-story wing on South, barn to South.

80. Prichard House (North Pleasant Street): 1810, 2 stories, frame, metal siding, hip roof, projecting bracketed cornice, bracketed hoods over windows, portico on East, window bay on North, 1-1/2-story gable-roofed ell on North, barn with cupola on North.

81. Dickey House (North Pleasant Street): 1857, Second Empire (verncular), 2-1/2 stories, frame, claphoarded, mansard roof wth bracketed hoods over windows which extend through cornice from upper walls, window bays on East and North, entrance porch on South, 1-1/2-story ell on South.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The Bradford Village Historic District is significant as an example of a well preserved and architecturally cohesive nineteenth century villagescape, which developed around an available source of waterpower on which it was dependent for its economic prosperity. The historic district includes not only the center of the village's initial development and growth along South Main Street above the falls of the Waits River but also the village's later nineteenth century commercial Main Street and residential North Main Street, both of which represent the village's continuing nineteenth century prosperity. Besides including a villagescape composed of examples of nineteenth century domestic, commercial, religious and public architecture representing a broad spectrum of vernacular architectural styles and building types, the historic district also includes three buildings designed by two prominent nineteenth century Vermont architects, Lambert Packard of St. Johnsbury and George Gurnsey of Montpelier.

Located around the falls of the Waits River a short distance to the west of the Waits River's confluence with the Connecticut River, Bradford Village lies about equidistant from the larger regional centers of White River Junction to the south, Barre to the west, and St. Johnsbury to the north. Originally bypassed in the late eighteenth century in favor of Newbury to the north as an inconvenient location because of the difficulty in crossing the falls of the Waits River and the inaccessibility to the steep escarpment around the falls, the falls eventually were recognized as an important and available source of waterpower. Consequently, the village's development pattern was confined to an axial alignment along the top of the steep escarpment west of the floodplain parallel to the Connecticut River valley. Beginning in the late eighteenth century a succession of dams constructed across the falls provided a regulated and continuous flow of waterpower to the villages developing industries and later nineteenth century mills.

The dominant figure in the village's industrial development was Asa Low. While only the Low Mansion, erected by Micah Baron on a steep bank immediately north of the falls overlooking Main Street and the floodplain of the Waits River and the Connecticut River valley to the east, the brick grist mill erected by Low in 1847 and the brick mill store erected by Low in 1835 survive as testimony to Asa Low's entrepreneurship, Low was also responsible for building another grist mill, a paper mill and two brick kilns besides several other diverse enterprises. In contrast to the loss of some of the village's nineteenth century mill buildings, the historic district includes a high concentration of residential and commercial architecture which reflect the village's nineteenth century commercial prosperity.

Along South Main Street above the falls are located a diverse grouping of buildings which reflect the village's late eighteenth and early nineteenth century development. The significant examples include the 1807 Strickland House (65), the 1785 Crafts House (66), the 1807 Gamsby House (67), and the 1833 Woodward House (68) besides Asa Low's 1835, brick mill store and the former 1895 Bradford Primary School.

The village's nineteenth century prosperity resulted in the village's growth along a north-south axis north of the falls with a densely built up commercial district along Main Street and a more spaciously oriented, tree-lined residential section along North Main Street. With the exception of the three commercial blocks, the Congregational and Methodist Churches, the Bradford Academy and the Woods Library, all of which were erected between 1876 and 1894, the predominantly Greek Revival style along Main and North Main Streets reflects the village's growth and prosperity during this period. Along with a scattering of clapboarded, 1-1/2-story, Greek Revival houses with front gable elevations and a variety of vernacular house types seven Greek Revival brick houses (30, 23, 19, 18, 17, 16, 10) of similar scale and proportion line either side of North Main Street. Spanning the years 1828 to 1859 and representing a local building tradition, with the exception of the Crook House (23), which has a front gable elevation and the Congregational Parsonage which also has a front gable elevation but which is stylistically late Federal, these gable-roofed houses are 2-1/2 stories high with their five bay front elevations parallel to the street and are, except for the Congregational Parsonage, trimmed with granite sills and lintels and sit on granite block foundations. The brick for these houses, as well as the brick for the 1-1/2-story Munn House, was made in a brickyard located at the head of North Main Street behind the Tompkins House (2).

Coupled with prosperity, increasing population during the second half of the nineteenth century brought the need for larger commercial blocks and public buildings. The first of these larger public buildings was the new, High Victorian Italianate style Congregational Church, completed in 1876 by a local contractor named George Farr. Not to be outdone, the Methodist Church added a new, High Victorian Gothic style front to their church in 1879 contracting Farr to do the work. In marked contrast to the Greek Revival scale of the former Bliss Hotel (49), the first two of the three large commercial blocks on the opposite side of Main Street, the Union Block of 1883 and the Stevens Block of 1884 dramatically changed the scale of the streetscape. Both of these blocks were also constructed by Farr. The Bank Block was erected in 1891 and completed the facade and cornice line of the streetscape on the west side of Main Street.

The architectural development of the village reached its culmination during the 1890's when the largest and most elaborate of the public buildings was constructed. Two prominent Vermont architects, Lambert Packard and George Gurnsey, were retained for the purpose; Packard to design the Bank Block for the Bradford Savings Bank and the Woods Library, and Gurnsey to design the Woods School Building. John Lund Woods was the benefactor of the two buildings named in his honor.

Under the patronage of the Fairbanks family, owners of the Fairbanks Scale Works, Lambert Packard almost single-handedly molded the architectural character of St. Johnsbury. His work there established a widespread reputation and resulted in commissions throughout northeastern Vermont. Working directly within the architectural idiom of H. H. Richardson, Packard's style, while restrained in the design for the Bank Block, was applied in full-blown effusion to the library.

While George Gurnsey's work is not as thoroughly documented as Packard's, he is responsible for several outstanding buildings in Vermont, designed mostly in the High Victorian styles of the late nineteenth century or an eclectic vernacularization of the Romanesque. The design for the school is unusual in that it is an exact but backwards duplicate in brick of a design he executed in 1892 for the wood frame South Royalton High School building located in South Royalton.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

Brainerd, Muriel, Elizabeth Miller, and Harold Haskins. A Picture Story of Historic Bradford Town. Burlington, Vermont: Lane Press, 1965.

Haskins, Harold W. A History of Bradford, Vermont. Littleton, New Hampshire: Courier Printing Co., 1968.

McKeen, Silas. A History of Bradford, Vermont. Montpelier, Vermont: J. D. Clark and Son, 1875.

Personal interviews with Harold W. Haskins, Bradford, Vermont on 17-18 March 1975.

FORM PREPARED BY: Hugh H. Henry, Researcher, Vermont Division of Historic Sites, Pavilion Building, Montpelier, VT. Tel: 802-828-3226. Date: 4/3/75.

DATE ENTERED: May 28, 1975.
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