Untitled Document

30-32 North Champalin Street

By Keats Gallagher

On the 1830 Young map, there are only ten structures on the entire stretch of North Street, from North Avenue to North Prospect Street. Add to that another ten on the section of North Champlain Street in question, and we can see that this part of the city was probably still quite rural.Understanding this, we should consider the possibility that some of these structures may have been agricultural outbuildings. There is actually a good deal of corroboration that in 1830 the area of North Street was rural and removed from the main part of Burlington.(1) The clearest statement on this topic comes from W.S. Rann in his History of Chittenden County, VT. : "In 1827, there were not more than a half dozen houses north of Pearl. The only street beyond Pearl was North Avenue, which was inhabited chiefly by colored people in shanties" (2)
Nonetheless, there does seem to have been considerable development activity in the lower portion of the neighborhood (North Champlain Street), and most of that was probably connected to The Champlain Glass Company which opened in 1827. The map shows three buildings on the west side of Champlain Street. and two on the east side. We know that the complex of the Glass Works is "said to have been composed of about a dozen buildings located near the north-east corner of Park and Sherman Streets" (3) Also, land records may support the thesis that the present day 30-32 North Champlain Street contains elements of at least one structure from the Young map.

Land records from 1829 refer to a 1/4-acre site near the Glass Works on the east side of Champlain Street.. The transfer in question was a deed from Luke Thompson to John Peck, and it involved the land "along with the south half of the house now standing on the land... also a piece of land for a wheelwright shop on the west side of Champlain Street"(4). An archeological survey of the site, conducted in 1995, places the wheelhouse approximately where Monroe Street now goes east from North Champlain- a valid description of the property in question (5). Despite the confusing descriptions, there is fairly consistent mention of a house -possibly a double house- on this land. The present 30-32 North Champlain Street (this house has been substantially altered) may well contain the core of either the shop or house referred to. The Vermont Historic Sites and Structures Survey of 1996 concurs that this house is the one on the Young map, and indeed, footprint correlations through the years do appear consistent.

Notes

1 William Rann. History of Chittenden County, Vermont. (Syracuse: D. Mason and Co. 1886), 424. and University of Vermont, Historic Preservation Program. North Street Historic District. (online). Burlington, Vt. Available from the World Wide Web. (http//www.uvm.edu/~histpres/HPJ/NR/northstreet/nssig.html)

2 William Rann. History of Chittenden County, Vermont. (Syracuse: D. Mason and Co. 1886), 424.

3 David Blow. Historic Guide to Burlington Neighborhoods. (Burlington, VT. : Chittenden County Historical Society.1991), 2.

4 Prudence Doherty & Kathleen Kenny. Archeological Sensitivity Study for 25-31 North Champlain Street, Burlington, VT. (Burlington, VT; Consulting Archeology Program, University of Vermont. 1995), 9.

5 Doherty et al., 9.

Sources

Blow, David. Historic Guide to Burlington Neighborhoods. Burlington, VT.: Chittenden County Historical Society,1991.

Doherty, Prudence & Kathleen Kenny. Archeological Sensitivity Study for 25-31 North Champlain Street, Burlington, Vermont. Burlington, VT., Consulting Archeology Program, University of Vermont, 1995.

Rann, William. History of Chittenden County, Vermont. Syracuse: D. Mason and Co., 1886.

University of Vermont , Historic Preservation Program. North Street Historic District.(online). Burlington, VT.. Available from the World Wide Web.
(http//www.uvm.edu/~histpres/HPJ/NR/northstreet/nssig.html)

Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. Historic Sites & Structures Survey, Burlington. 1978. Collection on file at Planning and Zoning Department, City of Burlington, VT.

Maps

Presdee & Edwards. Map of Burlington, VT. 1853.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Burlington, VT. 1850-1978.

Young, Ammi B. Plan of Burlington Village. 1830. Special Collections, University of Vermont Library, Burlington, VT.

1	William Rann. History of Chittenden County, Vermont. (Syracuse: D. Mason and Co. 1886), 424. and University of Vermont, Historic Preservation Program. North Street Historic District. (online). Burlington, Vt. Available from the World Wide Web. (http//www.uvm.edu/~histpres/HPJ/NR/northstreet/nssig.html)
2	William Rann. History of Chittenden County, Vermont. (Syracuse: D. Mason and Co. 1886), 424.
3	David Blow. Historic Guide to Burlington Neighborhoods. (Burlington, VT. : Chittenden County Historical Society.1991), 2.
4	Prudence Doherty & Kathleen Kenny. Archeological Sensitivity Study for 25-31 North Champlain Street, Burlington, VT. (Burlington, VT; Consulting Archeology Program, University of Vermont. 1995), 9.
5	Doherty et al., 9.