HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM

Neither a five o'clock in the morning start time nor a drenching summer rain could deter a group of University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program graduate students and faculty from being on hand as one of the university's oldest historic buildings was moved to a new site on the Burlington, Vermont campus.

Johnson House originally stood facing the University Green at the corner of Main Street and University Place where the University of Vermont's Morrill Hall now stands. Built for Moses Catlin in 1806 as part of a twenty-two acre farm, it was sold to John Johnson, Vermont's first state surveyor, in 1809.

Johnson was an accomplished and prolific designer and engineer who oversaw the construction of numerous important buildings  and bridges in the northern Vermont area, including Grasse Mount (1804) and Old  Mill (1824-9) in Burlington.

The house remained in the Johnson-Allen family with only minor  changes until 1906, when the property was acquired by the University  of Vermont and the building was moved east several hundred yards to a new location on Main Street. The house was remodeled as living quarters for farmhands working on the nearby University Farm. The UVM Agronomy Department was housed here from 1928 to 1950.  During this period, a greenhouse was added on the southeast corner.

From 1950 to 1987, the building was used by the UVM School of Dental Hygiene.  Since 1987, the building was used for a variety of uses, including offices for UVM Police Services, the UVM Historic Preservation Program's Visual Laboratory Project and the Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

In 2002, John Johnson House became the home of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics. The Gund Institute will continue to occupy the building in its new location.

The current move of John Johnson House across Main Street to its new site at the corner of University Heights is the first big step in site preparation for the University of Vermont's new Dudley Davis Student Center. In accordance to permit conditions developed between the University and the Vermont State Historic Preservation Office, the exterior of the John Johnson House will be restored to its circa 1920s appearance.

UVM Historic Preservation Program Prof. Thomas Visser and several historic preservation graduate students have assisted the university with planning the move and restoration of the John Johnson House.

The 140-ton John Johnson House crossing Main Street early Saturday morning, July 9, 2005

 UVM Historic Preservation Program News