The
Ferdinand Beach house, built in 1870, located at 300 Maple Street, is named for
its first owner.1 The building is a two-and-one-half-story, simple vernacular
Italianate style residence that measures three by three bays and has an
irregularly shaped plan. It sits on a redstone foundation and is clad with red
clapboards and white corner boards that define the corners. A side hall
entrance located on the east side of the front façade is flanked by full-length
sidelights. On the second story, three windows sit directly above the first
floor openings. The fenestration consists of 2/2 sash windows. A
triangular-shaped gothic blind window is found in the front gable peak.
A veranda extends across the front façade and is supported by Doric order
columns. Single concave brackets decorate the cornice above each column. Corner
posts are marked with two brackets. On the west side, a second veranda,
with the same details, extends for three bays.2
The Carriage barn, also built in 1870, has been converted into a small, one and
one-half-story residence. It has a side entrance hall on the west side of the
gabled front and a second door in the gable peak, the original location of the
hayloft door. The building is similarly cladded as the main house in materials
and color. A shed-roofed dormer contains a tripartite window.3
The first known resident was Ferdinand Beach, undoubtedly a relative of
Sociates Beach who operated a prominent downtown bakery, and lived next door.
Ferdinand's widow survived him here in 1899, and then left in 1907. Mrs. Kate
Vaughn lived here from 1907-1940. The house was divided into two apartments in
the 1950's.
1-
Burlington City Directories, various years
2- Burlington Historic Sites and Structures Survey, Vermont
Division for Historic Preservation, 1977.
3- Burlington City Tax Assessors Records