16 Colchester Avenue

16 Colchester Avenue first appears in the Burlington City Directory in 1904 as The Heights, a boarding house, owned by Henry M. Lord, a janitor at Billings Library. [1] The house remained as such until 1911, when the Graduate Nurses’ Home bought the property from Henry M. Lord and his wife Minnie Lee Lord. [2] The Graduate Nurses’ Home housed The Graduate Nurses’ association of Burlington.

The Graduate Nurses’ association was established July 1, 1900 in order to create a “…permanent registry for the protection of the profession of trained nurses in and about Burlington of said County and State, and through the medical profession to supply the public with a corps of proficient nurses.” [3] For those who joined the Trained Nurses’ Registry, established by the Graduate Nurses’ Association, they pledged to “…work for the interest of the Registry;… [and] to allow no reasonable call to go unfilled when a trained nurse can be obtained.” [4]  

The association’s headquarters, when first organized, were located in rented housing at 25 North Union Street. They continued to rent 25 North Union Street until they acquired 16 Colchester Avenue in 1911. [5] The Graduate Nurses’ Association bought the building and all its lands from the Lords for $12,000 because they wanted a home suitable for their headquarters. [6] In order to pay this sum, they received a loan for $6,000 from the Burlington Savings Bank, and a second mortgage at 6 percent in trust of several of the nurses in varying amounts. [7]

The matron’s job was to receive annual registry fees from the members outside of the house as well as rent from those members who lived in the house, attend the door-bell and telephone in addition to supervising the house and grounds. Lastly, it was also her responsibility to receive all sums and have them deposited in the name of the association. Any other duties were to be specified in the matron’s contract made with the Board of Trustees. [8]  

The first matron at 16 Colchester Avenue was Miss Abbie M. Adams, who began her matron’s work in March 1903, and left in 1912 when she removed to the city. [9] No other matron is listed in the City Directory until Mrs. Fannie M. Stevens in 1928. [10]   Mrs. Stevens held the position until 1939, when she was replaced by Beulah M. Moulton in 1940. [11] Moulton continued as matron until 1943 when Mrs. Kate P. Martin took the job in 1944. However, Moulton continued to live in the house as a nurse at Mary Fisher Hospital. [12]   Martin remained in the position of matron until 1952, when Mrs. Olga Chayer took the postion. [13] It is unclear whether Beulah Moulton stopped residing at 16 Colchester Avenue in 1953 or 1954. In 1954, Nurse Elsie M. Thomas is listed as residing in the house. [14] It is also unclear whether Thomas stopped residing at the house in 1955 or 1956. Mrs. Chayer is the last matron to be listed; yet it is uncertain when exactly she left as well. [15] In 1961, a Nurses’ Home Annex is listed, but was gone by 1962. [16] The Graduate Nurses’ association continued to own 16 Colchester Avenue until at least 1977 when it is marked as being the Graduate Nurses’ Home (UVM); it is unclear when exactly they left, sometime between 1977 and 1979. [17] After the association’s departure, the house remained vacant until 1981 when the University of Vermont’s International Nutrition program, Natural Resources Department, Rural Studies, and Community Data Bank enter; they remained until 1983, when it became the Mathematic Statistics program, of which it still remains. [18]

Text and photo by Robyn Sedgwick