College Street and Soldiers' Monument, Burlington VT. Postcard published by the Hugh C. Leighton Company, Portland ME No. 8397. Courtsey of Special Collections, University of Vermont.
College Street and Northwest corner of City Hall Park, Burlington VT. Taken by Samantha Ford on November 11, 2012.
College Street & NW Corner of City Hall Park
The buildings in this view are on the block of College Street that faces City Hall Park. The building in the left side of the photo is the T. S. Peck Insurance Company, which was founded by Theodore S. Peck in 1869.(1)
Theodore S. Peck was born on March 22, 1843 in Burlington, Vermont.(2) When the Civil War broke out, Peck enlisted and was promoted several times for bravery.(3) In 1865, he was mustered out of service and returned home to Burlington as a hero.(4) He continued to work in the Vermont National Guard and was appointed the Brigadier General in 1881.(5) His notoriety on the battlefield and several appointments made him well known in the Burlington area and helped foster a successful insurance business.
Today, the T. S. Peck Insurance Company is one of the leading insurance companies in the Burlington area.
The other buildings in this view are the B. Turk & Brothers Clothing Company, the Merchants Bank, and the Howard National Bank building is visible in the distance. This postcard does not provide a date but the Civil War monument, which was erected in 1907, is visible in the northwest corner of City Hall Park. This block burned down along with B. Turk & Brothers Clothing Company on January 2, 1946. Today it is occupied by a modern building which houses the Discover Jazz Festival main offices and the Northfield Savings Bank.
Other than the new building where T. S. Peck Insurance and B. Turk & Brothers Clothing Company used to be, little has changed in this view. City Hall Park remains the same, however the trees are much larger. A lamppost and fencing has been added to mark the corner entrance of the park. As with many recent street views in Burlington, cars line the streets rather than the occasional horse and carriage.
1. Charles E. Allen, About Burlington Vermont (Burlington, VT: Hobart J. Shanley & Company, 1905), 88-90.
2. William A Ellis, Norwich University 1819-1911 Her History, Her Graduates, Her Honor Roll (Montpelier, VT Capital City Press: 1911).
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Allen, 88-90.
