<p>The Grafton Congregational Church, known locally as The Brick Church, is a historic church on Main Street in Grafton, Vermont. Built in 1833, it is a fine local example of vernacular Greek Revival and Gothic Revival religious architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Grafton&#39;s current Congregationalist  congregation now meets primarily in the "White Church" at 55 Main Street.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Grafton Congregational Church is located on the west side of Grafton village, at the junction of Main Street with Hinkley Brook and Middletown Roads. It is a two story masonry structure, built out of brick laid in common bond with headers every tenth row. It has a gabled roof, and a projecting gabled portico supported by antas (projecting pilasters) at the corners and round wooden columns at the center. The bases of these structures are soapstone. Windows on the building sides are topped by lancet-arched louvers, and a three-stage square tower rises from above the entrance area to a paneled octagonal spire.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1833 for the towns first congregation, organized in 1785, and was dedicated the following year. In 1859-62 the building was enlarged to accommodate increased membership, at which time its Gothic features were probably added. Despite a decline in the towns population, the church again grew with the construction of chapel (sometime between 1867 and 1883), which stands in front of (left, when facing from the street) the main building. The congregation united with the local Baptists in 1920 as an economic measure. As of the property&#39;s listing on the National Register in 1979, the combined congregations continued to share two buildings.</p><br>
<p>The Guilford Center Meeting House, formerly the Guilford Center Universalist Church, is a historic building on Guilford Center Road in Guilford, Vermont. Built in 1837, it is a well-preserved example of transitional Greek Revival architecture. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It is now owned by the local historical society as a community meeting and event space.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Guilford Center Meeting House is located on the west side of Guilford Center Road, just south of Carpenter Hill Road and the Guilford Free Library in the central part of the rural community. It is a single-story wood frame structure, with a front-facing gable roof and clapboard siding. Its front facade has a slightly projecting gabled entry, flanked by sash windows topped by lancet-arched louvers. The entry section has paired entrances, each flanked by pilasters and topped by a corniced entablature, with sash windows above, and with a fully pedimented gable. A two-stage square tower rises above the entrance, with lancet-arched louvered openings high on the first stage, and on the second, belfry stage. The stages are demarcated by crenellated parapets. The interior of the church is relatively simple, with semi-boxed pews arranged in three groups, and the pulpit at the far end of the sanctuary. There is a loft area above the entrance vestibule.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1837, using materials salvaged from an earlier meetinghouse. It was erected by a Universalist congregation at a cost of $2409, and represents one of the states earliest examples of Gothic religious architecture. Attendance at the church was always somewhat intermittent, and the congregations size generally followed a downward trend in the town&#39;s population. In 1977 the small congregation gave the building to the local historical society. It now maintains the building, and opens it to the community as a social and performance venue.</p><br>
<p>The Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel is a historic chapel, located in the Oak Hill Cemetery off Pleasant Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Built about 1885, it is one of a small number of 19th-century cemetery chapels in the state, and is the most modestly decorated of those, with vernacular Gothic Revival elements. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>Oak Hill Cemetery is located southwest of the main village of Bellows Falls, on a terrace of the eponymous hill, which rises higher to its west. Saxtons River Road (Vermont Route 121) is downslope, separated by a wide band of forest, and the main entrance is on Pleasant Street, at its northern end. The chapel is located at the western edge of the cemetery near its northern edge, which there abuts Birch Street. The chapel is a modest 1-1/2 story wood frame structure, about 20.5 x in size, with a gabled roof, vertical board-and-batten siding, and a 20th-century brick foundation. The front faces east, and has a single-story hip-roof porch, with turned posts, and there is simple Stick style woodwork in the roof gable. The facade is three bays wide, with the entrance flanked by sash windows, and a single sash window in the gable. Side elevations are also three bays wide, with a sliding shed door in the rear bay of the south side.</p><br>
<p>The interior is divided into two spaces. The front space houses the chapel, whose walls and ceiling are finished in varnished tongue-and-groove boards. The rear of the building is unfinished, and has always served as an equipment storage area; it is accessed via the sliding door on the south, and via an inside door.</p><br>
<p>Oak Hill Cemetery was founded in 1875, as the second municipally-owned cemetery in the town of Rockingham, of which Bellows Falls is a part. (The first cemetery, established 1845, was transferred to a Roman Catholic organization in 1878.) It was enlarged in 1883, and the town authorized significant funds for its improvement in 1884. It is believed that the chapel was built following this authorization, as there is no mention in detailed earlier records of its construction. The building underwent a major restoration in 1990.</p><br>
<p>The Old Brick Church is a historic church building off Vermont Route 35 in Athens, Vermont. Built in 1817, it is a modest Federal style brick structure that served as a church and civic center into the 20th century. Architecturally it represents a transitional period, built with the furnishings  of a typical 18th-century New England colonial meeting house, arranged on the long axis as was typical of 19th-century churches. It is now owned by the town, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Old Brick Church is located in a rural area of the small town of Athens, southwest of the town center, a short way north of Athens Road (Vermont Route 35) near its junction with Mill Hill Road. It is a 2-1/2 story masonry structure, built primarily of brick, with a wood frame back wall and gable ends sheathed in clapboards. It rests on a rubblestone foundation, and has a square tower projecting from the front. The walls are laid in Flemish bond to the top of the second floor, and there is wood framing above, including in the tower, whose upper exterior levels are clapboarded. The interior, originally a large open chamber with gallery at the rear, now has a full second floor, which was probably added c. 1860 amid other alterations.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1817 by the Methodist Society of Athens, founded in 1801. The society was part of a local circuit of Methodist congregations, and this was the first church built to serve them. When built, the interior included box pews, and a high pulpit with sounding board at the north end of the building. By the late 1850s, the center of Athens had migrated from this area to the northeast, including the construction of a new Methodist church. This building was then altered, removing the box pews and pulpit, and adding the second floor as an assembly hall for town meetings. In 1924 a local organization was formed to maintain the building, but was hampered by funding and only achieved limited repairs. The town formally took over the building in 1951, and continued to use it for town meetings into the 1970s.</p><br>
<p>Pond Road Chapel is a historic chapel on Pond Road, Town Hwy. #2 in Vernon, Vermont. Built in 1860, it is a well-preserved example of rural, vernacular Greek Revival architecture, with a virtually intact 19th-century interior. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Pond Road Chapel is located near the geographic center of the rural community of Vernon, near the junction of Pond and Huckle Hill Roads. It is a modest single-story wood frame structure, measuring about 34 x. It is topped by a gable roof, finished in wooden clapboards, and rests on a brick foundation. The clapboards are original, and are fastened to the frame with hand-cut nails. The main facade is three bays wide, with the main entrance flanked by sash windows. Above these, the main gable, fully pedimented, is finished in flushboard. Windows are topped by simple cornices, as is the entry. The interior retains virtually all of its original finishes, including plaster, wallpaper, chair rails, wide flooring, and period carpeting in the aisles between the pews. Original oil lamps are mounted on the walls. The fixtures of the altar area are also original, including an Estey pump organ.</p><br>
<p>The chapel was built in 1860 for a recently organized congregation of Advent Christians. It was used by them for regular services until 1909, when they moved to larger facilities in South Vernon. The building was transferred to the local historical society in 1984, which now maintains it; the congregation still holds occasional services there.</p><br>
<p>Miss Bellows Falls Diner is a historic diner at 90 Rockingham Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont. The diner was constructed in the 1920s by the Worcester Lunch Car Company as #771, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Miss Bellows Falls Diner stands on the southwest side of Rockingham Street, just northwest of the central business district of Bellows Falls. The diner is set parallel and close to the road, with a parking area to the left. It is a barrel-roofed metal structure, 16 by in size, its exterior finished in original enamel panels bearing the diners name. The entrances to the diner are at its ends, each sheltered by an added vestibule. The kitchen and bathroom facilities are located in a wood-frame addition to the rear. The interior of the diner retains original finishes, including walls finished in enamel panels and varnished wood, a polychrome tile floor, oak booths with Formica table tops, and the main counters marble and metal finish. The service area also has original features, including enameled refrigator cabinets and recessed menu boards.</p><br>
<p>The diner, built in 1941 by the Worcester Lunch Car Company, is the only known intact example of a Worcester barrel-roofed diner in the state. It was originally built for John Korsak and Frank Willie for a location in Lowell, Massachusetts, where it was called Frankie & Johnny&#39;s. Both Korsak and Willie were called up into the military for World War II, and the diner was sold to go to Bellows Falls, where it arrived on May 14, 1944, replacing an earlier diner on the site.</p><br>
<p>The West Dummerston Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge spanning the West River in Dummerston, Vermont, between Vermont Route 30 and Camp Arden Road. Built in 1872, it is at 280 ft the longest covered bridge entirely within the state of Vermont. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The West Dummerston Covered Bridge is located in west-central Dummerston, a short way north of the village of West Dummerston. It spans the West River in a roughly east-west direction, and is mounted on stone abutments and a central stone pier. The bridge consists of two spans, each supported by Town lattice trusses, and has a total structure length of 280 ft. The sides of the bridge are finished in flush vertical boards, and the ends are sheathed in wooden clapboards. The roof is of corrugated metal, laid over an older wooden shingle roof. The side walls have diamond-shaped openings cut in them to admit additional light.</p><br>
<p>The bridge was built in 1872 by master builder Caleb Lamson, and is the only known surviving example of his work in Windham County. It is the longest covered bridge entirely within the state: the Scott Covered Bridge in Townshend is 277 ft long, and the Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge (spanning the Connecticut River into New Hampshire) is the nation&#39;s longest, at 449 ft.</p><br>
<p>The Christian Union Society Meetinghouse, more recently known as the South Walden United Methodist Church, is a historic church on Bayley-Hazen Military Road in South Walden, Vermont. Built in 1825, it is a prominent local example of Federal style architecture. It is also notable for its association with a 19th-century religious movement in the region known as the "Age of Benevolence". The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The former Christian Union Society Meetinghouse stands in a rural area, north of the crossroads village of South Walden, on the west side of the Bayley Hazen Military Road. It is a two-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboarded exterior, and a foundation of stone and concrete. It is set on a steeply sloping lot, so from the front it appears as a single story, with the lower level almost fully exposed on three sides. A three-stage tower rises from the roof ridge, beginning with a square section with an open belfry. This is topped by two octagonal stages, each decreasing in size, and is topped by a bellcast cupola. The front facade is three bays wide, with sash windows flanking the entry, which is sheltered by a gabled hood supported by Italianate brackets. The interior is mainly the result of a late 19th-century renovation.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1825 as a union church, serving four different Christian religious denominations. It was built on land belonging to Leonard Farrington, an early settler of the area. Vermont&#39;s Northeast Kingdom was at this time undergoing an intense religious revival known as the Age of Benevolence, in which a large number of churches were built throughout the region. The design of this building is based on that of a (now demolished) church in nearby Danville. The membership of three of the participating congregations declined in the 19th century, and the building eventually came under the full control of the Methodists. It underwent major renovations in 1897, and again in 1975-76, although the latter were primarily to modernize the basement space.</p><br>
<p>The Methodist-Episcopal Church, also known as the Stannard-Greensboro Bend Methodist Church, is an historic church built in on Stannard Mountain Road in Stannard, Vermont. Built in 1888, it is one of the small town&#39;s few 19th-century public buildings, and a good example vernacular Victorian architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The town center of Stannard, a small rural community of northern Vermont, is little more than a crossroads at Stannard Mountain Road and Lazy Mill Road, with dispersed residences. The church, one of two municipal buildings in the town center, is located east of the junction, on the south side of Stannard Mountain Road. It is a 1-1/2 story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboarded exterior, and granite foundation. A square tower rises from the left front corner, with three stages separated by shingled skirts which have steeply pitched small walled gables. The ground stage has a secondary entrance, the second stage has a narrow louvered opening, and the third stage houses the belfry, with paired louvered openings. The tower is capped by a pyramidal roof with bands of multicolored slate shingles. The main facade is three bays wide, with a center entrance flanked by windows, each set in Gothic-arched openings. The interior of the church is virtually unaltered since its construction.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1888, and is, along with the nearby Stannard Schoolhouse (now the town hall), one of its only public buildings. It was built on land donated by a citizen, on condition that it be used at least once per year for religious services. This annual event is now part of an "old home day" celebration.</p><br>
<p>The Toll House is a historic toll house at 2028 Mountain Road in Burke, Vermont. It was built in 1940-41 by crews of the Civilian Conservation Corps as an administrative headquarters for Darling State Park, and as a toll house for the Burke Mountain Road. It is one of the state&#39;s finest examples of CCC architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The former Toll House is located in a rural setting on the north slope of Burke Mountain, on the west side of Mountain Road east of the Burke Mountain Academy. It is a two-story structure, with a rusticated stone first floor and squared log construction on the second. It is covered by a gabled roof. There are two flanking 1-1/2 story wings, set back from the main block, with similary styling. The wing nearest the street originally housed the toll facilities for the mountain road and caretaker&#39;s quarters, while the main block was designed for public access and offices of the park administration.</p><br>
<p>Land that made up Darling State Forest was purchased beginning in 1904 by Elmer Darling, owner of the Darling Estate, a large gentlemans farm and country estate on an adjacent ridge. After his death in 1931, his heirs gave the property on Burke Mountain to the state. Darling built a carriage road to the summit of Burke Mountain about 1910, which was improved in part by the CCC in the 1930s, when other park facilities, including construction of this house, took place. The house remained state property until 1969, when it was sold to the operators of the Burke Mountain Ski Area. They used the building for administrative and residential purposes until 2000, when it was sold into private ownership following the ski areas bankruptcy.</p><br>
<p>The First Baptist Church is a historic church located at 81 St. Paul Street in Burlington, Vermont. Built in 1864, it is a significant example of early Italianate ecclesiastical architecture in the state. It was designed by Boston architect John Stevens. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>The First Baptist Church is located in central Burlington, on the west side of St. Paul Street south of Bank Street. It is a rectangular two-story structure, with a timber frame and red brick exterior built on a red stone foundation. A three-story tower projects from the center of the front facade, topped by a distinctive multistage copper-clad steeple. The building&#39;s Italianate features include brackets in the gable and eaves, and round-headed windows on the second level. The front building corners and the tower have shallow buttresses. The interior is reflective of later alterations, and is less ornate than when it was originally built.</p><br>
<p>The Baptist Society of Burlington was organized in 1830, the first Baptist services having been held in the city in 1822. They first met in rented space, before building their own edifice at Main and Church Streets in 1845. Having outgrown that space, they commissioned Thomas Hill of Saco, Maine to build a larger building for them. Finding issues with the new design, he recommended John Stevens of Boston, who produced the design for the present building. It was dedicate on December 15, 1864.</p><br>
<p>The First Methodist Church of Burlington is a historic church located at 21 Buell Street  in Burlington, Vermont. Built in 1869 to a design by Alexander R. Esty, it is the city&#39;s only example of ecclesiastical Romanesque Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>Burlington&#39;s First Methodist Church stands in downtown Burlington, at the southeast corner of Buell Street and South Winooski Avenue. It is a large masonry structure, built out of red sandstone with trim from the quarries of Isle La Motte. It is basically rectangular in shape, with a gabled roof and a square tower 147 ft in height at its northwest corner. The styling is basically Gothic, although instead of Gothic lancet windows, most of the windows have a round-arch top, giving the building an overall Romanesque feel. Bays on the sidewalls are articulated by buttresses, as are the corners of the tower, which rises to an square louvered belfry and octagonal steeple. The church is connected at the rear via a connecting addition to its parsonage.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1869, on the site of Burlington&#39;s first Methodist church, which was built in 1834. It was designed by Massachusetts architect Alexander R. Esty, who is best known for a number of Gothic designs in that state. The parsonage was added in the early 20th century, using similar materials and styling, replacing the previous parsonage, which stood where Buell Street now runs. The stained glass windows were designed by J.M. Cook of Boston.</p><br>
<p>The Howard Mortuary Chapel is a historic chapel located at 455 North Avenue on the grounds of Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington, Vermont. Built in 1882, the chapel was designed in the High Victorian Gothic style by Alfred Benjamin Fisher, on cemetery grounds designed by E. C. Ryer in 1871. It was given to the City of Burlington by Hannah Louisa Howard. The chapel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>Lakeview Cemetery is located north of downtown Burlington, between North Avenue and Burlington Bay. The Howard Chapel is located near the road, just south of the cemetery&#39;s main entrance. It is a masonry structure, built mainly out of Monkton quartzite, known locally as redstone. The redstone has an ashlar finish, and is laid in courses, with gray limestone trim. Its Gothic features include buttresses, lancet-arched windows, and a steeply pitched purple slate roof. Its east-facing gable rises to include a bellcote with a lancet-arched opening.</p><br>
<p>The chapel was built in 1882, funded by Hannah Louisa Howard, the daughter of successful hotelier John Howard, and a local philanthropist who generally concentrated her giving towards helping the disadvantaged of the city. Her gifts include those to the Home for Destitute Children, the Louisa Howard Mission and the Burlington Cancer Relief Association, as well as scholarships to attend the University of Vermont for poor students. It was designed by Alfred Benjamin Fisher, one of the city&#39;s leading architects of the period, and is a prominent local example of High Gothic Victorian architecture.</p><br>
<p>The chapel was used for memorial services until the 1940s, when it fell into disuse except for the storage of caskets. In the early 1990s, a "Friends of the Chapel" organization began fundraising efforts with the intention of rehabilitating the structure and returning it to use for services. Donations and grants paid for extensive repairs and improvements, including new heating and electrical service, repointing stonework, roof and window repairs, repainting interior woodwork, repairs to interior plaster, and repainting of the intricate stenciling on the interior of the building. Restoration work was completed in 2006, and the building was re-dedicated on July 30 of that year.</p><br>
<p>The Methodist Episcopal Church of Winooski, also known as the Winooski United Methodist Church, is an historic Methodist church building located at 24 West Allen Street in Winooski, Vermont. It was built in 1918, and is a significant local example of vernacular Carpenter Gothic architecture. On March 2, 2001, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>The Winooski United Methodist Church stands in downtown Winooski, at the southwest corner of West Allen and Follett Streets. It is a large single-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof. Its exterior is clad in a combination of wooden clapboards and shingles, some the latter cut in decorative patterns. A square tower rises through the left side of the roof, with tripart louvered openings in the belfry stage and a truncated hip roof at the top. The main facade is roughly symmetrical, with recessed lancet-arched porches at the corners and a large lancet stained-glass window at the center. The left porch houses the main entrance, which is a double door topped by a lancet stained-glass window, while the right porch houses a smaller secondary entrance.</p><br>
<p>Winooskis Methodist congregation was formally organized in 1847, having been affiliated with the churchs Burlington chapter since early Methodist preaching began in the area in the 1830s. The congregation had by 1860 raised sufficient funds for a church, which was built on the present site. That church burned down in 1917, and the present church was built the following year.</p><br>
<p>The Richmond Congregational Church is a historic church at 20 Church Street in Richmond, Vermont, United States. Built in 1903-04, it is a significant local example of Colonial Revival architecture, designed by prominent Vermont architect Walter R. B. Willcox. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The congregation is affiliated with the United Church of Christ; the minister is Rev. Katelyn Macrae.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>The Richmond Congregation Church stands in the town&#39;s main village, at the northwest corner of Church and Bridge Streets. It is a two story wood frame structure, with a basically cruciform plan. The main gable is oriented to face Bridge Street, while flanking hip-roof sections extend to the sides. At the rear, a hyphen attached to the northwest corner joins the church to its parish hall. The exterior is finished in a combination of wooden shingles and vinyl siding that closely resembles wooden clapboards. At the southwest corner of the cross, a square tower rises to an open belvedere and a flared pyramidal roof. To its left is the main entrance, sheltered by a gable-roofed porch with clustered square columns. The main gable end has a large multi-section stained glass window, with Palladian-style flanking sash windows that also have stained elements, with a transom pane above the moving sashes.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1903, during a period of significant growth in the town, occasioned by the recent construction of the Richmond Underwear Company factory. It was designed by Burlington architect Walter R.B. Willcox, then one of the few architects practicing in the state. Although the church has many fundamentally Colonial Revival features (including the porch architecture, basic cruciform symmetry, and the use of Palladian windows), it has often been classified as Queen Anne, owing to its asymmetrical appearance and mixed use of exterior finishes. The parish hall was added in 1984, and is in a sympathetic Colonial Revival style, designed by Burlington architect Donald Albertson.</p><br>
<p>Williston Congregational Church is a historic church in the center of Williston Village on United States Route 2 in Williston, Vermont. Built in 1832 and the interior restyled in 186o, this brick church is a fine local example of Gothic Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Williston Congregational Church is set prominently in the village center of Williston, on the north side of US 2, opposite the town hall. It is a single-story brick structure, with a gabled roof and redstone foundation. A three-stage wood-frame tower rises from the roof ridge, with a square first stage, and two louvered octagonal stages capped by a cupola. The front facade is three bays wide, each defined by a recessed Gothic-arched brick panel. The outer bays house windows, and the center one houses the main entrance. A gothic arched window, is set in the gable above the entrance. Similar windows are found on the sides of the building. The interior has a large chamber with a gallery at the rear. The walls are lined with windows articulated by pilasters, and it has a flat ceiling, with a heavy plaster cornice and elaborate molded chandelier medalion in the center of the ceiling mdd.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1832 for a congregation founded in 1800. Its interior is the result of an 1860 remodeling. The bell was manufactured in 1878 by the Troy Foundry Bell Works of Troy, New York. The church was closed and shuttered in 1899 and remained so until 1963 when a movement was started by the youth of the town, led by Mark Hutchins, to open and restore it. A lightning strike in 2007 destroyed the upper two octagonal belfry tiers and the orginal bell. The belfry was duplicated and another period bell installed by the Town of Williston, which owns the building. A remodel of the basement and a small rear addition now provide bathroom, kitchen and meeting spaces for the public.</p><br>
<p>The Enosburg Congregational Memorial Church is a historic church on Boston Post Road in Enosburg, Vermont. Built in 1820 and expanded fifty years later, it is a prominent example of ecclesiastical Italianate architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Enosburg Congregational Memorial Church stands in the rural crossroads hamlet of Enosburg Center, on the east side of Boston Post Road south of its junction with Grange Hall and Nichols Roads. It is a single story wood frame structure, three bays wide and three deep, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. A square tower projects from the center of the main facade, rising unadorned to a point above the roof ridge, where three sides have blind oculus panels below an entablature and cornice. Above the cornice is a shallow roof around the smaller belfry, which has round-arch louvered openings below a cornice. Above that rises an eight-sided steeple, set on an eight-sided base. The main entrance is in the ground floor of the tower, set under a hood with Italianate brackets. Windows are tall and narrow, set in segmented arch openings.</p><br>
<p>The Enosburg Congregational Church was established in 1811, and its first permanent sanctuary was built on this site in 1820, shared by the local Episcopal Church. The latter congregation left in 1821, building its own church elsewhere in the town. The Congregationalists grew in number, and their church underwent major repairs in 1849-50. By 1870 the space was acknowledged to be too small, and the building was transformed into its present appearance at a cost of about $10,000. Significant alterations included raising the tower to include a belfry and steeple, and an addition to the rear to enlarge the sanctuary. This work was all done when the congregation was near its height in terms of size.</p><br>
<p>The Swanton Christian Church, formerly the First Congregational Church of Swanton, Old Brick Meetinghouse, and New Wine Christian Fellowship is a historic church at 7 Academy Street in the village of Swanton, Vermont. Built in 1823 and remodeled in 1869, it is a prominent landmark in the village, and a fine local example of Italianate styling on a Federal period building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>The Swanton Christian Church building is prominently situated at the southern end of the Swanton village green, between the former Swanton Academy building (now housing town offices) and the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church parish hall. It is a brick building, three bays wide and five deep, with a gabled roof. A tower rises from the front roofline, beginning with a square base housing a clock. It is topped by an extended modillioned cornice, above which is an octagonal belfry. Each facade of the belfry stage is topped by a bracketed low-pitch gable, and a narrow steeple rises above. The center bay of the main facade is a gabled projection, with the main entrance set in a tall segmented-arch opening. Windows in the flanking bays and the sides are also set in segmented-arch openings.</p><br>
<p>Swanton was incorporated in 1790, and its town center was laid out in 1803. Its Congregational Society was organized in 1801, and met in schoolhouses and other local buildings until 1817, when the society built a union meetinghouse with the local Baptist congregation. The present brick church was built in 1823 by a union of four different congregations. The Methodist ended their use of the building in 1848, the Quakers in 1865, and the Congregational Society purchased the interest of the Methodists in 1867. Over the next two years, the building was enlarged and given its present Italianate styling. The building is now occupied by a non-denominational Christian congregation.</p><br>
<p>The Fletcher Union Church, also known as the Fletcher Community House, is a historic former church building on TH 1  in Fletcher, Vermont. Built in 1871, it is one of only a few public public buildings in the small community, and has for over a century been a secular community meeting space. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The former Fletcher Union Church stands in a rural area of Fletcher, prominently visible on a rise at a bend in Cambridge Road east of Fairfax Road. It is a single-story wood frame structure, set on a stone foundation whose rear is exposed on the sloping lot. It has a gabled roof with slightly elongated eaves, and its exterior is clapboarded. A square tower projects at the center of the front facade, rising through a tall and plain first stage to a smaller square louvered belfry stage capped by a shallow-pitch pyramidal roof. The main entrance is at the base of the tower, with a sash window above. The interior begins with a vestibule area, from which stairs rise to a gallery. The main hall has a stage at the far end, added in 1919. The basement houses a kitchen, bathrooms, and a dining or meeting space.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1871 by N.R. Bingham, a prominent regional master builder. It was a replacement for the town&#39;s first church, built in 1830 across the street from this location. Both the original and this church were union churches, built to provide facilities shared by a number of congregations. The last documented use of the building for religious purposes was in 1899, by a Universalist group. The town took over the building in 1908, converting it into a community meeting house. It has been used for community meetings, social events, and meetings of the local Grange chapter.</p><br>
<p>The Georgia Plain Baptist Church is a historic church at 1493 Stonebridge Road in Georgia, Vermont. Built in 1877 for a congregation established in 1793, it is a well-preserved example of High Gothic Victorian architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The congregation is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches of Vermont and New Hampshire.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Georgia Plain Baptist Church stands in the rural crossroads village of Georgia Plains in southwestern Georgia, on the west side of Stonebridge Road near its junction with Plains Road. It is a single-story brick building, built out of red brick laid in English bond, with sand-colored brick trim. The main block has a steeply pitched gable roof, and is fronted by a three-part facade. The right element of the facade is the main tower, rising as a buttressed square to a louvered belfry at the base of the slate-clad steeple. The main entrance is in its base, set in a Gothic arched opening, with a small lancet window above. The left element of the facade is a lower gabled section, with a less ornate secondary entrance. The central part of the facade houses a large stained glass Gothic-arched window. The interior retains many original features, including carved woodwork, a pressed metal ceiling, and original lighting fixtures.</p><br>
<p>The Georgia Baptists were organized in 1793, and were the towns second religious congregation after the Congregationalists. They at first met for many years in Georgias town hall, before building their first church at this site in 1848. That church burned down in 1876, and this church was completed the following year. The congregation is distinctive for ordaining the first female pastor of any denomination in the state of Vermont, Rev. Grace Brooks in 1919. The congregation&#39;s longest-serving and most influential minister was the Rev. Alvah Sabin, a Georgia native and United States Representative who was pastor for 53 years.</p><br>
<p>The Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic church at 25 Grand Avenue in the village of Swanton, Vermont. Built in 1895, it is an architecturally distinctive example of Queen Anne architecture executed in brick. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Swanton Methodist Episcopal Church faces Swantons village green, between the post office and the public library on the east side of Grand Avenue. It is a 2-1/2 story brick building, with a gabled roof and black marble foundation. It has an asymmetrical facade, with a projecting square tower at the left corner. The towers lower stages are brick with corner buttresses, while the upper levels are framed in wood. A belfry stage has open rounded arches capped by gables, and the tower is topped by a mansard roof. The main facade has rounded-arch openings for both doors and windows, with entrances in the tower base and at its center. Above the main entrance is a large stained glass window. Rounded arch windows are also found on the upper level of the sides.</p><br>
<p>Swantons Methodist congregation has a history beginning with a circuit-riding priest in 1806, who led services in the local schoolhouse. The congregation was formally organized in 1815, and met in a building owned by Elisha Barney, a local mill owner. From 1822 until 1847 the congregation met in a union church shared with three other congregations. Its first dedicated church was built on this site in 1847 and replaced by a larger building in 1886. The present church was built in 1895 after that building was destroyed by a fire begun in a nearby hotel. The previous buildings pews and several stained glass windows were saved from destruction.</p><br>
<p>Holy Trinity Episcopal Church also known as Holy Trinity Memorial Church is an historic Episcopal church building located at 38 Grand Avenue in the village of Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont. Built in 1876 and expanded in 1909-10, the church facilities include a fine example of the Carpenter Gothic in the older section , and the Late Victorian Gothic Revival in the newer section. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Parish of the Holy Trinity in 2001. The church is an active parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont; its current rector is the Rev. Reid D. Farrell.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>The Holy Trinity Church stands in the center of Swanton village, at the southern end of the village green, next to the Swanton Christian Church and the town hall. The main body of the church is oriented to face the green across Academy Street, while the parish hall, its former building, is angled to face Grand Avenue, with the rectory to its east. Both have steeply pitched roofs. The main sanctuary is a stone structure, built out of locally quarried red and purple marble. It has high-style Gothic Revival features including a buttressed square tower with a crenellated flat top, and a large Gothic-arched stained glass window at the center of the street-facing facade. The altar is made of white marble from Proctor, Vermont, and has terra cotta inlays. The parish hall has a Stick style decorative application at the top of its street-facing gable, and has stepped corner buttresses rising to pinnacles at the corners.</p><br>
<p>The Holy Trinity congregation was organized in 1824, and originally met in the church next door, which it shared with several other congregations. It was dormant between 1834 and 1867, at which point it was reorganized, and its membership began to organize for the acquisition of a dedicated building. The present Carpenter Gothic parish hall was built in 1876 to a design by Ira D. Hatch, a local resident. The town and congregation both experienced significant growth in the following decades, and the new stone sanctuary was added in 1909-10, a gift from Rev. Edward Stone. It was designed by Louis S. Newton of Hartford, Vermont, and is a prominent local example of a High Gothic Revival style. The 1876 building was at that time adapted for its present use as a parish hall.</p><br>
<p>St. George&#39;s Catholic Church is a historic church and school building on Vermont Route 25 in Bakersfield, Vermont. Built in 1840, it housed the South Academy until 1888, when it was purchased by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. It served as a church until 1996, and has since then housed the local historical society. It is a prominent local example of Gothic Revival architecture, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The former St. George&#39;s Church building stands in the village center of Bakersfield, on the south side of East Bakersfield Road, opposite the village cemetery. It is a two-story brick structure, with a gabled roof and a single-story rear addition. A squat square tower rises above the roof ridge, with a louvered belfry stage topped by a cornice and bellcast roof. The front facade is three bays wide, with a center entrance on the ground floor, three arched windows on the second, and a rose window in the gable above. The sides are five bays wide, also with arched windows. The interior has a vestibule, which opens to the two-story former sanctuary, with a gallery at the front of the building accessed by stairs in the vestibule area.</p><br>
<p>Bakersfield was settled in the 1790s, and its citizens began to raise money for a local institution of secondary education in the 1830s. In 1840 this building was erected, and the Bakersfield Academical Institution was established in its second story. The building was given the name "South Academy", and its ground floor was used for religious services by a Methodist congregation. The school reached its peak enrollment of 50 in 1850, and then began a gradual decline, in part due to competition from the North Academy, established in 1844 in the northern part of town. In 1864 the upper floor was taken over by a Masonic chapter, and in 1867 the Catholic diocese purchased the ground floor and bell tower. In 1885 the diocese purchased the rest of the building, and formally renamed it. In 1905 the upper floor was removed, and its windows were restyled in the Gothic Revival. The church closed in 1996, and the building has now been taken over by the local historical society.</p><br>
<p>The Grand Isle United Methodist Church, formerly the Congregational Church—Grand Isle, is a historic church at 12 Hyde Road in Grand Isle, Vermont. Built in 1853-54, it is a well-preserved local example of Greek Revival architecture, and the town&#39;s oldest surviving church building. Originally built for a Congregationalist group, it is now home to a United Methodist Church congregation. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Grand Isle United Methodist Church stands in the village of Grand Isle, on the north side of Hyde Road, about 0.1 mi west of its junction with United States Route 2. It is a brick structure with a gable roof and a massive projecting Greek Revival portico, supported by four fluted Doric columns. The building corners have brick pilasters, and the front gable is finished in wooden clapboards, with a triangular louver at its center. A two-stage wooden bell tower rises from the roof, with a pilastered and corniced first stage, a louvered belfry at the second stage, and an octagonal steeple above. Some of its windows have Gothic arches, and its original wooden pews also have Gothic detailing.</p><br>
<p>The Congregationalist Society was organized in Grand Isle in 1802, and was soon followed by a competing Methodist organization. The two groups cooperated in the construction of a shared meetinghouse in 1834, with the Congregationalists eventually constructing this building in 1853-54, directly across the street from the other. The Methodist church was sold to the town in 1903, and was demolished in 1975. The two congregations again joined forces in 1919, making this building a union church. With the subsequent demise of the Congregationalist congregation, the church is now used exclusively by the Methodists.</p><br>
<p>The United Methodist Church of Isle La Motte, also previously known as the Methodist Episcopal Church of Isle La Motte and known locally as the Old Stone Church, is a historic church at 67 Church Street in Isle La Motte, Vermont. Built in 1843 by a prominent local Scottish stone mason, its basement was used until 1892 for town meetings and a school, while the upstairs was used for religious services. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>The church stands east of the central Four Corners intersection in Isle La Mottes rural town center, on the north side of Church Street. It is set back from the street, with a semicircular drive in front. The building is rectangular, two bays wide and three deep, and is built out of gray limestone. The stone is regularly cut and laid in courses joined by lime mortar. It is topped by a gabled roof, from which a two stage square wood-frame tower rises to a cross-gabled roof. Stained glass windows are set in rectangular openings with stone sills and lintels. The main entrance is at the center of the front facade, capped by a stone lintel which bears the buildings construction date.</p><br>
<p>Isle La Motte&#39;s Methodist congregation met in private homes and other spaces prior to the construction of this edifice. It was built in 1843 by stonemason James Ritchie, a prominent local Scottish immigrant stonemason, and is probably his finest work. The land was donated by Ira Hill, (whose house Ritchie also built). The main level was used for church services, and the basement was divided into two spaces, one used as a school and the other as a town meeting space. This situation continued until 1892, when the town and school functions were moved out. In the 20th century the Methodist congregation merged with several other denominations to form the congregation that now owns the building.</p><br>
<p>The Hyde Log Cabin is a historic log cabin on USA Route 2 in Grand Isle, Vermont, United States. It was built in 1783, and occupied by the Hyde family for 150 years. Believed to be the oldest log cabin in the US, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Hyde Log Cabin stands on the east side of US Route 2 north of Grand Isle center and just north of the Grand Isle Elementary School, sharing a lot with a small wood-frame blockhouse. The cabin is a modest single-story structure, fashioned out of peeled cedar logs measuring between 14 and 18 inches in diameter. The building footprint is 20 x, and it is covered with a gabled roof. The interior consists of a single chamber with a loft space above. Its massive stone chimney is a 20th-century reconstruction of the original, the building having been moved about 2 mi from its original location.</p><br>
<p>The cabin was built in 1783 by Jedediah Hyde, Jr., who surveyed the Grand Isle Area for Ira and Ethan Allen, who had acquired large tracts of land in the region. Hyde raised ten children in this cabin, and it was subsequently owned and occupied by members of the Hyde family for 150 years. In 1946 it was moved to its present location, and has undergone several rounds of restoration. It is owned by the state and operated as a historic house museum by the Grand Isle Historical Society, open on weekends between May and October.</p><br>
<p>The Cambridge Meetinghouse, also known locally as the Old Brick Church is a historic meetinghouse at 85 Church Street in Jeffersonville, the main village of Cambridge, Vermont. Built in 1826 as a union church for several denominations, it began use as the local town hall in 1866, a use that continued to 1958. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. It presently houses the local post office.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Cambridge Meetinghouse stands in the center of Jeffersonville village, on the south side of Church Street (Vermont Route 108) next to the Smugglers Notch Inn. It is a two story brick building with a gabled roof. The front facade has a pedimented gable and wide projecting central bay, also with a pedimented gable, that houses the main entrance. The entrance is slightly recessed, and is framed by pilasters and a corniced entablature. There are sash windows on either side of the projecting section on the second level. Rising astride the main roof and the projecting is a square tower, topped by an octagonal belfry and cupola.</p><br>
<p>The meetinghouse was built in 1826, and is the community&#39;s most prominent example of Federal period architecture. It was built to be shared by four separate Christian denominations, and was at the center of sectarian strife in the community. The rise of a religious movement known as Perfectionism took place here, and contributed to the eventual founding of the Oneida Community in New York in the 1840s. Church usage declined in the second half of the 19th century, and in 1866 the town began to use the building for town meetings. The last religious services in this building took place in 1889, by Congregationalists who moved into a new building nearby. The building continued to serve as town hall, its offices occupying the vestry space until 1958. In the early 1900s, an addition was made to the rear to accommodate a stage for use in theatrical performances.</p><br>
<p>The Waterville Village Historic District encompasses most of the history 19th and early 20th-century village center of Waterville, Vermont. The village grew from beginnings late in the 18th century to serve as a modest civic, commercial, and residential hub for the rural community. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The town of Waterville in northern Vermont was settled in the late 18th century and incorporated in 1824. The town center, located in its far south, grew as a linear mill village on the banks of the North Branch Lamoille River. Its first mills were sawmills and gristmills built early in the 19th century, and it was by mid-century a center for the processing of hemp. A textile mill was founded in 1846, which manufactured flannel cloth, but the success of that and other endeavours was cut off by fire. The village&#39;s industry declined later in the 19th century because it was bypassed by local railroads, and eventually all of the industrial buildings were lost to demolition or fire. The principal industry in the area is now dairy production.</p><br>
<p>The historic district is centered on the junction of Main Street (Vermont Route 109) and Church Street, also known historically as Bridge Street, because it leads to the covered bridge across the river. It extends west along Bridge Street just across the river to its junction with Griffin Road, and runs north on Main Street to its crossing of the river on a 20th-century steel girder bridge. It extends south as far as Oakes Road. The principal commercial building in the district is at the main junction, where three adjoining buildings now house a single general store. On the east side of the junction is the town hall, a former Universalist church building built in the mid-19th century in the Greek Revival style. There are two other church buildings in the village, including one built in 1911 for a new Nazarene congregation. Most of the residential housing in the district is vernacular and modest in scale, typically 1-1/2 stories in height, and of wood frame construction.</p><br>
<p>The United Church of Chelsea, previously the Congregational Church of Chelsea, is a historic church on Chelsea Green in Chelsea, Vermont. Built 1811-13 with later stylistic additions, it is a fine example of Federal period architecture with Greek Revival alterations. Originally built for a Congregationalist group, it now serves as a union church, affiliated with the United Church of Christ. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The United Church of Chelsea stands in the center of Chelsea Village, at the eastern end of its northern green. It is a two-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboarded exterior, and granite foundation. The main facade is five bays wide, with the center bays in shallow projecting section topped by a lower gable. Building corners are pilastered, rising to a broad entablature. A multistage tower rises, straddling the projection and main roofline, with a square first stage surmounted by a low balustrade, an octagonal belfry with louvered openings on four sides, and a smaller octagonal section capped by a bellcast roof and weathervane. The interior was originally built with a three-sided gallery, but this was enclosed to make a full second story in the 1840s as part of a major restyling.</p><br>
<p>Built in 1811-13 as the Chelsea Congregational Church, it has since then been a high-profile fixture in Chelseas village. Its design is derived from plates in Asher Benjamins The Architect&#39;s Companion, with major Greek Revival additions occurring in 1848. The Congregationalists merged with the local Methodist congregation in 1929 to form the United Church, which continues to use the building today.</p><br>
<p>Goshen Church is a historic church on Goshen Road in Bradford, Vermont. Built in 1834, it is a fine and little-altered example of vernacular Greek Revival architecture in a rural setting. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Goshen Church is located in a rural upland area of western Bradford, on the east side of Goshen Road a short way south of its junction with Upper Rogers Road. It is a single-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. Its front facade is symmetrical, with two identical entrances, each framed by sidelight windows and topped by a triple tympanum with a central Gothic louver flanked by smaller similar ones. Above each entry is a sash window, also topped by a Gothic louver, and a similar opening, now sided over, is set in the gable end. A two-stage square tower rises from the roof ridge, with a plain first stage, and a smaller second belfry stage with rectangular louvered openings. The tower is topped by a railing with corner pinnacles. The interior retains original box pews and pulpit, the latter finished in a simulation of marble.</p><br>
<p>The church congregation was founded in the early 19th century, by citizens of Bradford and Newbury who had broken from more strongly Calvinist Baptist congregations. The location of their church, in Bradford near the town line with Newbury, was chosen as a convenience to its parishioners. The building has never been fitted with modern amenities such as electricity, and is now used for services only in the summertime.</p><br>
<p>The Post Mills Church is an historic church at 449 Vermont Route 244 in the Post Mills village of Thetford, Vermont. Built in 1818 and remodeled in 1855, it is an excellent example of Greek Revival architecture, with extremely rare late 19th century stencilwork on its interior walls and ceiling. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The congregation is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Post Mills Church stands in the eastern portion of the dispersed rural village of Post Mills in northern Thetford, on the north side of Vermont 244 near its junction with Robinson Hill Road. It is a single-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboarded exterior, and concrete block foundation. The main facade faces south, and has a central projecting section with fully pedimented gable. A square tower rises, straddling the main roof and front section, with a clock in the first stage, which is topped by a low balustrade. Above that is an open octagonal belfry with arched openings, and an octagonal third stage topped by a bellcast roof and weathervane. The front facade has corner pilasters at the corners of both the main building and projection, and an entablature extends across the front and the sides. The portion of the entablature on the projecting section has a distinctive frieze, created in 1855 out of the doors of the building&#39;s original box pews. The interior originally with a three-sided gallery, now only has a gallery at the rear, with bench pews facing the pulpit at the rear.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1818, and was originally more Federal in its appearance, based in part on plans published by Asher Benjamin. It underwent a major renovation in 1855, when the pews were replaced, a platform built for the pulpit, and the side galleries were removed. In 1887, when the plaster of the walls and ceilings was renewed, Hiram Powell decorated them with stencilwork. This type of decoration is extremely rare and fragile, because of its use of water-based distemper paint. Elements of this work were carefully restored in the 20th century.</p><br>
<p>The church was built for use by two congregations, one Baptist and the other Congregationalist. Local residents had for some years complained about the long trip to the Thetford Center Church (5 mi, essentially an all-day outing at the time), and the definitive separation of church and state in the 1810s freed them from tax obligations to that church.</p><br>
<p>The South Tunbridge Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic church on Vermont Route 110, about one-third of a mile north of the Royalton town line in Tunbridge, Vermont. Built in 1833, it is one of the finest examples of late Federal period architecture in Orange County, and was a mainstay of social and civic life in southern Tunbridge for many years. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The South Tunbridge Methodist Episcopal Church stands facing east on the west side of Vermont 110, on a rise overlooking the road and the adjacent First Branch White River. It is one of two public buildings in what is now a rural cluster of residences; to its south stands a 1920s community hall. The church is a single-story brick structure, with a gabled roof and stone foundation. The roof is topped by a single-stage clapboarded square tower, which is topped by a corniced flat roof, and has arched louvered openings for the belfry. The main facade is three bays wide and symmetrically arranged, with entrances flanking a central sash window on the ground floor, and three windows above. The second-level windows are set in recesses and topped by distinctive recessed sunburst-patterned brickwork. The sills of these windows are formed out of ogee-shaped bricks. The windows on the side walls have the same features. The interior of the church has a vestibule area topped by a now-enclosed gallery, with the main hall featuring a pressed tin roof and raised pulpit at the western end.</p><br>
<p>Prior to the construction of this church, area Methodists met in a house known then as the "old parsonage", a short way to the north. This structure was built in 1833 by William Hutchinson and E. Colburn. Its brickwork and distinctive sunburts decorations set it apart from other Federal period buildings in the area. For much of the 19th century, South Tunbridge was a thriving community, with a district school, post office, saw and grist mills, and blacksmithy. The church was a center of the local social life, hosting dinners and other social events for many years.</p><br>
<p>The Holland Congregational Church  is a historic church on Gore Road in Holland, Vermont. Built in 1844, it is a prominent local example of Greek Revival architecture, and is the town&#39;s only surviving 19th-century public building. It was built listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Holland Congregational Church stands in an isolated rural setting, on the east side of Gore Road between its junctions with Bullis Road and Stagecoach Lane. It is a single-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboarded exterior, and stone foundation. A square tower rises from near the front of the roof ridge, with a low first stage, taller second stage with pilastered corners, and a third belfry stage with louvered openings and pilastered corners. It is capped by a pyramidal roof with spire. The main facade is symmetrical, with sash windows in the outer bays (including a pair at the gallery level), and a center entrance, framed by pilasters and a corniced entablature. The interior has a small vestibule area, providing access to the main sanctuary, a narrow winding stair to the gallery above, and a small kitchen with c. 1880 fixtures. The sanctuary retains its original carved pulpit and minister&#39;s chair, and has a band of tulip stencilwork bordering the tops of the walls.</p><br>
<p>Construction on the church began in 1844, when its frame was erected. It was not completed, however, until ten years later. It housed an active congregation until 1954. Despite declining population in the town, there was strong public interest in the buildings preservation, which prompted the formation of a local historical society, which took over the buildings ownership in 1973. The society maintains the building as a meeting space and local history museum.</p><br>
<p>The Castleton Medical College Building, now known as the Old Chapel, is a historic building of the Castleton Medical College on Seminary Street in Castleton, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1818, it was the first medical college in Vermont, and the first private degree-granting medical school in the United States. The chapel-like building was built in 1821, and is now the oldest building on the campus of Castleton University. Its current use is for special meetings and performances for Castleton University. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The former Castleton Medical College Building stands on the Castleton University campus, between Seminary and Elm Streets. It is a two-story wooden structure, with timber framing enclosed by wooden clapboards, and a gabled roof. A projecting vestibule has a lower roof line than the main block, with a fully pedimented gable end, and the main entrance in a recess flanked by pilasters and topped by an entablature. At the front of the main roof a two-stage tower rises, square in the first stage, and with an open octagonal cupola above.</p><br>
<p>Castleton Medical College was founded in 1818, and this building was constructed in 1821. It is believed to be the oldest surviving medical school building in the United States. It was moved a short distance (200 yd) in the 20th century to make way for new construction on the CU campus. It now houses classroom facilities for the university&#39;s art department.</p><br>
<p>The Clarendon Congregational Church  is a historic church building at 298 Middle Road in Clarendon, Vermont. Built in 1824 and modified with Gothic features in the 1880s, it is a well-preserved 19th-century brick church. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The present minister is Rev. Bill Kingsley.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>The Clarendon Congregational Church stands in the historic town center of Clarendon, opposite the town offices and facing the small town common on the east side of Middle Road in central Clarendon. It is a single-story brick building, covered by a gabled slate roof. A gabled entry pavilion projects from the main (western) facade, and a square tower rises above it to an octagonal steeple. It has tall sash windows, set in rounded-arch openings with half-round windows above the sashes. The projecting pavilion has a fully pedimented gable above a pair of entrances, and is two bays wide, each bay consisting of a slightly recessed panel housing an entrance (set, like the windows, in a round-arch opening with a half-round transom) and a semi-oval window above.</p><br>
<p>The church congregation was founded in 1822, and the present building was constructed in 1824, originally with a square belfry and plainer windows. Despite a declining town population, the church experienced a resurgence of membership in the 1880s, at which time its steeple was added (built by the noted bridgewright Nicholas Powers), and its more elaborate stained glass windows were installed. Membership continued to decline, and in the 1920s regular services were suspended. Services resumed in 1935, and in 1983 the congregation merged with another to form the Clarendon Congregational Church.</p><br>
<p>The Crowley Cheese Factory is a historic factory at 14 Crowley Lane in Healdville, Vermont. It is the home of the Crowley Cheese Company, which is believed to be the oldest indigenous manufacturer of cheese in the United States. The factory was built in 1881, and still makes cheese using its original methods and recipes. The factory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Crowley Cheese Factory stands about 1.3 mi southwest of the rural village of Healdville in Mount Holly, Vermont. The factory building is a modest 2-1/2 story wood frame structure, measuring about 30 x, with a gabled roof, center chimney, and clapboard siding. Its front facade is four bays wide, with a project shed-roof single-story vestibule covering the center two bays of the ground floor. The gabled south facade is three bays wide, with a second entrance set between the rightmost bay and the corner, and with loading doorways on all three levels at the center. A short boom projects at the top of the gable, providing a place to attach hoisting mechanisms for accessing those entrances. The ground floor is where the cheese is made, with vats taking up much of one half and a drying area the other. The shed-roof wing contains equipment for waxing finished wheels of cheese. Cheeses are aged either in the basement or the second floor, in facilities that are now climate controlled.</p><br>
<p>The Crowley Cheese Company was founded in 1881 by A. Winfield Crowley, and was owned by three generations of the family for 85 years. It was formed to take surplus milk from area farmers, which would be turned into cheese and sold at the Healdville railroad depot. The Crowleys had already been making cheese from their own milk at facilities at the farm, just up the hill from this factorys location. In the days before modern refrigeration, factories like this were common all across the state. Most succumbed due to the decline of Vermonts farms and the advent of refrigeration, which enabled shipment of dairy products across much greater distances. The Crowley Cheese Company is believed to be the oldest surviving cheese company in the state, and one of the oldest in the nation in continuous operation.</p><br>
<p>Sudbury Congregational Church, also known as the Sudbury Meetinghouse, is a historic church and town hall at 2702 Vermont Route 30 in Sudbury, Vermont. When it was built in 1807, it was a nearly exact replica of Plate 33 in Asher Benjamin&#39;s 1805 Country Builders Assistant. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Sudbury Congregational Church stands in the modest village center of Sudbury, separated from Vermont Route 30 by the village green and accessed via a dirt road on the green&#39;s east side. It is a two story wood frame structure, with a gable roof and clapboard siding. A two story vestibule projects from the south-facing front facade, with a square tower straddling the transition between the main roof line and that of the vestibule. The tower has a single stage, with a half-round louver on its front face, and Gothic corner pinnacles surrounding a short steeple. The eaves of the main roof, vestibule, and gables are lined with dentil moulding. The entry vestibule has a pair of entrances, each topped by a half-round multilight transom window. In between the entrances is what appears to be an entrance surround, consisting of pilasters supporting a corniced entablature. The framed space is presently occupied by a notice board. On the second level, sash windows flank a central Palladian window.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1807 by Charles C. Stewart, for a congregation organized in 1803. Its tower notably lacked the Gothic features now present, and had a taller steeple, which was reportedly pulled down amid concerns it might be blown off. During the 1850s, the building&#39;s interior was adapted to accommodate the municipal functions of the town meeting, and it is then that the exterior Gothic features were added. At the time of its listing on the National Register in 1977, it was still used for both municipal and religious functions.</p><br>
<p>West Haven Baptist Church is a historic church at 48 Book Road in West Haven, Vermont. Built in 1831 with later alterations, it is a good local example of Federal and Gothic architecture with a Victorian interior. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The West Haven Baptist Church stands in an open field on the west side of Book Road, just south of its junction with Main Road, the principal east-west route through the rural community. It is a single-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboard siding, and a mortared limestone foundation. A gabled vestibule projects from the front (east-facing) facade, with a center entrance flanked by Gothic arched windows. A squat two-stage square tower rises, straddling the line between the main block and vestibule, with a louvered belfry as the second stage, and a flat top above. The vestibule interior is finished in beadboard, while the main sanctuary has vertical matchboard below a chair rail, and horizontal matchboard above. Lines of stencilwork adorn the walls.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1831 for a congregation, organized in 1803, which is one of the oldest Baptist congregations in the state. The building was renovated in 1854, when the Gothic windows (also found on the sides) were added, and again in 1886, when interior changes were probably made to its pulpit and choir loft area. The 1854 renovations probably also added ornate Gothic elements to the tower, which were likely removed in 1927. The building is now used only for summer services, due to a lack of heating.</p><br>
<p>The East Clarendon Railroad Station is a historic railroad station at 212 Vermont Route 103 in Clarendon, Vermont. Built in 1916 by the Rutland Railroad and in service for 35 years, it is a well-preserved reminder of the importance of the railroad through the area. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. It presently houses a restaurant.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The former East Clarendon Railroad Station stands in central eastern Clarendon, at the triangular junction of Route 103 and East Clarendon Road. The latter road roughly parallels the tracks of the Rutland Railroad, an active freight line. The station originally stood between the road and the tracks, about 400 ft southeast of its present location, to which it was moved in 1953. It is a single-story wood frame structure, with a broad hip roof that provides large overhangs, supported by triangular knee brackets. Its exterior is finished with a combination of wooden clapboards and bead boarding. The former agents office is a small projection on the east side of the building. The interior retains its original three-room configuration, with a waiting room (now dining room), agents office (now the lunch counter), and the freight room (kitchen). Interior finishes are either restored originals, or have been covered over to preserve them.</p><br>
<p>The rail line passing through East Clarendon was built in 1849, and is one of Vermont&#39;s oldest. This station was built about 1916 to provide passenger and freight service to the community, and was in service until 1953. Traffic on the line was stopped entirely in 1963, but has since been revived. The station was relocated to this site from its original location in after it was closed, but was not mounted on a permanent foundation until 1996, when it was given a major restoration and restaurant conversion.</p><br>
<p>The East Village Meetinghouse, also known as the Old Brick Church, is a historic church at 55 Vermont Route 14 in East Montpelier, Vermont. Built in 1833-34, it is a fine local example of Greek Revival architecture, and has been the focal point of the historic East Village for most of its history. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>The Old Brick Church stands in the village center of East Montpelier, on a parcel bounded on the south by US Route 2, the east by Vermont Route 14, and the west by Quaker Road. Its walls are brick laid in American bond, and its foundation is cut granite. It is 1-1/2 stories in height, with a gabled roof from which a square tower rises. The tower&#39;s first stage has corner pilasters rising to an entablature and cornice, while the second houses the belfry, with louvered rectangular openings, corner pilasters, and surrounding entablature above. An eight-sided steeple completes the tower. The front facade is oriented to the southwest, and is symmetrical. It is four bays wide, with sash windows in most bays, and two entrances in the center two bays of the ground floor. In the gable above is a recessed panel that has a triangular louver at the center. The interior has original slip pews facing the pulpit on the rear wall. The pulpit is original, but was at first located on the front wall, from which it was moved during renovations in the early 20th century.</p><br>
<p>The village of East Montpelier was settled in 1825, and this church was built in 1833-34 on land donated by Arthur Daggett. The building team was led by Truman and Stillman Kelton, and included men who later worked on the Vermont State House. It was built as a union meeting house, serving both Congregationalist Unitarians and Methodists. About 1858, the Methodists withdrew from use of the building. Between 1940 and 1951 it was reduced to having only summer services, but has since held services year-round.</p><br>
<p>The Italian Baptist Church is a historic church at 10 North Brook Street in the city of Barre, Vermont. Built in 1906-08 largely with volunteer labor, it is a distinctive regionalized example of vernacular church architecture more typically found in northern Italy. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>The Italian Baptist Church stands just off North Main Street, north of Barre&#39;s downtown business district. It is set on the north side of Brook Street, between North Main and Laurel Streets. It is a single-story structure, built with a wooden frame and masonry exterior. The side walls are brick, while the street-facing main facade is an elaborately decorated work of granite. A central recess is defined by a pair of polished Doric columns and flanked by square pilasters, all supporting a slightly projecting dentillated entablature. The entablature is continued to the main building corners, and is topped by a cornice and a central gabled parapet, at whose center is a Palladian window. The stonework of the facade exhibits a variety of finishes, from rusticated blocks on the lower level, to hammered details in the entablature, and the smoothly finished columns.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1906-08 by local volunteers, including many Italian immigrants who came to work in Barre&#39;s granite quarries. The design of the building is credited to the priest, A.B. Bellondi, under whose tenure it was built. It is essentially a vernacular interpretation of northern Italian church architecture, built using local materials. The church was in active use by its Baptist congregation until the 1920s. In the 1930s the church was used as a clubhouse by the Improved Order of Red Men, a fraternal society. It has since seen a variety of commercial and religious uses.</p><br>
<p>Old West Church is a historic church on Old West Road in the Kents Corner area of Calais, Vermont. Built 1823-25, it is a little-altered example of an early 19th-century rural Vermont church. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Old West Church stands in a rural area of Calais, 0.8 mi south of the crossroads village of Kents Corner, on the west side of Old West Road. It is a tall single-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboarded exterior, and stone foundation. A three-stage tower rises above the front facade, with a square first stage housing the belfry, and two octagonal stages of decreasing size. The main facade has a bank of three similar entrances, each flanked by pilasters, and all set under a common entablature and cornice. Sash windows flank this assemblage, and a second level also has three sash windows. The interior has a vestibule with stairs leading to a gallery level on either side, and is otherwise a single large chamber. The gallery extends on three sides, supported by square posts. The pulpit is against the far wall, and the interior is filled with original plain pine box pews.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in the mid-1820s, in a style that was more common to the late 18th century. The pulpit, originally built at the height of the gallery, was lowered to its present height a few years later. The building has no modern amenities, and is heated by wood stoves installed at the rear in 1831. Its steeple was damaged by lightning in 1953, at which time the weathervane was replaced.</p><br>
<p>The Union Meetinghouse, also known as The Old Meeting House and the East Montpelier Center Meeting House, is a historic church on Center Road in East Montpelier, Vermont. Built in 1823-26, it is the oldest church building in the greater Montpelier area, and a well-preserved example of Federal period church architecture. It served as a union church for multiple denominations for many years, and housed the annual town meetings until 1849. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is now home to a non-denominational community congregation.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Old Meetinghouse stands near the geographic center of the township that is now divided into Montpelier and East Montpelier. It stands on the south side of Center Road, a short way west of its junction with Brazier Road. It is a 1-1/2 story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboarded exterior, and stone foundation. A two-bay entry vestibule projects from the center of the front facade, and a tower rises astride the main ridge and that of the vestibule. The tower&#39;s square base includes a louvered upper section, and is capped by a cornice and balustrade. The next two stages are octagonal and decreasing in size, with a bellcast roof and spire at the top. There are two entrances in the projecting pavilion, framed by simple corner boards and topped by cornices, with small sash windows directly above. The fully pedimented gable of the projection has a Federal style fan at the center.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1823-26 on land given by Parley Davis, the areas first surveyor and settler, as a town common. Davis had hoped that the area would become Montpeliers town center. The building was used for services by a number of congregations of different denominations, and hosted Montpeliers town meetings until 1849, when East Montpelier was separated. It held some of East Montpeliers town meetings until 1890, when its first town hall was built. Use of the building by religious groups declined in the early 20th century, but was revived in 1965 with the formation of the non-denominational Old Meeting House Society.</p><br>
<p>The Waterbury Center Methodist Church, now the Waterbury Center Community Church, is a historic church building at 3582 Waterbury-Stowe Road  in Waterbury Center, Vermont. Built in 1833, it is a prominent visual landmark in the village, and a good local example of Federal period church architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and history</h2><br>
<p>The Waterbury Center Community Church is in the village of Waterbury Center, on the east side of Vermont 100, a short way north of its junction with Hollow Road. It is a two-story brick building, with a gabled roof. A simple two-stage wood-frame tower rises from the roof ridge, with a plain square first stage, octagonal belfry stage, and steeple. The main facade is three bays wide, with windows set in rectangular openings topped by blind segmented-arch recesses. The main entrance is a double door, topped by a flat brick header. In the gable, there is a half-round fan. The interior originally was a single large space with gallery above, but a full second floor was built in 1858. Elements of the original box pews were used at that time to divide the lower level into a number of spaces, including a kitchen.</p><br>
<p>The church was completed in 1833, and was built out of brick similar to that used in other nearby period houses. Its stained glass windows were donated in 1894, and in 1919 the congregation merged with that of the local Baptists. The Waterbury Center Community Church was formally incorporated in 1963. The building is a well-preserved example rural Federal period architecture.</p><br>
<p>The Beaver Meadow Union Chapel, now also known as the West Norwich Union Church, is a historic church on the north side of Beaver Meadow Road  in Norwich, Vermont. Built in 1915, it is a well-preserved example of vernacular ecclesiastical architecture of the period. It is of national significance as the origin point of the Home Prayers program, essentially a mail-order ministry inspired by the catalogs of Sears, Roebuck. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Beaver Meadow Union Chapel stands on the north side of Beaver Meadow Road, just west of the crossroads village of West Norwich. It is a simple single-story wood frame structure, with a steeply pitched gable roof, clapboard siding, and stone foundation. A square tower rises from the roof near the front, with an open belfry capped by a pyramidal roof. The main facade has an unadorned entrance at the center, with simply framed sash windows on either side, and above in the belfry. A kitchen ell extends to the left of the main building. The interior retains many of its original finishes and furnishings.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1915 at the instigation of Margaret Kerr, a New York City schoolteacher who agitated for its construction after a drunken brawl occurred in front of her home. The site on which it was built originally had a Methodist church on it; it had been moved to Sharon. The church was built by its future congregants, and was served by ministers operating from nearby Hanover, New Hampshire, mainly during the warmer months. One of them, Rev. Allen W. Clark, seized upon the idea of mailing written elements of a service (including lessons and sermon) to congregants in periods when the church was not in service. This idea grew into the Home Prayers program, which had more than 23,000 subscribers from 850 churches when Clark retired in 1977.</p><br>
<p>Cavendish Universalist Church is a historic church building on Vermont Route 131 in Cavendish, Vermont. It was built in 1844 by Scottish immigrant stonemasons, using a "snecked" ashlar stone finish that is rare in the state outside the immediate area. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The Cavendish Universalist Church building stands on the north side of VT 131, just north of the Cavendish Baptist Church. It is a single-story structure, capped by a gabled roof and a two-stage square wood-frame tower with open belfry. The walls of the building are built out of local fieldstone, finished in a style called "snecked ashlar", laid in courses that roughly alternate been larger stone blocks and flatter slabs. The stone courses are separated by thick bands of mortar. The front facade is symmetrical, with tall multi-pane sash windows on either side of a double door, with a third window above. The principal visible stylistic elements are in the tower, which has pilastered corners on both stages.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1844, probably by Scottish immigrant stonemasons who had moved to the area ten years earlier from Canada. It is believed by local historians that this accounts for the unusual construction methods found in this building and others in the immediate area of southeastern Windsor County, the only part of the state where they are found. The building is now owned by the local historical society.</p><br>
<p>The United Church of Ludlow, formerly the Congregational Church of Ludlow, is a historic church at 48 Pleasant Street in the village of Ludlow in Vermont. Built in 1891, it is one of the only churches in the state built in a fully mature expression of Shingle Style architecture. Its Congregationalist congregation was organized in 1806, and in 1930 it merged with a Methodist congregation to form a union congregation. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>The United Church of Ludlow is located on the south side of Ludlow village, in a densely built residential area, at the northwest corner of Pleasant and Elm Streets. It is a 2-1/2 story wood frame structure, with a slate roof, shingled exterior, and mortared fieldstone foundation. It is basically rectangular, with a slightly projecting cross gable on the long sides giving it a cross shape. A circular tower at the southeast corner of the cross rises to an colonnaded open belfry, topped by a bellcast shingled roof. The main entrance faces Pleasant Street, recessed in an opening flanked in antis by Tuscan columns. The interior of the church retains many original features.</p><br>
<p>The First Congregational Church of Ludlow was organized in 1806, and first met in private homes. Its first meeting house was built the following year, and was replaced by a second in 1839. This church, its third sanctuary, was built in 1891-92 to a design by New York City architect Edward T. Hapgood. It is believed to be the only full expression of the Shingle style in religious architecture in the state, other examples either including features from earlier styles (the Queen Anne and Stick styles) or later periods (the Colonial Revival). The cost of the design work was donated by Donald Heald, a noted advocate of fire-resistant construction; it is thus unusual that a wood-frame building (originally with a roof of wooden shingles) was proposed. The congregation merged in 1930 with the local Methodist congregation to form the United Church of Ludlow, which now owns and maintains the property.</p><br>
<p>Catherine Mountain is a 962 ft mountain in Township 10 SD, Hancock County, Maine. Catherines Hill is locally referred to as the section of the Blacks Woods Road  which summits near the mountain. Both are named after a legendary woman named Catherine, whose ghost is said to haunt the hill.</p><br>
<h2>Legend of Catherine's Ghost</h2><br>
<p>Travelers who claim to have seen Catherines ghost on the hill most commonly describe a woman approaching the traveler asking for a ride, sometimes to Bar Harbor. Catherine is said to be dressed in a light blue evening or ball gown. Travelers who decline the ghosts request suffer various consequences. Purportedly Catherine was traveling on the road with her husband or boyfriend, after their wedding or prom night in Bar Harbor, when they were in some kind of accident (that it was a car accident is belied by the fact that the "Catherines Hill" moniker predates the widespread use of cars in the area, at least back to the 1930s). It is said that Catherine lost her head in the accident, that her significant other was never found, and that Catherine wanders Catherines Hill and the Black&#39;s Woods area searching for her head and her missing love.</p><br>
<p>The book Dark Woods, Chill Waters: Ghost Tales from Down East Maine contains several variations on the legend. It also includes testimony suggesting that the Catherine legend may have been based on an entirely uneventful evening in the life of one Catherine Downing, d. December 29, 1862.</p><br>
<p>Old Christ Church is a historic Episcopal church at the junction of Vermont Route 12 and Gilead Brook Road in Bethel, Vermont. Built in 1823, it is a well-preserved Federal period church, lacking modern amenities such as electricity and plumbing. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. It is used for services only during the summer.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>Old Christ Church stands on the east side of Vermont Route 12 in what is now a rural area of northern Bethel. It is just north of Gilead Brook, with a cemetery standing behind it. The church is a single-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. A square tower rises above the roof line, with a simple first stage topped by an open belfry. The main facade is symmetrical, with a pair of entrances, each flanked by pilasters and topped by a corniced entablature. Above each doorway is a sash window, topped by a corniced lintel. The gable end is fully pedimented, with a half-oval window at the center of the gable. The interior has a vestibule with stairs leading to a choir loft, and features original box pews in the main sanctuary. It no longer has its original raised pulpit, which was probably removed during renovations in the 1880s.</p><br>
<p>The town of Bethel was chartered in 1779, and an Episcopal congregation including the town was organized in 1794. It met for nearly twenty years in a variety of facilities, mostly those of its parishioners or of a schoolhouse that stood on the site of the present church. This church was built in 1823-24 by Colonel David Warren on land donated by Simeon Chase, who spearheaded the drive for its construction. It is one of Vermont&#39;s finest examples of a pure high Federal style church. Enrollment declined as churches in town centers were built, and the building was sold in 1852 to a Methodist congregation. It was repurchased in 1871 by the Episcopal congregation meeting in Bethel village, which continues to use the building for summer services.</p><br>
<p>St. Pauls Episcopal Church is a historic church building at Bridge Street and Vermont Route 14 in Royalton, Vermont. Built in 1836, it is a prominent early example of Gothic Revival architecture in the state, and is one of the oldest surviving public buildings in Royaltons historic village center. Now deconsecrated and maintained by the Royalton Historical Society, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.</p><br>
<h2>Description and history</h2><br>
<p>St. Pauls Episcopal Church stands on the east side of the junction of Bridge Street and Route 14, near the center of Royaltons historic early village center. It is a single-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboarded exterior, and stone foundation. A three-story square tower projects from the center of the front facade, topped by a flat roof with a broad bracketed cornice with a balustrade above. The belfry stage features Gothic-arched louvered openings. The main entrance is in the base of the tower, framed by pilasters and a cornice. A small trinity window is set above the entrance. The interior space, although now missing some of its religious trapping due to its deconsecration, retains a number distinctive 19th-century features, including stencilwork on the walls and cornice, an 1840s pipe organ, and kerosene light fixtures.</p><br>
<p>The church was built in 1836, and was probably based on plans supplied by John Henry Hopkins, the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont and an early proponent of the Gothic Revival style. Its c. 1842 organ was built by William Nutting, Jr., a self-taught organ maker from nearby Bethel. Much of the building&#39;s stained glass dates to the 1880s and later, when the interior underwent some restyling to meet Victorian fashion trends. The congregation was always relatively small, and typically shared a minister with other nearby churches. Public outcry stopped one call for its deconsecration in the early 1970s, but it was finally closed by the diocese in 1996. The building was then acquired by the Royalton Historical Society, which maintains it as a community resource.</p><br>
