Vergennes Historic Walking Tour 2024 - Manual / Resource - Page 7
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B.F. GOSS HOUSE
72 Main Street
In 1866, B.F. Goss, who had a kaolin mining and processing
plant in Monkton and also operated a canal boat, built the
first of the Italianate style homes on this end of Main Street.
Kaolin is a soft white clay that can be used in pottery,
medicines and paper. The Italianate style was popular in the
1840s-1860s and was characterized by square tall cupolas
called belvederes, wide eaves with decorative brackets and
asymmetry, such as porches and entries off-center - all of
which are found on the Goss House. The house has been
recently refurbished and remains a private residence.
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HERRICK STEVENS HOUSE
76 Main Street
The Herrick Stevens House is arguably one of the
most ornate homes ever constructed in the Little
City. The house was built in 1869 and is an
example of Italianate style with a belvedere roof
and matching carriage house. It features a
central porch, a bay window above the front
entrance and a cupola with a slate roof. The
house was once owned by Herrick Stevens, whose
older brothers ran the Stevens House, a hotel in
the downtown. Stevens (1820-1895) worked for
his brothers at Stevens House for a decade before
moving to Chicago for five years to run a hotel
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and make his fortune. He returned to Vergennes and became involved with a local water company
and Republican politics. He and his wife, Electra Jane Willard of Vergennes, raised four children. The
house remains a private residence.
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JUDGE FISH HOUSE
82 Main Street
This house was built in 1870 and is comparable in size to its
Italianate neighbor, but is less ornate with its French Second
Empire design and is distinguished by its mansard roof. In
the 1890s, the house became the home of Franklin Leslie
Fish (1863-1927), a lawyer, after he moved to Vergennes
from Brattleboro. Fish became the collector of city and
school district taxes and state’s attorney for Addison
County, a post he held until 1900. He resigned as the state’s
attorney to become a federal bank examiner for eight years.
In 1912, he was appointed a judge in the Vermont Superior
Court. In 1926, he was named associate judge in the
Vermont Supreme Court, but passed away the following
year. After serving as a bed and breakfast for many years in
recent history, the house is currently a private residence.
