Vergennes Historic Walking Tour 2024 - Manual / Resource - Page 6
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KENNEDY BROS. BUILDING
11 Main Street
The building is named after John and Paul Kennedy, brothers
who during the Depression in the 1930s, made wooden
components for cottages on Lake Champlain. John started
making other wooden items, such as candle holders and bowls,
which Paul sold in New York. In 1937, they opened a wood shop
and store in Charlotte, Vermont called Green Mountain Wood
Crafters, but the building burned in 1942. They set up in a new
facility in Bristol, Vermont after World War II and stayed until
1959 when their business — Kennedy Bros. — needed more space.
They re-established their business in Vergennes in a building
constructed in 1909 as a milk plant with a brick addition put on
in 1931 by Sheffield Farms for the manufacture of casein, a milk
protein product used in cheese, adhesives and paints. The wood
product factory remained here until 1987, then moved to an
adjacent structure. The building then housed the Factory
Marketplace and Antiques Gallery until 2011. In 2013, the building
was acquired by Lillian Kennedy (Paul’s daughter) and her
husband, Robert Feuerstein. Now fully remodeled, it serves a
collection of diverse businesses, including Roundtree
Construction, Vermont Sun Fitness, Thai Massage Vermont, my
little cupcake, Duprey Law, Landmark Financial Services, Lost
Lantern Whiskey, Maple Café and many others.
