Brownington Village Historic District facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Brownington Village Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Athenian Hall
Location in Vermont Show map of Vermont Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Hinman Settler Road and Brownington Center Road, Brownington, Vermont
Area	110 acres (45 ha)
Architectural style	Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.	73000197
Added to NRHP	May 9, 1973

The Brownington Village Historic District is a special historic area in Brownington, Vermont. You can find it where Hinman Settler Road and Brownington Center Road meet. It became a protected historic place in the United States on June 9, 1973.

This district includes five buildings that are part of the Old Stone House Museum and three other old houses. All these buildings were built in the early 1800s.

A Look Back: History of Brownington Village

In the early 1800s, Brownington was an important town along the Hinman Settler Road. This road was a main path for stagecoaches traveling between Boston, Massachusetts and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Before 1816, Brownington was even one of the two main government centers for the county. People living there built many things to make the most of their town's good location.

The Old Stone House (Athenian Hall)

The Old Stone House, also known as Athenian Hall.

Imagine building a four-story building all by yourself! That's what Alexander Twilight did. He built this amazing granite building to be a dorm for students. These students came from out of town to attend the Orleans County Grammar School nearby. He called it "Athenian Hall."

It's pretty cool that he used granite, because this stone was almost never used for buildings in Orleans County back then. No one knows where he got all that granite!

The dorm closed in 1859, a couple of years after Twilight passed away. Later, in 1918, the Orleans County Historical Society bought it for $500. Today, it's known as "The Old Stone House Museum." It's one of the best-preserved old school buildings in the United States. Now, it's a museum filled with furniture, paintings, and tools from the 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s.

Alexander Twilight's Home

Right across the road from the Old Stone House is Alexander Twilight's own home. He built this house in 1830. He and his wife welcomed several students to live with them each year. These students slept in rooms on the second floor of their house. Students continued to board with the Twilights even after the big Athenian Hall dorm was built.

The Orleans County Historical Society bought this house in 1999. It has been fixed up and now serves as a visitor center for the Museum. It's also the office for the Historical Society.

The Lawrence Barn

This barn is an "English-style" barn, built in the first half of the 1800s. It looks a lot like the barn that used to be with the Twilight House. This barn was moved to its current spot in 1997. Inside, you can find an exhibit that shows what farming was like in Orleans County for two centuries.

Museum Education Center

This building was probably the first house on the land where the Alexander Twilight House now stands. It was given to the Museum in 1978. Today, it is used as a center for learning and educational programs.

Cyrus Eaton House

Cyrus Eaton, a friend of Alexander Twilight, built this house in 1834. Its style is called "late Federal-style," but it was later updated with some Greek Revival touches. The house has been fully restored, even its cedar shake roof. It now holds the historical records and research collections for the Historical Society. Behind the house, there's a beautiful garden from the mid-1800s filled with perennial flowers.

Samuel Read Hall House

George West built this house in 1831 in the Federal style. For 21 years, it was the home of Samuel Read Hall. He was a teacher at the Orleans County Grammar School. The Historical Society bought this house in 2006, and they are working to restore it.

Brownington Church and Cemetery

The Brownington Congregational Church was finished in 1841. Both Alexander Twilight and Samuel Read Hall were ministers there. In 1899, William Barstow Strong, who grew up in Brownington and went to the Orleans County Grammar School, paid for big changes to the church's inside. He also added a bell and a tall spire to the bell tower.

Prospect Hill and Observatory Tower

When the grammar school classrooms were nearby, students would climb this hill for evening prayers. In 1898, William Barstow Strong built an observatory at the top of the hill. This observatory was rebuilt in 1975 by the Grange for the national bicentennial celebration. It was rebuilt again in 1998.

Rice and Going Hotel

This farmhouse was built in 1815 and used to be a hotel. It is now privately owned.

Orleans County Grammar School

William Baxter paid for this school building to be built in 1823. It was first located at the bottom of Prospect Hill. In 1869, it was moved about one-third of a mile down the road. The town of Brownington owned the building, and it was used by the Grange.

In 2016, the school building was moved again, this time closer to the historic district and west of the church. To make it look like old times, 44 oxen were hitched to the building to pull it to its new spot!

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Orleans County, Vermont