Howard Hardware Storehouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Howard Hardware Storehouse
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 Location in Vermont
Location in the United States
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| Location | Bridge St., Bellows Falls, Vermont |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1895 |
| Architectural style | Tetrahedral plan |
| MPS | Bellows Falls Island MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 88002163 |
| Added to NRHP | January 22, 1990 |
The Howard Hardware Storehouse is a special old building in Bellows Falls, Vermont. It was built around 1895 and was used to store things for a hardware store. This building is important because it reminds us of how much railroads helped the town's economy in the past. It has a unique shape, like a pyramid with four flat sides (called a tetrahedral shape), which helped it fit next to the railroad tracks. In 1990, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's a very important historical site.
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What Makes the Howard Hardware Storehouse Special?
The Howard Hardware Storehouse is located on an island in Bellows Falls. This island is surrounded by the Connecticut River on one side and the Bellows Falls Canal on the other. You can find it north of Bridge Street, near a modern gas station. Another historic building, the Adams Gristmill Warehouse, is also nearby.
How the Building's Shape Helps Its Story
Right next to the storehouse, to its north, are the railroad tracks of the Boston and Maine Railroad. These tracks soon cross the river into New Hampshire. To the west, there used to be another curving railroad track, but it's gone now. This track led to a large rail yard. Because of these two railroad lines, the building isn't a normal rectangle. Instead, it has a unique tetrahedral shape, which means it has four triangular faces.
The building is about one and a half stories tall. It's made of wood with a pointed roof and has flat wooden boards on its outside walls. It sits on strong granite blocks. The main front of the building, with its pointed roof, faces west towards where the old railroad track used to be. Both the front and back of the building have large sliding doors for moving goods. There are also two more of these doors on the long north side.
Why Was This Storehouse Built?
The Howard Hardware Storehouse was built around 1895. It was originally connected to a coal shed and another storage building, but those are no longer there. All these buildings belonged to a business called L.G. and C.E. Howard. They sold hardware and farm supplies, and their main store was in the center of Bellows Falls.
This location was perfect because it made it easy for the business to unload goods that arrived by train. Then, they could easily take these goods to their main store. The Howard Hardware Storehouse is one of the few remaining buildings that show how important railroads were to Bellows Falls long ago.
Who Were L.G. and C.E. Howard?
The Howard family played a big role in Bellows Falls. L.G. Howard, whose full name was Luther G. Howard, was born in Massachusetts in 1822. He started out as a blacksmith. In 1848, Luther came to Bellows Falls to work with horses. He later returned to Massachusetts to work with wood for trains and in a lumber business.
In 1877, Luther came back to Bellows Falls. He started working with his son, Charles Elliott Howard, selling hardware. Luther was also a town leader, the first president of a building association, and owned many properties, including the Hotel Windham. Charles, his son, was the village treasurer for 15 years. He also represented the town in the state government and was a vice president at a local bank and hospital.
In 1895, Luther gave ten thousand dollars to Bellows Falls to help the poor. This was a gift in memory of his wife, and it was called the Sarah Burr Howard Memorial Fund. This fund helped people in the village until it was closed in 2013.
