Thomas H. Palmer House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Thomas H. Palmer House
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 Location in Vermont
Location in the United States
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| Location | 2636 US 7, Pittsford, Vermont |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1832 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 78000243 |
| Added to NRHP | December 29, 1978 |
The Thomas H. Palmer House is a special old house located in Pittsford, Vermont. It was built way back in 1832. This brick house has a fancy style, mixing two popular designs from its time: Federal and Greek Revival.
This house is important because it was once the home of Thomas Palmer. He was a very influential person who helped improve schools in Pittsford and even helped set new rules for education across the state of Vermont in the mid-1800s. Because of its history and unique style, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Contents
What the House Looks Like
The Palmer House is a two-and-a-half story building made of brick. It sits on a strong foundation made of marble. The roof has a triangular shape, called a gable roof.
Architectural Style
The front of the house is quite grand. It has five sections, or "bays," for windows and doors. In the middle, there's a part that sticks out, with its own gable roof. This central part has two windows on the second floor. Below them, on the first floor, is a porch that covers the main entrance. This porch has square posts and a decorative edge called a dentillated cornice.
Inside, the house has a common layout with a hallway in the middle. One of the most special parts inside is a large living room, or "parlor," on the left side. It still has its original fancy Greek Revival style wooden decorations. This kind of detailed design was quite unusual for a house in a rural area like Pittsford at that time.
Who Was Thomas Palmer?
The house was built in 1832 for Thomas Haig Palmer. He was an educator who came from Scotland. Before moving to Pittsford, he lived in Philadelphia, a big city. His wife was Joanna Fenton, from Georgia, Vermont.
Palmer's Early Work
Thomas Palmer, along with his brothers George Palmer and James Watt Palmer, did something very interesting. They printed some of the first books and papers in foreign languages in the United States. A professor recently shared that they even printed materials for Simon Bolivar, a famous leader from Venezuela, when Thomas was a young professor in Bogota.
Improving Education in Vermont
Thomas Palmer was very dedicated to making schools better. He started working as the school superintendent in Pittsford in 1828. His ideas and improvements for the local schools were so good that people all over Vermont noticed them. In the 1840s, he became a key person in writing new and better education rules for the entire state. He had a young family and wanted to make sure his children could get a good high school education, just like he had in Scotland.
The House Today
For a while, starting in 2007, the Thomas H. Palmer House was used as a bed and breakfast. This meant people could stay there overnight and enjoy its historic charm.
However, in 2020, the property was sold. It has now gone back to being a farm and is known as Sunshine Village Farm.
