1. Nicholas Pecor Architectural History Final Presentation Town of Northfield Vermont ©2007 Buildings Researched The Gray Building The Mayo Building Central Vermont Rail Depot The Old Red Mill

2. Map of Northfield with locations of buildings researched The Gray building, Mayo Building, and Central Vermont Railway are all located within a quarter miles radius around the green arrow. The Old Red Mill is located where it says South Northfield.

3. A little town History Northfield is a small town located in Central Vermont The town was established in 1781. The town was once known for its railroad station and granite industry. Now the town is most known for being the location of Norwich University, Cabot Hosiery, and Chouinards. Northfield has had some major changes in landscaping and architecture over the years but there are four buildings that still remain standing that tell a lot about the towns history. These four buildings are The Gray Building, The Mayo Building, Central Vermont Rail Depot, and The Old Red Mill.

4. THE GRAY BUILDING The gray building is located in down town Northfield Vermont. It is an educational building. The gray building was built is approximately 130 years old. It was one of the first multi-classroom schools in Vermont. The building served as an elementary school for 115 to 120 years until Northfield built an elementary and middle level school on the same grounds as the high school. It is a two story building that is approximately 10,000 square feet. It has a simple structure with a raised steeple in the middle of the building where the bell was located. The bell was used to single when school started and ended After being shut down in the mid 1990’s the building was unoccupied for about 10 years. During these 10 years the old school building suffered some major damages due to its neglect. Around 2003 the building went through some cosmetic changes and structure changes. Grants and donations were made to make the upgrades to this building possible.

5. Pictures of the Gray Building

6. Picture of the bell used and interior while undergoing remodel in 2004

7. Changes Made The changes made to the building included all new electrical, a new fire protection system, a new heating system, repairs to the structure and new paint. Another important change that was made to help make this building get back to having people walk its floors again, was access for disabled people. This included ramps and an elevator system. The estimated cost of the work that needed to be done to keep this building standing was around 1.4 million dollars.

8. Important piece of history This building will always be a special part of Northfield’s history. It is where many towns people including myself went to elementary school. It is an amazing building and stands high on a hill overlooking the downtown area. It still serves as a place where kids can go after school (The boys and girls club) and also has a workout facility.

9. Contributions It contributed to the town by providing a place for education, a place big enough to serve for more than one class. It is where for 120 years Northfield students and teachers, met together to better the future of the town by giving them an education. I still get chills when I think about how many people went to school there and how the building is still standing today and once again is being used for some form of education.

10. Personal Experience My personal experience with this building is a very proud one I went to school there for three years, and have a lot of great child hood memories on the playground. From the soccer field which I played kickball and had a blast. And also where we played wiffle ball and helped sculpt my future baseball talents. It is also the place where I received my first bee sting. This building will always have a special meaning to me. And it always brings back memories every time I pass by it. I believe as long as Northfield remains a town that this building will always be standing if possible.

11. Central Vermont Rail Depot

12. The Central Vermont Railway Depot The Central Vermont Railway Depot was once the train station that served for he town of Northfield. It is located on the common also known as Depot Square of Northfield. It was closed down in the 1970’s. But it once served as economic force for the Northfield Community. Now the building serves as The Merchants Bank.

13. The Rail Depot is the oldest railroad station in Vermont. It was constructed in 1852. It was a replacement for the original built in 1848, the replacement happened due to a fire that burned down the original. This building holds a great deal of importance to the Northfield community because of the history it brings with it. Even though it is no longer a train station and is now a bank everybody in the town knows how the building started out and how if it wasn’t there Northfield might not have developed as much as it has today. The building is constructed from masonry architecture it has two stories with a center peaking roof.

14. Contributions The contributions the Depot made to the town are very significant. All the surrounding building were also part of the railroad station. These buildings now serve as the town hardware store, apartment complexes, and restaurants. If the railway had not been originally placed in Northfield these buildings and businesses might not be a part of the Northfield community.

15. The Mayo Building The Mayo Building is located right across the street from the common in Northfield. The building was built in 1902. It was built for Dr. William B. Mayo. It was designed by an architect firm called Lane and son. It was and still is the largest commercial block built in Northfield Vermont.

16. Dr. Mayo’s plan It has been said that this building ranks as one the top classically influenced commercial architecture buildings of this period. The building was built to develop the business district of Northfield. The building is an example of masonry, it also has granite out linings around the windows and doorways. The interior was originally designed so that it could occupy several businesses. Business’s that have used this building range from the town post office, to doctors offices including Dr. Mayo. And the fourth floor was a Masonic temple.

17. History The building over the years has over gone very little alteration, the Masonic temple no longer exists that was turned into an apartment around 2003. Today the building serves for residential and commercial purposes It now is occupied by The Northfield Savings Bank, numerous apartments, two hair salons, a real estate company, a sandwich shop, and other small businesses. If you are driving through Northfield this building will not only catch your eye for the great masonry and granite work but also the size of the building will attract your attention as it sits on the right side of the road heading north on route 12. The building is also still owned by the Mayo family. I believe this building will stand for a long time to come because of the work put into the building and the design of it. The building hasn’t shown any ageing and its been around for over 100 years.

18. The Mayo building now and then shows that building on the outside has not changed at all

19. The Old Red Mill In the late 19 th century the town of Northfield was a well established water power industry. The Old Red Mill is one of the buildings from this time period and is the only building from this time period that still stands today. The building was constructed in 1898, it served as a grist mill and feed store. It is a one and half story structure constructed of clapboard. It had a cupola-like tower on its south end. The tower was there to accommodate the milling machinery. It’s style and design was strictly based on it functions and that was being a mill of industrial building. The mill drew power from the sunny brook which borders the property. In the 1930’s they added a water powered cider press to the building. In the mid 1940’s the mill was shut down. It is now privately owned by a Northfield family and serves as a work shop and also has an apartment. The building still to this day has a sign hanging from the roof that says OLD RED MILL. The owners also have a carpentry building appropriately named old red mill builders.

20. Picture of the Mill

21. Citations http://www.graybuilding.org/ http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/central vermont/cv17.htm http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/central vermont/cv17.htm http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/central vermont/cv16.htm http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/central vermont/cv16.htm http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/central vermont/cv15.htm http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/central vermont/cv15.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Vermo nt_Railway_Depot