Town Hall Newsletter, February 23, 2026

Steve Welch

What has been happening

The dry summer we have just experienced was worrisome for those of us that have wells and browning lawns; but it was a lucky break for the progress of stabilizing the Town Hall. Because of the lack of remain, we were able to completely pump out the cellar hole that for nearly 40 years has been a five foot deep cistern of ground water beneath the floor of the front section of the building.

Dark, dangerous, and devoid of any practical use to the functioning of the structure, the pit was kept under lock and key behind a padlocked door located under the staircase to the second floor. When the Town Hall was originally built, a smaller version of it existed under the front section of the building. Sometime around the end of the 19802 and beginning of the 1990s, the hole was further excavated to provide a proper place to relocate the furnace that was on the first floor. Unfortunately, it was soon discovered that a high water table level quickly filled up the newly re-dug cellar. So, the furnace had to remain on the first floor and the cellar option was abandoned.

After years of not having any good ideas of how to solve the cellar water problem, we decided to fill in the space with crushed rock, top it off with a plastic liner, and so raise the cellar floor up to the level of the surrounding 32-inch height that exists under the rest of the Town Hall (which has remained high and dry above the incoming water).

The work was done on October 27 and 28 by the Tom Grace Company. It took about 40 yards of stone to do the job. We fashioned a sump pump casing from a plastic culvert remnant obtained from the town garage. This was installed as the crushed rock was run down from the dump truck into the cellar using a pair of old coal chutes.

Mold Remediation

On Tuesday, November 5th, the Town Hall building began the first stage of mold remediation. Craig Pelkey and his technicians came up and fumigated the building. The next step was to get the furnace back up and running so that the building would be heated over the coming cold weather months. This happened on Monday, December 1st, and the building first floor has been kept warm a dry through the past three months.

Tours of the Building

After some more cleaning, re-hanging of the curtains, and a little floor repair, we were ready to invite a group of folks from the Wednesday Seniors’ Coffee group at the Grange to come down to the Town Hall to see the inside of the building. Around 10:45 AM on February 11th, they saw for themselves what we have on the first and second floors of this historic 1895 structure. The following Tuesday, February 17th, we invited the Chittenden Volunteer Fire Department to come over from their weekly 6:00 PM meeting for a short slide show and homemade pies with cider and coffee. They had previously started the clean-out with us as we prepared for the mold remediation back in the fall. Both groups were able to view our painted curtain depicting a Civil War scene. This historic artifact is one of the precious few in New England that remain intact in their original setting. We plan to have more tours open to the townspeople in the spring and summer.

Senior Coffee Group visiting the Town Hall

The original hand painted stage curtain depicting the Civil War and in its original setting. Senior Coffee Group admiring it.

Chittenden Fire Department members helped with the initial clean-out. Now observing how good the Town Hall looks at this point. Many Thanks.

Good works deserve pie! Thanks Fire Department.

Friends of the Town Hall

Chittenden Day August 23, 2025. Model of the Town Hall presented by Friends of the Town Hall and the Chittenden Historical Society.

Chittenden Day, August 23, 2025. Molly Douglas and Laurie Wilson with the Friends of the Town Hall display.

Friends of the Town Hall

As of June 20, 2025, we have sent out two grant applications. Money from grants will help to install heat pumps and allow for an upgrade of the electrical system. They will also help pay for the engineer’s inspection concerning water in the basement.

To donate to the Town Hall fund, make checks payable to Chittenden Historical Society and on the memo note indicate “for Friends of the Town Hall Project”.

The Town Hall

A Little History

This year is the 245th birthday of our Township whose charter was granted to Gershom Beach and 65 other “associates” on March 14, 1780. For more than half of these 245 years, the Town Hall building has stood at the center of our community in the Historic District on Holden Road. Serving as the district #5 school after it was built in the 1890s until Barstow School opened in the early 1930s, it has also been the town clerk’s office and a meeting hall for official and nonofficial town gatherings right up to the COVID epidemic of the early 2020s.

We have enjoyed very good use out of this old building with relatively little investment in its maintenance. In 1998, a comprehensive plan was put forth for “the continuation of the upkeep of the structure including planning for the future by improving handicap accessibility, maximizing space for the Historical Society, and upgrading the mechanical and fire protection systems.”

Charles A. Parker was the author of the report after his site visit to the Chittenden Town Hall on December 19, 1997. His work was funded, in part, by the Preservation Trust of Vermont. Following a four-page account detailing the foundation, frame, interior, exterior, and roofing of the building’s then current condition, he proposed a prioritized list of three phases of repair and their estimated 1998 cost which totaled $114,600.00 (in 1998 dollars).

In the years since the Parker report, only a few significant improvements have been made. The windows on the ground floor and the three gable windows in the attic half story have been replaced. The building’s exterior got a double coat of paint which helped seal in the original 2nd story windows until such time as they might also see replacement.

Friends of the Town Hall

A small group of Historical Society volunteers got together to form “Friends of the Town Hall.” Their goal is to insure the stabilization of maintenance of the Town Hall, have it brought up to code, and made available again for the use of the Town’s people. The Historical Society members voted at our Fall 2024 meeting to support these goals and to channel any grant money through our 501c3.

The Friends of the Town Hall (FotTH), under the leadership of Laurie Wilson, has sought permission to accept grants that would be put toward the Town Hall improvements. They also brought up concerns to the Select Board about the lack of heating and ventilation adding to some mold growth.

Chittenden Town Hall

The Family Tree

October 14, 2025 @ 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

We will be exploring our family trees. Fill-in family trees will be available or bring your own. Choose a branch that is particularly interesting to share. Refreshments available.

Annual Meeting and Potluck Supper

November 11, 2025 @ 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Our Annual Meeting will be held at the Grange Hall. We will be honoring our veterans. Please think of those family and friends and yourself who have served our country in the military or in support (e.g. Red Cross bandage rollers, USO, Air Raid Warden)

Emery Hummel Receives Muzzy-Davenport Award

Tuesday, July 8, 2025 was a night of celebration as Barstow Memorial School eight-grader, Emery Hummel, received the Chittenden Historical Society’ Annual Muzzy-Davenport Award for Excellence in Chittenden History. Vice President, Steve Welch presented Emery with a certificate and $100. She also received a commendation from The Vermont Historical Society for her work in local history using multiple, original resources. Looking on at the Grange Hall event were her proud parents, family members and local residents.

Emery’s work focused on the Edwin Horton letters home written during the United States Civil War. The letters showed that he had entered and left the Army several times as the war progressed. For Emery, the letters showed that Horton was a common soldier. He was not a big hero but one torn between family and country.

One time period that stood out for Emery was when Horton was captured and imprisoned in Boston Harbor. Apparently, he experienced mistreatment. However, Horton had left the Army to return to Vermont and was charged with desertion. Horton continued to serve until the end of the war when he returned to Chittenden. Horton later became Rutland County Senator, a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and helped to salvage the Church of the Wildwood which is still an active church today.

Emery first became curious about Edward Horton after seeing his name on the local Civil War statue and reading about him in the book “Chittenden, Vermont: A Town History” by Karen Webster and Fran Wheeler. She researched text books, articles and online. The Vermont Historical Society was a great resource as they had scans of the original letters. She found the letters very hard to read: “they were all in cursive!”

The evening concluded with the traditional Ice Cream Social where all, including the local fire department members, enjoyed ice cream donated by Stewart’s Shops, topping made or donated by CHS members, brownies, water and lemonade.

Emery likes soccer, loves skiing and will be going to Rutland High School in the Fall.

New Sign for Chittenden Historical Society

Thanks to the talents of Bob Case the Chittenden Historical Society has a new sign. The sign replaces the well-weathered and long-standing old sign. It also follows the elegant lines of the former sign. The gardens are coming alive with colorful plants placed by Master Gardeners Robin Ogg and Kathy Hall.

The next meeting is May 13, 2025.

Regular Business Meeting

May 13, 2025 @ 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

CHS Building Open

May 29, 2025 @ 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM