Gray Rocks is a historic farm property on

United States Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, whi ...

Richmond, Vermont Richmond is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,167. The main settlement of Richmond, in the north-central part of town, is a census-designated place (CDP), with a population of 853 at t ...

. Developed in the early 19th century, it was in agricultural use until 1978, and has a well-preserved set of farm buildings dating from c. 1813 to the early 20th century. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1996.

Description and history

Gray Rocks is located east of Richmond's town center, on of land straddling

. The property extends in part across the right-of-way of

Interstate 89 Interstate 89 (I-89) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States traveling from Bow, New Hampshire, to the Canadian border between Highgate Springs, Vermont, and Saint-Armand, Quebec. As with all odd-numbered ...

to the northern bank of the

Winooski River The Winooski River (formerly the Onion River) is a tributary of Lake Champlain, approximately long, in the northern half of Vermont. Although not Vermont's longest river, it is one of the state's most significant, forming a major valley way from ...

, and north into the hills above the river floodplain. Much of the area south of US 2 is open land, now in pasture or hay, and there are sections of open land north of the road, where most of the land is wooded. The cluster of farm buildings is set on both sides of US 2, with the farmhouse and garage on the north side, and barns and other outbuildings on the south side. The farmhouse is a two-story brick gable-roofed building, set facing west. It has a porch extending across its front, and is basically Federal in its architecture, although it has Italianate paired brackets in its eaves. with The property was developed as a farm about 1800 by James Butler, who sold it in 1813 to Asa Rhodes, with the house then standing. It was farmed for over a century by members of the Rhodes family, and in the 20th century by the Andrewses, who ceased operations in 1978. The farm's buildings represent changing trends in agriculture during that time, from general agriculture to specializations first in sheep and then dairy.

References

{{NRHP in Chittenden County, Vermont Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Chittenden County, Vermont Buildings and structures completed in 1813 Buildings and structures in Richmond, Vermont Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont

Description and history

See also

References