The Wheelock Common Historic District encompasses the traditional town center of the small northeastern
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
community of
Wheelock Wheelock and similar may refer to:
Firms and buildings
* Cooper Wheelock, a manufacturer of fire alarm and general signaling products
* Wheelock and Company, formerly British Hong Wheelock and Marden Company Limited
* Wheelock College, a small li ...
. Located at the junction of
Vermont Route 122
Vermont Route 122 (VT 122) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. The highway runs from U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and VT 114 in Lyndon north to VT 16 in Glover. VT 122 connects Lynch and the towns of Wheelock and Sheffield in C ...
and Sutton Road, it includes the town common, town hall, and cemetery. The district 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 2007.
Description and history
The village center of the town of Wheelock is located in its northeastern corner, stretching along Vermont Route 122 south of the Miller's Run river. At the eastern end of the linear village, Sutton Road (Town Highway 17) branches northeast, while Route 122 bends more southeast to follow the river. The town common is a quarter-acre grassy area on the east side of this junction; it is a roughly semicircular area bounded on the south by Route 122 and the north by the drive providing access to the town hall. It is shaded by pine trees, and has two benches, a bandstand, and the town's 1915 memorial to its
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
participants. Across Route 122 from the common is the cemetery, about 3/4 acre in size, also shaded by pine trees. The earliest dated grave is from 1827, although two people who died earlier have since been reinterred there. The town hall stands north of the common; it is a 1-1/2 story Greek Revival gable-roofed building with a square belfry.
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The town of Wheelock was chartered in 1785 as a land grant to
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
and the
Moor's Indian Charity School, both founded by
Eleazer Wheelock, for whom the town is named. The town was managed for many years as a tenancy by Dartmouth, a relationship that did not fully end until the 1970s, when the college divested itself of all remaining land in the town. Its original town hall was located in the Wheelock Hollow area in the south of the town, but the cemetery was established in the village by 1827, and formally deeded to the town in 1860. The move to build a new town hall in the village in 1871 was spurred at least in part by an attempt to develop local mineral springs as a tourist draw. The Baptist church was moved to stand next to it in 1880, and a schoolhouse was also located facing the common. Both of these buildings were demolished in the 20th century due to deteriorating condition. The town hall, also deteriorating, was moved onto a new foundation in the 1970s, providing space for the town offices in the basement.
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See also
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References
{{NRHP in Caledonia County, Vermont
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
National Register of Historic Places in Caledonia County, Vermont
Wheelock, Vermont
Historic districts in Caledonia County, Vermont