Photographs of Vergennes (Vt.)
Collection Overview
This collection contains 788 images comprising 122 years of history in Vergennes, Vermont’s oldest city. Featuring a wide range of topics, which date from the 1866 Civil War parade to the 1988 Bicentennial, the collection provides a comprehensive and unusual look at small town life in northern Vermont. These photographs document the full visual spectrum of history in Vergennes, from businesses, industries, and transportation to natural scenery, paintings, and portraits of people who once walked the city’s streets.
These images were scanned from 35mm slides located in the Bixby Memorial Free Library archives in Vergennes. The slides were made around 1987 from color photographs taken of the original images. The originals, mainly of the Vergennes area but including several from Ferrisburgh and Lake Champlain, had accumulated over the years in the library’s historical materials repository. Many of these photographs, along with the slides and accompanying inventory notebook, can be viewed with permission at the library.
The authors of these photographs remain undocumented and anonymous, except for a selection of photographs by local artist Harvey Custer Ingham (1863-1931), a personal friend of local businessman and library founder William Gove Bixby (1829-1907).
Mr. Bixby left funds from his estate for the founding of a public library in the city of Vergennes, including the construction of the imposing Greek revival library building on Main Street. The library opened on November 4, 1912, and in 2012 celebrates a century of continued service to Vergennes and the surrounding towns of Addison, Panton, Waltham, and Ferrisburgh.
Published: May 06, 2011, University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections
Rights: No part of the material may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, broadcasting or by any other information storage and retrieval system. Direct all inquiries and requests to the Bixby Memorial Free Library, Vergennes, Vt. 802-877-2211.
Browse Options
Place(s)
- Vergennes (Vt.) [144]
Format(s)
- image [145]
Genre(s)
- color slides [145]
Topic(s)
- Fires [145]
- Fire extinction [59]
- Buildings [8]
- Automobiles [6]
- Streets [3]
- Parks [1]
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Topic: ("Fires")
Title: Fire 1958
Date: 1905-05-11
Resource type: color slides
High school students help remove furniture from house belonging to George Roscoe and Cora Blair. Flames swept through dwelling.
Title: Sherman Block
Resource type: color slides
View of the so called Sherman Block (now owned by Benton and Fishman) on Main Street in Vergennes after the fire of April 9, 1896. The building was badly gutted by the flames and the roof fell in. Plans for restoring the building included taking off the third floor and making a flat roof. This photo was loaned by Mrs. Harry Barrows of Ferrisburgh.
Title: Vergennes Fire
Date: 1958
Resource type: color slides
View from School street, looking toward Main street, shows Vergennes fire ruins. More than 100 fireman battled blaze.
Title: Vergennes Fire
Date: 1905-05-11
Resource type: color slides
Firemen direct streams on remains of Vergennes drug and department store, minutes before walls came tumbling down. Fire wall between this building and other store was believed to have kept flames from destroying entire block.
Title: Vergennes Fire
Resource type: color slides
Firemen race to safety as wall of drug and department store crumbles on Main street, Vergennes
Title: Vergennes Fire
Resource type: color slides
Ruins of fire in Vergennes business district smoulder yesterday 24 hours after fire broke out Monday afternoon. View is from roof of Vergennes Inn facing Main Street.
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