National Register of Historic Places

Bristol Downtown Historic District

Bristol, Addison County, Vermont
Listed
February 3, 1983
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
83003203

About this property

The Bristol Downtown Historic District encompasses the historic late 19th-century commercial heart of Bristol, Vermont. At first a rural agricultural market town, it developed in the second half of the 19th century as a small industrial center, producing finished wood products. Its downtown occupies an area of one block on both sides of Main Street, and features a diversity of architectural styles. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The town of Bristol, Vermont, is located on the west side of Vermont's Green Mountains. It was settled in the 1780s, and was a basically agricultural community until the American Civil War. Its town center provided services to farmers in outlying areas, including a market for their goods and sawmills and gristmills for processing their lumber and grain. In 1862, a factory was established in the New Haven River just southwest of the town center, in which turned wood products were manufactured. Soon converted to manufacture coffins, the factory complex grew by the early 20th century to become one of the nation's leading suppliers of that product, along with a diversity of other wood products. These businesses declined after the First World War. Downtown Bristol consists of one long block of Main Street (Vermont Route 116), which runs east-west north of the New Haven River. It runs east from a central four-way junction with North, South, and West Streets (the latter continuing VT 116), and includes Bristol's town hall, located at the southwest corner of the junction. East of this junction, both sides of Main Street are lined with more than a dozen late 19th and early 20th century commercial buildings. They are typically two or three stories in height, and built of brick. The north side of Main Street in this stretch is mainly taken up by the Union Block, a single building with seven storefronts. Behind the south side buildings is the 1924 Kilburn Mill, one of the town's last surviving factories of the historic period. National Register of Historic Places listings in Addison County, Vermont

Location

Bristol, Addison County, Vermont
44.13254, -73.07721

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Everything a full report reveals about Bristol Downtown Historic District

This page lists Bristol Downtown Historic District. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks and old features hidden in the landscape.
Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
The old books, county histories and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from first peoples to the present day.
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Nearby Historic Sites

Union Church
Civil War
3.2 mi
Lampson School
Industrial
3.2 mi
South Starksboro Friends Meeting House and Cemetery
Industrial
3.9 mi
Bottum Farm
Pre Contact
4.2 mi
East Monkton Church
Industrial
5.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Bristol Downtown Historic District listed on the National Register?

Bristol Downtown Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 3, 1983.

What type of historic resource is Bristol Downtown Historic District?

Bristol Downtown Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Bristol Downtown Historic District?

The period of significance for Bristol Downtown Historic District is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Bristol Downtown Historic District?

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