National Register of Historic Places

Heights, The

Middlebury, Addison County, Vermont
Listed
December 29, 1988
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
88003082

About this property

The Heights, also known as the Thaddeus Chapman House is a historic country estate on Vermont Route 30 (South Street) in Middlebury, Vermont. Developed in the 1870s and 1880s, the property is one of the finest estates of the period in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The Heights is located on the southwestern outskirts of the village of Middlebury, beyond the main campus of Middlebury College and West Cemetery, on the west side of Vermont Route 30 opposite the college's athletic complex. It was developed beginning in 1870 by Thaddeus Chapman, a prominent local businessman in the lumber industry. The 40-acre (16 ha) estate is lined at the road with trees and a hedgerow, with a long tree-lined drive angling westward toward the main house. Meadows extend on either side of the drive, and the rear portion of the estate is wooded, with the central area near the house more formally designed. In addition to the main house, there are a number of period outbuildings, including a carriage barn, children's playhouse, springhouse, and gas house. Northwest of the house is a terraced sunken garden. The main house is a large 2+1⁄2-story brick building, built in 1870 and significantly restyled in 1887 to designs by the noted local architect Clinton Smith. Its exterior and interior are both richly decorated in the then-fashionable Queen Anne style. The playhouse, about 100 feet (30 m) north of the house, is a modest single-story wood-frame structure, built by Thaddeus Chapman for his daughters about 1887. The carriage barn is a multisection structure, its oldest portion dating to 1870, that originally held spaces for horses and carriages, and was later expanded to include a garage and shed. National Register of Historic Places listings in Addison County, Vermont

Location

Middlebury, Addison County, Vermont
44.00536, -73.18136

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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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
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The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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The Community
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Rivers & Rail
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Notable People
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Nearby Historic Sites

Stone Row, Old
Industrial
0.4 mi
Willard, Emma, House
Early Republic
0.4 mi
Middlebury Village Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Listed
0.7 mi
Middlebury Village Historic District (Additional Documentation)
Listed
0.9 mi
Stone Mill
Industrial
1 mi

Nearby Battles

Attack on Fort Carillon Bridge (1756)
1756Colonial
14.1 mi
Rogers' Ambush at Lake Champlain 1758
1758Colonial
14.8 mi

Questions about this property

When was Heights, The listed on the National Register?

Heights, The was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 29, 1988.

What type of historic resource is Heights, The?

Heights, The is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Heights, The?

The period of significance for Heights, The is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Heights, The?

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