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Endeavor Team
The Shelburne History Project
This beautiful historic building on Shelburne Road is a great sight!
It is located between the old Pierson Library and the village green. There were 6 other people that lived there before the trustees of the Methodist Parsonage. It was built in 1848. The Methodist Church is just around the corner on Church Street.
It is 2 stories. It has a gable roof trim. This building was also known as the Nelson Isham House after its first owner. The Methodist Parsonage building also has gable windows. It is now a private house.
If you are riding by just take a look. It's quite a sight!
If you need to go to church, go to the Shelburne United Methodist Church. It is the perfect place to go for services on Sunday. It is 170 years old and still is looking good.
Garrad Burrit donated the land for this church in 1832. The stone for this church was bought for $4,300 from the Willsboro Quarries in New York State. It was brought across the lake in the winter on sleds. It was dedicated in 1833. The design of this church is very similar to the one found at the Shelburne Museum. The church is on Church Street and has a new addition that is used for Sunday school and after church refreshments. Sidney Lambert is the minister of this church.
The Methodist Church is shaped like an L and has one wing. It is two stories high.
Remember, if you need to learn about religion, the Methodist
Church is a great place to go.
This church is something you will want to read about and know about. It has a very interesting history.
The land that the church now stands on has been home to a church building since the early 1800's. It wasn't named the Trinity Church until 1819. The church itself was built in "gothic" architectural style in 1898. Lilia and William Webb had it designed and built. The stained glass windows were all designed by Tiffany. They are all the original windows today. The tile was brought over from Italy. No expense was spared. Before heat, winter services were held in the Webb lounge before a fire.
The Reverend Joel Clapp was the rector of Trinity for the first eight (very successful) years before moving to St. James in Woodstock now.
The organ was donated by the father of a bride who was married in the church. It has always been considered too big for the space.
The holy water and communion wine are poured down a different
drain so they won't end up in the sewer. They are released directly into
the ground.
The church does not have wings. It has rock-faced bricks. It has plain eaves.
It has a boxed cornice roof. It has a slip sill. The archway is center painted.
Its special feature is finial roof trim.
When you drive on Route 7, be sure to notice this church.
I'm sure you'll love the beautiful stained glass. Try the Sunday school
or just go to church, and you can look at the stained glass from the inside.
Did you know that in 1895 it only took four months to build Saint Catherine's Catholic Church? It is the only Catholic Church now in Shelburne, Vermont but it is not the first. The first was built in 1888 by Dr. Webb but it burned to the ground because workers clearing the property set brush on fire and it got out of hand. From 1890 to 1895 Shelburne was joined with the Catholics from Vergennes. While the current building is used mostly as a church it has been for many community functions and is an important landmark in our town.
Saint Catherine's Church rests on a red stone foundation and is 60 feet by 26 feet wide. The church's footprint is called apsidal and it is two stories high. There is a cupola on the roof.
The most popular mass is held on Saturday at 5:30 and the current minister is Fr. Philip LaMothe who has been there since 1998.
It's a good thing they built this church fast
So all Shelburne people can go there to mass.

Next time you visit the Shelburne Village stop by the 1888 Chapel which sits beside St. Catherine's Church.
It is a small gray building that looks like a little house. It came from the Webb Estate in 1888. The small building was used as a Chapel for the Roman Catholic employees when they built the Webb Estate and was later moved to Shelburne Village.
The Architectural structure of the building is quite unique.
The Chapel is a rectangular building that is only one story high. It has
a Gable roof and the trim has shapely eaves and rafters.
So next time you stop by Shelburne Village be sure to visit the 1888 Chapel.
You might find it more than just an old building.
Come to the house that Electra Webb bought and wanted to put her dolls in. When you are there get some great Mexican food. You can be eating this great food while you are reading these facts.
Electra Webb did want to buy the building for her many dolls but she didn't get to. The town needed a parsonage which is a place where a minister and his or her family lives. So they decided to use this building. Only one minister ever lived there, Rev. Louis McDonald. He was the first and last. There were other people that lived there and the author of Shelburne, Pieces of History, Truman Webster was born there.
The footprint of the building is rectangular and it is two stories high. It is made of brick and the basement is made of course cut stone. The roof trim is called boxed cornice. It has a gabled roof with a semi-circular front door window.
Come visit this house on Harbour Road, Shelburne. Get some
Mexican food and look at all of its unique architectural features.
Web page created by Lissa Cenis
lcenis@scsvt.org
Page last updated: May 29, 2002