National Register Listing

Fenn Farm

VT 116 (Case St.), W side, Middlebury, VT

The Fenn Farm, comprised of its main house, barns, outbuildings, sheds, gardens, fields, pastures, and woodlots bounded by fences and hedgerows, is an excellent example of the Vermont farmstead as it has evolved over the past 150 years. Its farmhouse, c. 1840 and c.1850 with late nineteenth century additions, c.1850 horse barn, c.1860 granary, c.1880 piggery, 1910 dairy barn, and other buildings reflect the diversity of agriculture occurring in the past century and a half and are testimony to the farm's adaptation to changing technologies, market opportunities, and social events. The land also has been shaped by its inhabitants in response to these same forces. Taken as a whole, the farm is a microcosm of Vermont's farming history. It is significant within the historical context of Diversified and Specialty Agriculture, 1760-1940, as detailed in the Vermont Historic Preservation Plan, agricultural theme, as an excellent example of a small diversified farm. It is being nominated under the MPDF "Agricultural Resources of Vermont" and meets the requirements for the farmstead property type.

According to Swift's History of Addison County and Middlebury, Vermont, the farm site was first owned by Robert Torrance, who moved to East Middlebury in 1774 at age 38. Torrance had a house and land in the village, but owned two other lots, or "pitches" to the north. One of these, pitch 31, was the site of the Fenn Farm. The lot was set off to Robert Torrance's son, Silas, sometime before 1816, the year the elder Torrance died. It was cleared in 1828 by two local men, Noah Stearns and Justus Hier. Perhaps they were employed by Silas Torrance to do this. In 1850, the US census shows Daniel Sessions to be the owner of the farm; he lived there with his wife, three children, and a boarder. The farm in 1850 consisted of 160 acres of improved land and 40 acres of unimproved and was valued at $3,600. The history of the property from 1828 to 1850, specifically how Sessions acquired the property from Torrance, is unknown.

The land was cleared when trends in farming in Addison County and all of Vermont were shifting from the cultivation of crops such as corn, oats, wheat, and barley to animal husbandry, specifically sheep raising. Prior to 1828, wheat had been the principal agricultural crop, but in the summer of that year a blight had infested the fields in western Vermont and wheat farming was no longer viable. Also, in 1824 and 1828 favorable wool tariffs were passed which encouraged Vermont farmers to raise sheep. Perhaps this is what prompted Silas Torrance to clear his land and use it as grazing land. In any event, the first available farm census in 1850 indeed showed 80 sheep on the Sessions farm. It also showed that the farm was diversified in its production of goods; oats, corn, rye, wheat, and potatoes were grown as cash crops, and butter and cheese were produced in large quantities. In this way, the farm was typical of Addison County farms producing a broad array of goods for local markets while keeping enough for subsistence.

According to best estimates, it was sometime prior to 1850 that the simple, vernacular farmhouse was built on the west side of the road, facing east. Also at this time, the first barn was built, just across the road to house the farm's large herd of cattle and other animals. The house is extant, though it has been expanded greatly. The barn was blown down in the hurricane of 1950, testimony to the perils of nature in northern New England. The simple lines of the house, with its subdued door entablature and corbeled chimney, may be the trademarks of some unknown builder; perhaps it was Sessions himself. The original building was small, just two first-floor rooms with a loft above. Relatively soon after the main block was built, a wing was added. Two other additions, as well as modifications, were accomplished over the next 100 years.

In 1854 James P. Fenn and his partner, Chesterfield Hooker, bought the farm from William Sessions for $2300. Fenn may have already been living on the farm as a tenant farmer. His father, Chester Fenn, lived on the farm with him and set up a small cobbler's shop in the SE corner of the house's first addition. James Fenn was married to Nancy S. Foote and had two sons, Noble and Franklin. Noble (1866-1939) eventually took over the farm, and Franklin (1872-1899) was murdered by his wife's brother-in-law. In 1866, James Fenn bought out his partner, Hooker, and owned the farm outright.

As the farm grew and agricultural practices changed, other buildings were added to the farmstead. One was the horse barn, constructed around 1860. Census records show that in 1860 James Fenn had a stable of six horses, whereas his predecessor, Sessions, had owned oxen.(see attached census records). Fenn probably built the barn to shelter his expanded stable. Though in some disrepair today, and shortened from its original 75' length to its present 36' length, it exists today as an example of post and beam construction and half-timbering.
The agricultural census of 1870 shows that swine, cattle, cows, horses, and sheep were used and raised on the farm, and that grain crops (wheat, rye, corn, and oats) were the mainstay from the fields. The granary, built in 1860, testifies to the abundance of crops grown on the farm and the need for their storage as feed for the animals. The census of 1860 shows a total of 625 bushels of wheat, rye, corn, and oats harvested that year. Likewise, the piggery, built c. 1880, reflects the nature of the Fenn Farm and doubtless many other farms in the county, where a variety of animals were raised for sustenance and income. There was some dairy farming. The relatively few cows at the Fenn Farm were milked in the warm months only, in the winter they were allowed to go dry. From that milk, they made cheese and butter for sale, but no liquid milk was marketed, as was typical of this time period.

The nature of farming in Addison County changed toward the beginning of the twentieth century. The biggest change involved the production and marketing of liquid milk in quantity as a cash crop. This was made possible by the refrigerated railroad car, which made it possible to ship milk long distances, and an expanding milk-drinking population in southern New England.
The biggest example of the Fenn Farm's response to the changes in agricultural practices occurring at that time is the dairy barn, built in 1910. The dairy barn measured 30 x 40 feet and was built by Elmer Fenn, Noble Fenn's son, who greatly expanded the cow herd and plunged into the milk business. Elmer Fenn had 20 milking cows and 20 young stock. It had a ground-level milking parlor with hay storage above. Consequently, other structures were added to the farm - a silo (1910, not extant) and a milkhouse, at first in the barn but then located across the barnyard in 1944. As the operation grew, a new, larger silo was built then another to hold the winter silage. As technology improved, another milkhouse was built attached to the barn to house a bulk tank (1959). And, the original dairy barn had 2 additions made, one in 1927 and one in 1947. Because the herd needed more winter feed and hay, tractors and other equipment were purchased, creating a need for a large storage building, built in the 1970's.

At some point in the farm's history poultry farming on a small scale developed. Robert Fenn, the present owner, and Elmer Fenn's son, recalls his mother paying his school tuition in the next town with the "egg money". The poultry farming is evidenced by two chicken houses on the property, one built in 1980 and the other constructed circa 1900.

The garage, built in 1920, reflects the ever-changing farm scene as it was affected by 20th-century technologies. It was built by Elmer Fenn to house the family's first motorcar. With its exposed rafter tails, it reflects the architectural design practices of the day.

The Fenn Farm and its lands and buildings demonstrate the evolution of Vermont farming practices. As markets changed, technologies evolved, and societal needs fluctuated, the farm adapted. This adaptation can be seen in both the farm's buildings and in the use of the fields. Taken as a whole, the structures, layout, size, and arrangement of the facilities on the Fenn Farm is typical of many farms throughout Vermont and Addison County, and they tell a vibrant story of nineteenth and twentieth-century farm life.

Local significance of the district:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1995.