Chipman's Point

Chipman's Point in Orwell, VT, possesses significance under criterion A of the National Register for its contribution to nineteenth-century trade and water-related transportation. It is also eligible under criterion C because it features two important and well-preserved examples of vernacular stone warehouses that were constructed along the shores of Lake Champlain while it served as the region's main transportation corridor. Included among the outstanding features of the warehouses are the original rope and pulley mechanisms used to hoist barreled goods up to each floor's loading bay. Both buildings also feature large sections of 19th-century graffiti, signatures mostly, on their interior woodwork. The signatures were probably left by folks waiting to board a steamer, or waiting for a sloop or schooner to deliver particular goods. The site, and included structures, retain their integrity of design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.

During its busiest periods, in the middle of the nineteenth century, a variety of boats including sloops, schooners, and canal boats stopped at Chipman's Point to unload goods such as flour, glass, nails, molasses, iron, paper, rum, salt, and snuff. They stored and sold some of the goods at the warehouse buildings at the point, while some were loaded onto the waiting horse-drawn wagons, and distributed throughout Addison County, and beyond. While many items were regularly stocked at the point, special items and orders were also available. Many general stores, located inland from the lake, picked up many of their products at ports similar to Chipman's Point. Historic records refer to lines of up to forty teams of horse-drawn wagons waiting for boats to arrive. Steamers also stopped at the point, as they carried passengers to various ports along the lake. The Chipman Point Inn attracted business from travelers on the passing steamers, and by the 1840s, from the Delaware and Hudson Railroad across the lake in New York.

When the railroad reached the northeastern section of Orwell in 1871, business on the lake and activity at Chipman's Point declined dramatically. From that point on, the area served mainly as a ferry landing, and a summer picnic spot. The warehouses are in good condition, despite the lack of activity in the area, and have retained nearly all of their 19th-century features, the same is true of the site as a whole. The two warehouse buildings play a large role in the retention of the setting, the integrity of design, materials, feeling, and association at Chipman's Point.

Long before American settlers, soldiers, or Samuel de Champlain navigated the waters of Lake Champlain, native Americans were enjoying its fruitful bounty. The Algonquin Indians fished and hunted near what is now Chipman's Point. They also collected chert from local deposits, using it to make arrowheads, stone knives, and tools. Limestone outcroppings, located about 650 feet south of the point, formed sheltered caves that may have been used by Indians during the winter.

The most populated section of Orwell, VT, 1820-40, Chipman's Point expanded to include a school, a church, nine dwellings, a grand hotel, two stone warehouses, and a ferry landing. In addition to storing goods, the warehouses also housed a general store, a restaurant, the town's first post office, and a tavern. The village center of Orwell slowly developed in the background of the action at the point, as did the surrounding lands.

Historically, ports were established along the lake, roughly six miles apart, to connect regions with the lake trade. Larrabee's Point, located about five miles north of Chipman's Point, in the town of Shoreham, features an 1823 stone warehouse building that is very similar to the Sholes warehouse. Currently named the Teachout Lakehouse, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 1, 1980. Larger ports on the Vermont side include Vergennes, Shelburne Point, Burlington Bay, and St. Albans Bay. The New York side also featured many ports, such as Ticonderoga, Port Henry, Essex, and Plattsburgh. Goods were brought to the points from inland locations for shipping, and other items were purchased or ordered from the lake traders.

The first phase of the lake trade consisted of dealings between ports located on the lake. The second phase began when the Champlain Canal was finished in 1823. The canal connected the southern section of the lake with the Hudson River, which led south to important metropolitan centers such as Troy, NY, and New York City. The third phase of trade was made possible by the opening of the Erie Canal, which connected the lake trade, via the Hudson River, with ports on the Great Lakes. In less than two decades, lake trade exploded into a major network consisting of many merchant fleets, transportation lines, and trading ports. This was important not only for the transportation of raw materials and processed goods but for passenger freight as well. Water-related travel became easy for people, and many took advantage of it.

As the canal system developed, so too did the railroad. Reaching Addison County in 1849, it began to attract the business of some merchants. The town of Orwell was linked to the rail system in 1871. The tracks, which were located a good distance inland, attracted new trade and new industries. Although not entirely, much trade was drawn away from the lake. Timber harvesters continued to transport their materials on the lake, and steamers and tugs towed canal boats up and down the lake. By the late 19th century, Chipman's Point had fallen into decline, serving mainly as a ferry landing, and summer picnic spot. The warehouse buildings are the last remaining intact representative members of what was a very lively and busy lake port village.

The Chipman warehouse of c. 1810, and the Sholes warehouse of 1824 are especially significant because they are in good condition, having been disturbed little by those who have occupied them over the years. The interior plans remain very open, framed by two rows of interior load-bearing posts. They are good examples of vernacular stone commercial buildings. Other examples can be found locally, including warehouses in the town of Middlebury, and mills along Otter Creek in both Middlebury and Vergennes. In Vergennes, examples such as the brick distillery and warehouse, both built in 1825, found below the Otter Creek falls, and a mill above the falls built of stone in 1836, display like forms. The mills and the lake-side warehouses served as a connection to the water. Their forms display that, as they sit lightly on stone ledges with narrow but tall structures. In the town of Middlebury, very large examples of stone warehouses can be found. Some dwarf those at Chipman's Point, doubling their size three or four times. The Jonathon Hagar warehouse, built in Middlebury in 1815, is a good example, although it features three stories, a gable roof, and load-bearing stone walls, it is much larger than most of the other warehouses and mills in the area.

Stone was a common building material along and around the lake. Deposits of sedimentary stone were left by a body of water called the Champlain Sea, which covered the entire area over four hundred million years ago. Readily available, and offering protection from rodents and the environment, the stone was a good choice for a storage facility or home. The present owners, Pat, and Richard Ullom are residing in the Sholes warehouse and running a marina and wharf for boaters. They are in the process of designing an interpretation center in the Chipman warehouse. They plan to display various relics and historical information related to the southern section of Lake Champlain, and perhaps host tours of the site.