28 Hungerford Terrace
The land on which 28 Hungerford Terrace was built was once part of the very large land holdings of Col. Ozias Buell, who came to Burlington in 1804 and became one of the wealthiest businessmen in town. He built 303 Pearl Street as a wedding gift for his son Frederick. Frederick’s daughter Maria inherited the house and the land, which reached to College Street. When she married the Rev. Edward Hungerford, he gained control of all this. Maria had landscaped her property, making a park of it. Her husband developed it, dividing it into building lots and naming the streets after their families.
By 1911, both of the Hungerfords had died, but not all the lots were sold. It wasn’t until the 19th of September, 1921 that Elihu B. Taft, administrator of Maria’s estate, sold lot #11 to Elias and Maud Desautels. Elias worked at the Chace cotton mill near the Winooski bridge. The house was built in 1923 and first listed in the 1924 city directory. Adolphus Desautels, an employee at the New Sherwood Hotel, was also living there with Maud and Elias. The Desautels built a bungalow-style stucco house, a popular style for the 1920’s.
Sadly, the Chace Mill closed down in 1926. By then, Elias, having taken a job at the woolen mill and moved to Winooski, had sold his house to Henry Couture and his wife Grace in June of 1925. Henry had come to Burlington from Rouse’s Point NY to open his restaurant, Henry’s Diner, Still a Burlington icon nearly 92 years later. Hungerford Terrace was home to Henry and his family until after he retired from the diner in 1944.
In 1949 Henry sold #28 Hungerford Terrace to James and Gladys Kadas. James was the chef for Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity. Possibly he had once worked at the diner because when he and Gladys sold the house ten years later they moved to Cortland Avenue, where the Coutures were living.
The new owner was Eva M. Duggan, Her late husband Edward had worked for Sears Roebuck. The house was her home for the rest of her life. In the summer of 1970, her family sold it to Xavier and Sharon Rueda. He was an architect with Beaudin and Moulton.
In 1973 the Ruedas sold to Anthony and Jennifer Robbins. Anthony was the State of Vermont’s health commissioner. Almost exactly three years later the Robbins sold the house to Alfred and Christie Fengler. Alfred was an employee of UVM.
On April 3, 2000, the present owners, Bruce Thompson and Susan Kelley, bought the house from Mr. Fengler.
Image Credit: Google Streetview
REFERENCES
Burlington land records
Burlington City Directories, 1921 on
Historic Guide to Burlington Neighborhoods, Vols. I and II, Chittenden County Historical Society
Burlington Free Press, obituaries, Wed., Oct. 6, 1976
State of Vermont Historic Sites and Structures Survey 1977