291 South Union Street
This attractive two story brick veneer Colonial revival house was an early design of noted Burlington architect Frank Lyman Austin (1874-1942), whose other creations include the old Champlain School, Memorial Auditorium, the YMCA, Edmunds School, the Central Fire station, and many other public buildings and homes around the state. The land had previously been the part of the site for the homestead of Russell S. Taft, who, at his death in 1902, was Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, having held many local offices and serving as State Senator and Lieutenant Governor.
Although the Vermont Historic Sites and Structures Survey and the National Register of Historic Places South Union Street Historic District) give the date of this house as 1906, the lot deed is dated September 3, 1907, and Henry Hickok is first listed as a resident at the address in the city directory of 1908: so 1908 would seem to be the better date for the house.
Austin designed the home for Henry H. Hickok, whose insurance office was at 170 College Street. It cost $5,000 dollars to build. The house is basically square, with a hipped slate roof, tall narrow chimneys , and an angled brick and clapboard bay on the south side. The windows have the three to four vertical light upper sash seen in many Burlington houses of this period. Especially interesting are the beautiful recessed entrance, with a Federal Revival doorway: a six panel door, leaded glass sidelights and fanlight, and the oriel window to the left of the entrance.
Later owners show how Burlington was changing. In the early 1930’s, George H. Flint worked for a tobacco wholesaling business. Arthur Ploof, in 1937, was working as a clerk at F. Howes, a meat and fish store on Church Street. By 1951, he was the president of the Frozen Foods Locker; by 1960, he had retired.
Felix Cowey, Jr. in the mid 1960’s, was a sales representative for GE. Robert Laffin was president of F.W. Myers Company, and his wife Elizabeth was an interior designer.
Allen/William and Mona Benway worked in various capacities for the Burlington Free Press and WCAX TV. The next owners were Peter Clavelle, Mayor of Burlington, and Betsy Ferries, supportive and active in the community.
Finally, the present owners, Stuart A. and Karina Warshaw, have made the house their own, with sensitive restorations and attractive landscaping, making a distinctive contribution to their South Union Street neighborhood.
