30 Henry Street
Henry Street was developed on part of the large tract of Burlington land owned by the Loomis family from the 1790s. The street first appeared on a map in the city directory in 1894. The State Historic Sites and Structures Survey states that Mrs. Mary Clary’s house, #10 (later #12), dated 1896, was the first house on the street. By 1901, when the city first provided a listing of streets with their residents, there were 14 occupied houses on the street. Numbers 18, 20, and 22 (now 22, 26 and 30) were listed as vacant. These three houses first appear on the 1906 fire insurance map. The previous map was issued in 1900.
Paul Bonnette was the man responsible for the construction of 30 Henry Street, as well as several other houses in the neighborhood. According to his obituary in the November 22, 1906 Free Press, Paul Bonnette emigrated to Burlington from Farnham, Quebec as a young man. His first job was as a gardener for Miss Maria Loomis. Behind her house at #43 South Williams Street were gardens and an apple orchard, now replaced by condominiums. Bonnette’s next job was as a hackman for a livery business. He also drove for the Champlain Transportation Company in the early 1890’s. But Bonnette was enterprising and talented. He became a successful real estate entrepreneur. His own home was a Queen Anne-style house around the corner from Henry Street at #134 North Willard Street.
Paul Bonnette , on May 13th, 1901, sold the house, described as “a new brick dwelling house” to Frank Bordo, who apparently bought it for speculation, as he never lived there. The State Historic Sites and Structures Survey calls Warren A. Rowell the first owner. He was the manager of the Burlington Rendering Company on Pine Street but was apparently a renter. Bordo sold the house to Letitia Maxham in 1904. A.J. Maxham is listed at #30 in the 1907 city directory.
In 1915 Letitia Maxham sold the house to Jacob and Mabel Bloomenthal of Ludlow, VT. The 1916 city directory lists J.L. Bloomenthal, a student, as the resident. The Bloomenthals sold to Mabel Badger in September of 1919. George and Mabel Badger deeded the property to Charles and Louise Martell in May of 1920. George was a local contractor. Mr. Martell worked for Wilson Co., a wholesale meat dealer.
The Martells owned #30 until 1941 when William J. and Mildred A Sheridan bought the place. In 1959 Robert J. and Jo Jimmo became the resident owners. In May of 1997 David and Catherine Cunningham were new owners, selling it within the year to the present owner, Judy P. Rosenstreich, in 1998.
The amazing story of Judy’s sensitive, years-long restoration of her classic brick foursquare house is best told in a recent article by Patricia Poore, photos By Carolyn Bates, in the Old House Journal. Infrastructure was updated first. Judy did extensive research, engaging architects and craftspeople. A former member of the Vermont House of Representatives, she successfully presented research that led the City Council to approve an ordinance amendment regarding the replacement of historic open-air porches. The home preserves its turn-of-the-20th-century architectural details and is still a cozy, livable home that makes an outstanding contribution to the neighborhood.
Image Credit: Redfin