47 Hillcrest Road
Chausee House, 47 Hillcrest Road
Hillcrest Road extends south from Ledge Road to Crescent Road and is part of the Prospect Park South neighborhood which was developed between the 1920s and the late 1950s by Henry Holt, a prominent Burlington landowner. Holt contracted renowned landscape architect and city planner Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (son of Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., who is perhaps best known for his design of Central Park in New York City) to design the neighborhood plan. After Olmsted’s death in 1926, his son continued the development as Prospect Park Company.
Hillcrest Road was officially dedicated as a road in 1936, though it was cut several years earlier. The first house on this road dates to 1934 (#27) and #47 was built on Lot #8 of the Prospect Park development in 1936. Like many houses in this area, it was designed by prominent Burlington architectural firm Freeman French Freeman, which has had an office in Burlington since the 1920s.
A 2006 survey, which aimed to assess the neighborhood’s eligibility as a cohesive historic district, identified #47 as a contributing structure to that historic neighborhood in accordance with National Register evaluation criteria.
The Chausse house is named for its first owners – Maurice and Lois Chausse – who developed the property and built the home according to the FFF design. They never lived in the house, however, and sold it to Floyd J. and Marion K. Arkely in April 1937. Floyd worked at the Socony Vacuum Oil Company and later moved to Flynn Ave.
In 1946, the house became the home of Benjamin B. Lane (president-treasurer of the Lane Press) and his wife Ruth.
In 1966, it passed to William J. Cody, president of the Burlington Federal Savings & Loan Association and his wife Barbara.
In 1973 it sold to Michael and Eleanor Whelan and then to Francis W. Robinson III and Judith L. Robinson in 1975. Jeffrey C. Frost purchased the property in 1987 and it stayed in the Frost family until 1995 when it passed to Mark A. and Brenda J. Healey in 1999. The present owners (Brian H. Macdonald and Caroline E. Crawford) purchased it from the Healeys in 2016.
Image credit: Redfin
REFERENCES
City of Burlington land records
Burlington City Directories (CD) 1936-1984
Blow, David J. 1997. Historic Guide to Burlington Neighborhoods, Volume II. Chittenden County Historical Society. pp 173-174.
Andre, Elizabeth Mary and Mary O’Neil. 2006. Burlington Surveys of Prospect Park South and Strong Street, CLG Grant 05-02, Phase 4, Survey Report.