1. City Park/The Common. This hub of early Lower Village activity is located at the junction of two old post and stage roads. Sparsely populated and only partially cleared, the village at its 1794 Town Meeting voted that "the swine should not run at large the present year". Early records starting in 1801 indicate the presence of a log cabin, the first frame schoolhouse and the Methodist Meeting House. The first bandstand was built between 1873 and 1886. It has endured several renovations, the most recent in 1975 when it was relocated to the center of the Common.

2. The Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial on the northwest corner of City Park was dedicated in 1924 before 12,000 spectators to honor the youth of Barre who fought in world War I. The design, "Youth Triumphant" by C. Paul Jennewein, was the winner in a 1921 nationwide competition. A delight for children is the so-called "whispering gallery," an echo which resounds from one end of the curving exedra, or bench, to the other. The memorial of fine Barre granite reflects the talents of three local carvers: Gino Tosi, Enrico Mori, and John Del Monte.

3. The Universalist Church was founded in 1796. The clock, a gift of Congregational Church member Chapin Keith in 1862, was placed in the Universalist Church steeple instead of the Congregational Church because he could see it from his office window at the corner of Keith Ave. and North Main St.

4. The Congregational Church was organized in 1799. The present structure dates from 1840.

5. The Church of the Good Shepherd, Episcopal, was built in 1895 of Barre granite in a modified Gothic design.

6. The Hedding Methodist Church was founded in 1797. After several previous structures, the present church was built in 1895.

7. The First Baptist Church was completed in 1894. In 1909, the first Boy Scout Troop in the US, chartered directly from England, was started in this church.

8. The Church Street School was built in 1878 with a second story added in 1884, the mark of a growing town. The current owner is the Barre Granite Association, a trade organization of granite quarriers and manufacturers founded in 1889. The granite facade was added in 1950.

9. Barre City Hall and Opera House. The current building was completed in 1899 and replaced a previous structure destroyed by fire in 1898. The two-story granite arched main entrance features an ornamental iron balcony and is surmounted by a stained glass window that repeats the arch theme seen throughout the building. The Opera House was considered the finest theater in the state. Some of the well-known names who appeared on its stage were James O'Neill (father of Eugene), John Philip Sousa, Emma Goldman, Harry Lauder, Helen Keller, Ken Maynard, and Tom Mix. By the late 1920s it was used mainly as a movie house with an occasional stage production. It closed in 1944. Through the determined efforts of a group of concerned citizens, renovations started in 1973, and in 1982 the theater reopened. This building is listed on the national Register of Historic Places. An addition was constructed on the rear of the building in 1993 to house the box office, lobby, dressing rooms, and an elevator that serves all floors of the building.

10. Masonic Temple. The original classic-lined brick house was built by Joseph Addison Ripley prior to 1830. Ripley served as Barre Town Clerk for 22 years from 1818 to 1840. The property was acquired in 1929 by Granite Lodge No. 35, Free and Accepted Masons, who undertook major renovations including the two-floored portico that replaced the broad, sweeping verandah that formerly graced the front of one of the most imposing Barre residences.

11. Robert Burns Monument and Spaulding Graded School.

In 1899 on the 103rd anniversary of Burns' death, one of the finest works of art in granite was dedicated. The stalwart figure of the renowned Scot embodies the skills of two national groups, Italians and Scots, who immigrated in large numbers to Barre in the 1880s and 1890s. The panels depict three scenes from Burns' most famous poems, "The Cotter's Saturday Night", "Tam O Shanter", and "To A Mountain Daisy." The fourth panel is of Burns' cottage in Ayr, Scotland.

Directly behind the monument is the building that once housed Barre's Spaulding Graded School. Located on the site of the old Barre Academy, the current structure was started in 1891 to meet the expanding needs of Barre's district schools. It became the high school at a later date and remained as such until 1965 when a new high school was opened. At that point it reverted to a middle school until 1995 when a new elementary and middle school was constructed.

12. The Aldrich Public Library was opened in 1908. It was created and sustained by Leonard Frost Aldrich, one of Barre's leading residents and benefactors. The building is solidly constructed of brick, granite and heavy timbers. Notable are two granite pillars that flank the dignified front entrance. Note the granite carving over the entrance depicting literary arts. Located on the second floor of the library, the Barre Museum and Archives include interesting memorabilia of Barre.

13. Post Office. This "Gibraltar" of Barre granite was completed in 1912 after only 15 months of construction and at a cost of about $115,000. The interior lobby walls are paneled with Rutland marble from the floor to the plaster cornices.

14. The Barre Fire Station is patterned after a station in Quincy, Massachusetts. Quincy officials graciously loaned the plans and blueprints of their Wollaston Street station. Construction was completed in 1905 at a total cost of $24,000 and included eight stalls for horses. Of special note are the arched folding doors, the outside stonework, and the "drying tower" that looks like a church belfry where wet hoses were hung to dry. The unique weather vane of a "flying horse-drawn hook and ladder wagon" that formerly graced the top of the station tower is now on display at the Barre Museum (#12).

15. Old Fork Shop/Trow & Holden. The original building dating from 1865 was consumed by fire in 1877, but rebuilt within the year. The site was chosen on the Stephens Branch for its waterpower potential. A company statement reports that 17,000 dozen forks were made in 1880. In 1905 Trow & Holden moved to this location. In 1885 William Merrill Holden invented the Barre Pneumatic Carving Tool which is still in worldwide use in the stone industry. The brick structures housing the machine shop date from the late 19th century. Other additions and renovations were made in the early 1900s and 1920s.

Barre's Granite Buildings.

A notable building expansion on Main Street accompanied the boom years in the Barre granite industry between 1880 and 1905. Wooden-framed dwellings and business establishments were replaced by imposing brick buildings. A few of these were granite-faced and reflect the utilitarian aspects of the stone as well as the pride of the citizenry in their product.

16. The Granite Savings Bank was built in 1888. Made of rock-faced granite blocks, the facade boasts peaked granite cornices on the upper story windows.

17. The D. M. Miles Block was built in 1898. The four-story building houses stores on the ground floor and offices and apartments above. For many years the building boasted the only elevator in town. Of note is the lone remaining polished granite column.

18. The A. Scampini Building was built in 1904. The solid building is distinguished by an ornate carved fresco of grapes and other fruit and wheat over the second story windows. Granite artistry is also evident in the two polished columns gracing the main entrance.

19. 135 North Main Street. This interesting Victorian structure was built in 1871 as a law office for Langdon C. Wheelock. It was located next to Mr. Wheelock's home that has since been demolished. It currently serves as the Barre Senior Citizen Center.

20. The Old Labor Hall was a political and social center built in 1900, mostly by Italian stonecutters in their spare time. The builders espoused liberal political and social philosophies. A focal point is the arm and hammer granite medallion over the entrance. The "SLP" stood for "Socialist Labor Party." The Hall's importance to the community included the operation of a co-operative store dealing in groceries. With the demise of the Socialist movement, the Hall was used as a social club until being sold in 1936. Following several commercial tenants, it is now list on the national Register of Historic Places and is being restored as an interpretive history site and community facility.

21. Italian Baptist Church/Church of God of Prophecy. One of the three Barre landmarks on the national Register of Historic Places, this church was build in 1907 by the First Baptist Church as a mission for Italian-born immigrants. It was constructed entirely by volunteer labor. It features a unique granite facade and massive polished granite columns. In the 1940s, it fell into disuse and after changing hands several times was purchased and refurbished by the Church of God of Prophecy. The church was rededicated in 1974.

22. St. Monica's Church was completed in 1889 to fill the need for a sizable church for the Roman Catholic community as the influx of immigrants from Italy, Spain, Ireland, Lebanon, and French Canada overcrowded the space available in rented meeting halls. The church has undergone significant expansion and renovation since and now includes a rectory, convent, and elementary school.

23. Presbyterian Church. The congregation was formed in 1889 in response to the needs of Scottish immigrants from Scotland and Canada for a church of their tradition. The present church was dedicated in 1897.

24. Italian-American Stonecutters' Monument. Erected in 1985, the Barre granite statue of a typical aproned stone worker with the tools of the trade in his hands, suitably commemorates the thousands of Italian immigrants who came to the area in the late 1890s and early 1900s. This 23-foot tall, 43-ton statue is located in the "North End" originally populated by Italians. It is an impressive mate to the Scots' Burns Monument at the opposite end of town. (#11)

Note: Copyrighted material for this tour was taken with permission from "Barre In Retrospect II: 1776-1995" which was published by the Friends of the aldrich Public Library, Barre, Vermont, in 1995. Copies can be purchased at the library or from a number of Barre merchants.

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