Thea Lewis - Haunted Burlington: Spirits of Vermonts Queen City

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2009 by Thea Lewis

All rights reserved

First published 2009

Second printing 2010

Third printing 2011

Fourth printing 2012

Fifth printing 2012

e-book edition 2013

Manufactured in the United States

ISBN 978.1.62584.344.9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lewis, Thea.

Haunted Burlington : spirits of Vermonts Queen City / Thea Lewis.

p. cm.

print edition ISBN 978-1-59629-768-5

1. Ghosts--Vermont--Burlington. 2. Haunted places--Vermont--Burlington. I. Title.

BF1472.U6L49 2009

133.10974317--dc22

2009034944

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is dedicated to my husband, Roger, whose endless encouragement, love and support get me through each day, and to historian Lillian Baker Carlisle, who made Burlingtons past come alive for me and so many others.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There is no way this book could have come together without the help of some amazing people and resources. My endless gratitude goes to David Blow, Sarah L. Dopp and Lillian Baker Carlisle (now deceased) for their monumental effort in researching and creating the Historic Guide to Burlington Neighborhoods.

Special thanks are due to Gail Rosenberg and the Howard Center for providing photos, images and background information on Burlingtons Home for Destitute Children, and to Kitty Bartlett from the Lund Family Center, who helped me make some great connections.

Gloria DeSousa at the Champlain College Library was a fantastic resource, managing to find the most amazing information at just the right time, and UVMs Bailey-Howe Library provided history at my fingertips.

I learned so much from Nan OBrien and Pat McManaway, who helped put the spirits into perspective, and Jim Woodman, Tony and Ernie Pomerleau, Bryan Agran and Lyric Theater Company, who gave me a good running start at Queen City Ghostwalk, which is where this all began.

Last, but not least, I have to thank my husband, Roger Lewis, who took the photos and helped make sense of it all; my daughter, Shannon Redmond, who sees things that others dont; and all the family, friends and co-workers who listened to me whine, offering encouragement, consolation and, sometimeschocolate.

INTRODUCTION

Burlington, Vermont, has been called one of the nations most livable cities. Sparkling like a treasure on the shores of the lake named after explorer Samuel De Champlain, its full of interesting things to experience and explore. This is the birthplace of Ben and Jerrys, and near the center of town you can visit the plaque on the site where they set up their first scoop shop in an old, run-down gas station. Stroll the bustling pedestrian mall on Church Street, where food vendors and street performers blend with locals and visitors in the open air. Or you might want to go down to the lively, scenic waterfront and read a book, take a tour or watch the boats go by. You could go up the hill to the University of Vermont campus for a look at the schools interesting mix of architecture.

Walking down Burlingtons picturesque streets, you might be too distracted by its hip hometown atmosphere to think much about its mysterious past, but dont be fooled. Burlington is a town rich with historyand hauntings. Some people believe that Burlington is the most haunted city in Vermont.

Theres more than enough mystery, tragedy and strife in the citys past to make this so. From the shores of Burlingtons harbor to the university and hospital up the hill, Burlington has, since before its charter, been home to some of the quirkiest characters youll find anywhere: people like Isaac Nye, the Hermit of Champlain, who owned one of the first stores on Battery Street. He was wealthy by the standards of the day, and somewhat unconventional. He liked to follow funeral processions to the cemetery whether he knew the departed or not.

Battery Park, Burlingtons scenic overlook. Photo by Roger Lewis.

Consider Battery Park. During the War of 1812, it was the property of the United States, a military headquarters called Camp Burlington, a battle site that was home to between 3,000 and 4,500 soldiers who gathered to resist the advance of the British. These men famously defended the area against an attack by an enemy squadron on July 13, 1813. As the war continued through Vermonts bitter winter, hundreds of lives were lost, sometimes more than a twenty a day. In a graveyard at the northeast corner of the camp property, hundreds of men were buried, including a traitor who was hanged in front of his wife and young children. That would explain why some of the residents living in the area have claimed to see folks in their apartments whose names arent on the lease. It can be a little disconcerting, I suppose, to wake up to a man you dont know cleaning his gun next to your bed or rocking in your chaireven stranger to see him disappear like smoke. Some people have witnessed shocking apparitions while crossing through Battery Park during the wee hours. A woman and her husband tell how they were startled by quickly vanishing forms that appeared to be standing watch by the overlook. More than a few people crossing the park after dark have been terrified by the specter of a man in military dress carrying his own head.

There is another ghost that is particularly bone chilling. Witnesses say that he has the mark of a bullet hole in his forehead, and hes engaged in the act of trying to hide a body behind a large boulder inside the park.

Up the hill and to the south at 131 Main Street is the old Hotel Vermont. First opened to the public in June 1911, the hotel, with its two hundred rooms, was considered the largest and most prestigious in the state. It saw its share of interesting characters and remarkable times. In any era, a main source of revenue for hotels is the sale of liquor. During the time of Prohibition, however, Burlington, like the rest of the country, was supposed to be dry as a bone. Still, on the second floor of the Hotel Vermont, in a space often used for conventions, there were two bathrooms: one that was used when nature called and another that housed the illegal liquor, which may have been brought here via tunnels under 131 Main. Servers at the basement-level bars along St. Paul Street have mentioned secret passageways in the area, and more than one source says that a particular passageway was used in the early 1900s by working women, known in some circles as ladies of the evening, so they could travel from the Hotel Vermont to the Van Ness Hotel across St. Paul without being seen. These days, the space is made up of luxury condominiums and businesses, but the building still retains hints of its original splendor and, it seems, some of its old residents. A restaurant owner who used to rent space in the building claims that supernatural pranks were often pulled in her kitchen. Vital supplies would go missing and sometimes even the knobs on the stove would disappear. Orbs have been seen floating near the top of the building, once the site of a beautiful rooftop garden. In the lobby, theres an antique clock whose inner workings were removed long ago, but caretakers and business owners using the building late at night say that even though the case is empty, sometimes they can still hear the clock tick. Employees in the businesses that operate in the basement level have had encounters with ghosts. A prep cook at the old Whats Your Beef Steakhouse says that he was headed to the restroom late at night when he encountered a lady in old-fashioned clothing and a fancy hat who vanished when he greeted her, leaving only the strong scent of lilac perfume.