E. L. Smith Roundhouse Granite Shed

United States historic place

E.L. Smith Roundhouse Granite Shed

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Show map of Vermont

Show map of the United States

Location| Burnham St., Barre, Vermont
Coordinates| 44°11′51″N 72°30′19″W﻿ / ﻿44.19750°N 72.50528°W﻿ / 44.19750; -72.50528
Area| less than one acre
Built| 1933 (1933)
Architectural style| Horseshoe Granite Shed
NRHP reference No.| 11000704[1]
Added to NRHP| September 26, 2011

The E.L. Smith Roundhouse Granite Shed is a historic granite shed at 23 Burnham Street in the city of Barre, Vermont. Built in 1889, it is the only known surviving example of a circular granite cutting shed in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.[1]

## Description and history

[edit]

The E.L. Smith Roundhouse Granite Shed stands on the south side of Burnham Street, across from the Stevens Branch of the Winooski River from downtown Barre. The shed is part of a larger industrial site, most of which is still taken up by granite-related businesses. It is a sixteen-sided building, two stories in height, with a low-pitch conical roof and its walls finished in wooden clapboards. The roof originally had a cupola at the center; this was lost to a fire in 1968 which also destroyed a number of other original features. The interior timber framing of the building is largely still in place, although some elements have been replaced by steel framing. An original crane is mounted on a central rotating jib, allowing it to service all parts of the building. A two-story ell extends east from the main shed, with a shed-roof office attached to its eastern end.[2]

The main shed was built in 1889 by Emery L. Smith, owner of a local granite quarry. Smith was influential in the growth of Barre's granite industry, promoting the development of the railroad connecting the quarries to the cutting sheds in the downtown area. He was also innovative in the extraction and processing of the stone, with the circular design of this building among those innovations, as it permitted the central crane to move heavy stone slabs anywhere within the building. The crane still has many of its original parts, although it is now powered electrically rather than by hand. The building continues to be used for granite processing, having gone through a succession of industrial owners.[2]

## See also

[edit]

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Vermont
* Beck and Beck Granite Shed: NRPH listed granite shed also in Barre, Vermont
* Lyon's Turning Mill: NRHP listed granite mill in Quincy, Massachusetts

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. ^ a b Sara Casten (2010). "NRHP nomination for E.L. Smith Roundhouse Granite Shed". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-11-14. with photos from 2010

## External links

[edit]

* ReSOURCE Vermont web site
* Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. VT-8, "E. L. Smith & Company, Sixteen-Sided Granite Shed, Burnham Street, Barre, Washington County, VT", 3 data pages

* v
* t
* e

National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Vermont

National
Historic
Landmark|

* Socialist Labor Party Hall
* Vermont State House

Districts|

* Barre Downtown Historic District
* Beck and Beck Granite Shed
* Currier Park Historic District
* East Calais Historic District
* Goddard College Greatwood Campus
* Kents Corner Historic District
* Mad River Glen Ski Area Historic District ‡
* Mad River Valley Rural Historic District
* McLaughlin Farm
* Mill Village Historic District
* Montpelier Historic District
* North Calais Village Historic District
* Plainfield Village Historic District
* Roxbury Fish Hatchery
* Vermont State Hospital Historic District
* Waitsfield Common Historic District
* Waitsfield Village Historic District
* Warren Village Historic District
* Waterbury Village Historic District

Buildings|

* Aldrich Public Library
* Allenwood Farm
* Athenwood and the Thomas W. Wood Studio
* Barre City Hall and Opera House
* Central Vermont Railway Depot
* Colby Mansion
* College Hall
* Parley Davis House
* East Village Meetinghouse
* Gale-Bancroft House
* Green Mountain Seminary
* Italian Baptist Church
* Jones Brothers Granite Shed
* Jones–Pestle Farmstead
* Joslin Farm
* Lareau Farmstead
* Chauncey B. Leonard House
* Martin Covered Bridge
* Mayo Building
* National Clothespin Factory
* Nichols House
* Old Red Mill
* Old West Church
* Reynolds House
* Scampini Block
* E. L. Smith Roundhouse Granite Shed
* Joshua Twing Gristmill
* Union Co-operative Store Bakery
* Union Meetinghouse
* Waterbury Center Methodist Church
* Wheelock Law Office
* Theodore Wood House
* Woodbury Graded School
* Woodbury Town Hall
* Worcester Town Hall
* Worcester Village School

Structures|

* Bridge 31
* Bridge No. 27
* Center Road Culvert
* Coburn Covered Bridge
* Great Eddy Covered Bridge
* Lower Cox Brook Covered Bridge
* Middlesex–Winooski River Bridge
* Northfield Falls Covered Bridge
* Pine Brook Covered Bridge
* Slaughter House Covered Bridge
* Stony Brook Covered Bridge
* Upper Cox Brook Covered Bridge
* Warren Covered Bridge

Footnotes|

‡ This historic property also has portions in an adjacent county.

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Vermont and List of National Historic Landmarks in Vermont
*[No.]: number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template