A Reunion of Memories

Roger H. Perry Hall has been home to a statesman and lawyer; a capitalist and his botanist wife; a businessman and developer; and a doctor, his wife, and their 11 children. All told, only four families ever lived in the 151-year-old home, and each has a story to tell...

1859-1912

Edward J. and Harriet Phelps

The original house was built in 1859 by Edward John Phelps, the son of Samuel S. Phelps, a judge on the Vermont Supreme Court and U.S. senator (1839-1851).

Edward J. Phelps was born in 1822 in Middlebury, Vermont, and at the tender age of 14, enrolled in Middlebury College. He graduated four years later and as many young educated men of the era did, he headed south to teach. After only a year in Virginia, he entered Yale Law School, stayed for a year, and then returned home to study law in the Middlebury office of Horatio Seymour, twice a losing candidate for governor and a longtime U.S. senator from Vermont (1821-1833).

Phelps joined the Vermont Bar and in 1845 moved his practice to Burlington. In 1851, at age 29, he was appointed second auditor of the U.S. Treasury by President Millard Fillmore and moved to Washington, D.C. In 1854, he returned to Burlington to resume his practice and was elected state's attorney for Chittenden County-the only elected office he ever held.

Canadian architect William Bergholtz designed the Phelps home in Italianate style with elements of Greek Revival. The hillside location, with its view of Lake Champlain, was an important factor in its siting and setback. Construction began in 1859, and Phelps and his wife, Harriet, moved in the following year. It was one of nine Italianate houses built on South Willard Street between 1860 and 1890.

Phelps became president of the American Bar Association in 1880 and was one of the most respected lawyers of his time. He retired his practice in 1881 a year after his unsuccessful run as the Democratic candidate for governor.

For the next two years, he held an appointment at the University of Vermont as professor of medical jurisprudence. In 1885, he was appointed by President Grover Cleveland to the post of ambassador to the Court of St. James in London for two years. From 1886 until his death in 1900, he was the Kent Professor of Law at Yale University. Phelps lived in different locations, but continued to summer in Burlington. After his death, Mrs. Phelps maintained the home and continued to summer in Burlington until the house was sold in 1913.

In the obituary that appeared in Harper's Weekly, Phelps was described as coming from "exceptionally vigorous and effective American stock." It was also noted that his many successes were obtained by "very solid qualities, of learning and character, joined by personal traits, sound judgment as to men and the merits of disputed questions, and social gifts of unusual charm."

1913-1940

John J. and Nellie F. Flynn

John J. Flynn purchased the property March 22, 1913, and proceeded to renovate the home, adding a front porch and extending the south wing.

Flynn well deserved his reputation as "a capitalist and businessman of large affairs, a promoter and financier." He was one of the original founders of the Chittenden Bank, and several railroad and electric and gas companies. Flynn served on many boards and simultaneously managed a retail grocery company, as well as the Flynn, Majestic, and Capitol theaters.

In 1877, Flynn married Nellie P. Waite of Dorset, one of the leading botanists in New England. Her Burlington flower garden contained practically all the hardy plants for this region. After her death in 1922, her husband published her book The Flora of Burlington and Vicinity. The Nellie F. Flynn Collection, with 22,700 specimens, was acquired by the University of Vermont from Goddard College as a permanent loan in 1956.

John Flynn died in 1940 and left his house to the City of Burlington to operate as a home for aged men. The City turned down the gift because of operating expenses and the home reverted to the Flynn estate.

1943-1954

Gilbert Brewer

In 1943, Gilbert Brewer purchased the South Willard property and lived there until 1954. Brewer operated automobile businesses in Burlington, Vermont, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Canann, Connecticut. He also developed Brewer Parkway off Shelburne Road. Little else about his life or time living in the home was recorded.

1955-2004

Dr. Martin and Elizabeth Cannon

In 1955, Dr. Martin Cannon and his wife, Elizabeth Fitzpatrick Cannon (at left) moved into the South Willard home. A prominent obstetrician, Dr. Cannon was in private practice and had delivered thousands of babies over his career by the time he retired in 1991. He also served in the Korean War.

The couple raised 11 children in what would be known locally as the Cannon Estate. The family of six girls and five boys (shown at right) still recall many days of playing in the large field behind the house, picking raspberries down by the carriage barn, raising ducks in the barn, and peeking in the rooms in the house such as the library that were off-limits to youngsters.

The Cannon family enjoyed a front-row seat as Champlain College grew from a small, two-year business college to a four-year undergraduate school with many new facilities. The family had close ties with the college-one son, Martin, attended Champlain and played basketball for the school.

For many years, the coach of the Champlain women's field hockey team would bring her players over to the house to help Mrs. Cannon with yardwork.

Like any children who grew up in a large family, the Cannons have memories aplenty of the home- their parents' 50th wedding anniversary celebrated on the back lawn under a tent, posing for family photos, grandchildren playing, a community of friends that always seemed to fill the house, bridge nights, and the Fourth of July family reunion that Mrs. Cannon hosted every year.

Dr. Cannon died in 1996, and Mrs. Cannon continued to live in the home until it was sold to Champlain College in 2004. The building was renamed Roger H. Perry Hall in 2005 in honor of Champlain College President Roger H. Perry who was retiring.

Planning for the restoration of the original building and the additions began with the College's master plan, and ground was broken on the project in May 2009. The building was completed in late July 2010.