Grab a free pamphlet for your journey! Locations include:

• Winooski City Hall

• Winooski Memorial Library

• Winooski Senior Center

• Heritage Winooski Mill Museum

• Winooski Historical Society

• O’Brien Community Center

1. Winooski Site and Indigenous Presence

Archaeological study suggests occupation by indigenous people living seasonally along the banks of the Winooski River as far back as 9,000 years ago. The very name Winooski itself draws its origins from the Abenaki word Winoskitekw, meaning “onion land river”. It is not known where the exact site of the Woodland period Winoskik village “at wild onion land” was centered, but ongoing scholarship continues to affirm the long presence of the indigenous people in the region.

2. Champlain and Colchester Merino Mills

Harnessing the great hydro-power provided by the Winooski River, the  manufacturing of textiles on an industrial scale began in 1837 with the construction of a large multi-story mill building. Expansion continued through the Civil War, and in 1880 another mill was built to produce fine merino woolen goods. After filing bankruptcy in 1899, the mills were acquired by the American Woolen Company, the largest manufacturer of woolen fabrics in the nation. A.W.Co. constructed the Champlain Mill in 1912 and maintained ownership until 1954 when they ceased operations in Winooski. 

3. Henry’s Cafe/Papa Frank’s Restaurant

11-13 West Center St.

This wood-frame building is one of the oldest surviving commercial blocks in downtown Winooski, displaying elements of early Federal-style architecture. For much of its history, the building was home to a variety of neighborhood markets. In the 1960s and ’70s, Henry’s Cafe occupied the block and was a popular hangout for Winooski’s working class. In 1984, Frank Sciara opened Papa Frank’s Italian restaurant here, presently owned by Maurice Paquette, a longtime employee who bought the business in 2004.

4. Hanson’s Shoe Store

44-48 Main St.

After fleeing religious persecution in Russia, Morris Hanson settled in Burlington’s Old North End Jewish community to start a career as a merchant. After working for several years in Winooski, in 1906 he established his own shoe store on Main Street, where the Hanson family made their home. Morris ran the store with his wife and children. After Mr. and Mrs. Hanson’s death, their academically gifted daughter Annie managed the store until her passing in 1982. In the 1980’s a natural foods store called Fiddleheads occupied the block, and after a series of tenants, Misery Loves Company opened in 2012.

5. Winooski Block

1 East Allen St.

Dramatically situated at the top of the present traffic circle, the Winooski Block is one of Vermont’s best examples of Italianate commercial architecture. Constructed in 1867 on the approximate location of Ira Allen’s homestead, the block features Queen City bricks manufactured by Francis LeClair and ornate cast-iron lintels made by Winooski’s Edwards and Stevens Foundry. The building narrowly escaped demolition during Urban Renewal and was carefully restored in the late 1970s

6. Methodist Church

24 West Allen St.

The Winooski United Methodist Church holds the distinction of being the oldest active religious congregation in the city. Founded in 1847, early members met in homes, schools, and rented halls until building their own church in 1860. In 1917, a fire tragically destroyed the building. The present shingle-clad church was built in 1918. The church has a rich history of social justice initiatives, welcoming the families of Buffalo Soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Ethan Allen in the early 1900s, and in more recent years housing the Winooski Food Shelf.

7. Congregational Church/City Hall

27 West Allen St.

In 1840, the First Congregational Church of Winooski, organized several years prior, constructed here a fine brick house of worship in the prevalent Greek Revival style. The church edifice was designed by architect Ammi Young, who was a distinguished architect also credited with the design of the Vermont State Capital and the U.S. Treasury Building. In 1922 the newly incorporated City of Winooski purchased the former church to use as a City Hall and Police Department. After a series of alterations, the structure was demolished in 1977 to make way for the present building.

8. Central Vermont Railroad Station (destroyed)

N.E. Corner of the Intersection of West Allen Street and Malletts Bay Ave.

Although a vacant lot today, this site was once a hub of mass transit and major point of entry for many immigrants seeking employment in Winooski’s growing industries. In 1877, the Central Vermont Railroad constructed here a classic train station with Victorian style architectural details to provide passenger service to Winooski Falls. In 1932 passenger service was discontinued and the station served as a freight warehouse until it was destroyed by fire in 1970.

9. Winooski Steamer Company (destroyed)

131 Main St.

Following a disastrous fire that swept through downtown Winooski in 1898, the village decided it was time to invest in better defense measures by constructing a new central brick firehouse for the municipality in 1899. The station housed horse-drawn steam fire fighting apparatuses, a tower to dry hoses, and maintained an alarm system with switch boxes around town. After a new fire station across the street was constructed, the vacated firehouse was ironically destroyed by fire in 1977.

10. Old Stone House

73 East Allen St.

This Federal era building is recognizable due to its unique yellow-tan sandstone masonry exterior. It is believed to have been built by Roswell Butler and later operated as a tavern by Ichabod Brownell. The unusual stone pier construction, to support without joists, plank sub-floors, possibly from Ira Allen’s sawmills on the river, add to its architectural and historical importance. In 1974 the house was purchased and restored by the Winooski Bicentennial Commission, and the second floor once contained the museum of the Winooski Historical Society.

11. Mansion House

107-109 Main St.

Built before October 1803, this is the oldest existing Great House after the Georgian model in Northwestern Vermont. Its first known occupants were Francis Childs and his wife. Mentored by Benjamin Franklin, he founded New York’s first daily newspaper, served as printer to the new U.S. Congress, and was awarded an honorary degree by Yale. He came to Vermont from his association with Ira Allen. Col. Nathan Rice acquired the “Child’s Place” in 1822, followed by John and Artemisia Weaver in 1835. Their entertainment of UVM students here led to the marriage of their eldest daughter to Henry Raymond, founder of the New York Times and its editor until his death. Charles Harding, the new owner of the textile mills at Winooski Falls, bought the Mansion in 1853, and gave it the Italianate appearance it retains today. For nearly 80 years this was the residence of owners or administrators of the Winooski mills.

12. LeClair House

84 Weaver St.

François LeClair emigrated to Winooski in 1828 and began a successful career as a merchant, brickmaker, and real estate developer.  His professional status made him well-positioned to aid subsequent waves of French Canadian immigrants by financing their homes on favorable terms. In 1866 his accumulated wealth allowed him to build this fine residence, which after leaving family ownership became a clubhouse for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Knights of Columbus, and the Regular Veterans Association, who presently occupy the structure.

13. Richard’s Furniture Factory/O’Brien Community Center

32 Malletts Bay Ave.

In 1911 Eugene Richard, a native of Cap Santé, Quebec began with his brother Omer, a shop manufacturing cabinets and wooden products behind their home on Main St (presently the location of the W.F.D.). The business grew rapidly and they and built a furniture factory on Malletts Bay Ave in 1919, which after several expansions eventually employed between 250-300 people. After a fire destroyed the plant in 1973, a supermarket occupied the site until the city acquired it as the ‘Dr. Robert and Shirley O’Brien Community Center’ in 2008.

14. Porter Screen Factory

110 East Spring St.

Founded in 1885 by E.N. Porter, the company moved to Winooski from Burlington in 1893. After the factory burned, a new facility was built adjacent to rail lines on East Spring Street. A new three-story brick building was added in 1911, and the company expanded to become the largest manufacturer of wood frame screens and storm doors in the world. It was a major employer in Winooski before closing in 1952.

15. Former Winooski High School and Site

31 East Spring St.

For nearly a century, this location was the center of public education for Winooski and Colchester. A two-story wooden schoolhouse was constructed in 1864 to serve the community, with a high school added in 1890. In 1912, a fine brick high school building designed by Burlington architect Frank Lyman Austin was constructed and the old structure was severed and moved across the street to create private homes. A new high school was completed on Main St in 1959, and in 1967 the defunct brick high school was demolished for the federally funded Spring Gardens housing for seniors.

16. St. Stephen’s Church

115 Barlow St.

In 1872, after meeting for two years in a rented upstairs hall in the Winooski Block, a simple brick structure was dedicated to serve the spiritual needs the village’s Irish Catholic population. In the early 20th century, the congregation grew as newer immigrant groups sought opportunity in Winooski, including Italian, Polish, and Lebanese families. In 1929, a new church faced in white Proctor marble and designed by the prestigious Boston architectural firm of Maginnis and Walsh was completed. The parish was closed in July 2019 and the fate of this landmark remains uncertain.

17. St. Francis Xavier Church

3 St. Peter St.

Perhaps the most visible landmark in Winooski, St. Francis Xavier Church was constructed in 1870 to serve the growing French-speaking population. Designed by Rev. Joseph Michaud of Montreal, the copper-clad twin spires were completed in 1884. The parish served as the axis of cultural activity for the Franco-American community and maintained a bi-lingual parochial school. Interior paintings and stained glass executed by Guido Nincheri, nicknamed  “the Michelangelo of Montreal,” were added during a period of prosperity in the 1940s.

18. Trinity Episcopal/Faith Baptist Church

28 Platt St.

This often overlooked wood-frame church is a fine example of 19th century Gothic Revival architecture. It was designed by Rev. John Henry Hopkins Jr., composer of the famous carol “We Three Kings.” The congregation was initially served as a mission of St. Paul’s in Burlington and was served through its history by circuit pastors. After de-consecration in 1978, Faith Baptist Church acquired the building and currently uses it for worship.