Squire House (185 North Street)

The Queen Anne style of architecture features large bays, asymmetrical exteriors, and patterned clapboard siding. Frederick Squire chose this style for his house in 1887, when it was at the height of popularity. Squire had opened his first jewelry store in Bennington in 1854 and became an influential figure in Bennington’s civic, social, and economic affairs. His large house reflected his view of his social importance. In the late 1800s Bennington was enjoying a period of great prosperity, and Squire’s house was one of many new, elaborate homes built on North Street. The Squire house is one of the few homes from this era that still remains. After Frederick Squire died in 1904, a local resident purchased the house and, in 1910, added the front and rear porches seen in this photograph. The porches were enclosed in the 1960s – creating the facade we see today. From 1964 to 1984, the building housed the nuns who taught at the Catholic school next door. In 1987, after being used as a storage facility for several years, the structure became a real estate office. Most recently, the home has served the community as a home care and addiction recovery center.