Paul CarnahanThis Federal-style house, seen here in an early stereoview created in the 1870s, is one of the oldest houses in Montpelier. It was constructed around 1808 by Chester Wright, the first Congregational minister in Montpelier, on the western edge of the first land cleared for settlement. For a long time it was the last house travellers from Montpelier passed as they headed west toward Waterbury. The building has had many occupants during its 218 years, including Chester’s grandson, J. Edward Wright, the long-time pastor of the Unitarian Church, and Mortimer Proctor, when he was governor in the 1940s. Today, the building at 159 State Street is used for professional offices.
Then and Now, May 6, 2026
Letters to the Editor
Have something to say about this? Submit a letter to the editor!
Send a news tip
Do you know of something going on we should cover? Let us know about it.
Submit an event
Organizing an event? Submit it to our ever-growing calendar.
Latest from Then and Now
Then & Now, Aug. 4, 2026
Historic photo courtesy of Vermont Historical Society; modern photo and text by Paul Carnahan In the 19th and 20th centuries, Montpelier, like most Vermont…
Then and Now, July 8, 2026
In the 1870s Wrightsville, a small hamlet on the North Branch four miles north of the center of Montpelier and clustered around the mills…
Then and Now, June 3, 2026
In 1920, about the time that this photograph was taken, the area on the southwest side of Berlin Street was lightly developed but growing.…
Then and Now, April 1, 2026
In the 1930s and ’40s, the stately home at 174 Elm Street was known as “The Walton Homestead.” Run as a guesthouse, it was…
Then and Now, Mar. 4, 2026
The first Union Block on State Street was built in 1875 after two major fires devastated the downtown. The building’s name celebrated the Union’s…