Dr. B. J. Kendall Company

The Dr. B.J. Kendall Company is a historic industrial facility at 228 North Main Street in the Enosburg Falls village of Enosburgh, Vermont. Built in 1880, it was for many years the site where "Kendall's Spavin Cure", a treatment for a horse ailment, was manufactured and marketed. This business was one of the town's economic successes, its owners contributing significantly to its architectural heritage. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993;[1] as of 2016, it is standing vacant.

Dr. B. J. Kendall Company
Dr. B. J. Kendall Company is located in Vermont
Dr. B. J. Kendall Company
Dr. B. J. Kendall Company is located in the United States
Dr. B. J. Kendall Company
Location228 N. Main St., Enosburgh, Vermont
Coordinates44°54′40″N 72°48′12″W / 44.91111°N 72.80333°W / 44.91111; -72.80333
Arealess than one acre
Built1880 (1880)
Architectural styleSecond Empire
NRHP reference No.93000721[1]
Added to NRHPAugust 2, 1993

Description and history

edit

The former Dr. B.J. Kendall Company building stands prominently near the northern end of Enosburg Falls, on the east side of North Main Street (Vermont Route 108N) at its junction with Sampsonville Road. It is a two-story wood frame structure, whose main portion is covered by a mansard roof, under which a full third floor is provided. An extending ell is covered by a flat roof. The exterior is covered in vinyl siding, which was laid over the original clapboards, and rests on a stone foundation. A slightly projecting square tower rises from the center of the seven-bay main section, also capped by a mansard roof. Windows in both the main and tower roof are framed by scrolled moulding and topped by gabled pediments. Some iron cresting survives at the top of the tower. The interior of the building retains a number of features original to its construction, including an elevator, fireproof vaults, and a speaking tube.[2]

The factory was built in 1880. Dr. B.J. Kendall, an Enosburg Falls native, had returned to his home community in the 1870s, and was operating a drug store when he developed a liniment for the treatment of bone spavin, an ailment causing lameness in horses. Meeting with local success in its sale, he sought to expand, and built this factory with the financial aid of local investors. The business was a major success, its products marketed across from the east coast to the Rocky Mountains. Kendall and the other proprietors built fine houses in the town, and funded construction of the Enosburg Opera House. With the rise of the automobile in the first half of the 20th century, demand for the company product declined, and it closed its doors in 1957.[2]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Steve Grosz (1993). "NRHP nomination for Dr. B.J. Kendall Company". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-11-09. with photos from 1993