Where History Meets the Paranormal
When you visit the picturesque Shelburne Museum in Vermont, you might find yourself drawn to the steamboat Ticonderoga or the impressive collection of folk art. But tucked away near the covered bridge sits a modest red colonial structure with secrets that extend beyond its historical significance. The Dutton House, with its centuries-old walls and creaking floorboards, has become known for its architectural heritage and for the spirits that allegedly refuse to leave its premises.
The Dutton House – A Home Many Lives
The Dutton House began its journey in 1782, when a Massachusetts transplant named Salmon Dutton constructed it in Cavendish, Vermont. Unlike many historic homes that served a single purpose, this versatile structure adapted throughout its existence. At various points in its long history, the Dutton House functioned as a family dwelling, a community tavern, a countryside inn, and office space for multiple enterprises.
Dutton himself was no ordinary resident. After relocating from Massachusetts, he became deeply involved in the Cavendish community, taking on roles as a road surveyor, justice of the peace, and town treasurer. His influence on the developing Vermont settlement extended far beyond the walls of his multipurpose home.
The Journey to Shelburne
By the mid-20th century, the Dutton House faced potential destruction. After standing abandoned for nearly four decades, a highway expansion project threatened the structure in 1950. Fortunately, Redfield Proctor Jr., a direct descendant of Salmon Dutton, recognized its historical significance.
After initially offering the house to preservation societies, it eventually found salvation at the Shelburne Museum, founded just a few years earlier by Electra Havemeyer Webb. The museum, established in 1947 to showcase Webb's collection of Americana and horse-drawn carriages, provided the perfect sanctuary for this endangered piece of New England heritage.
The relocation was no simple job. Museum experts meticulously dismantled the entire structure, photographing each element before removal. Museum experts paid special attention to the distinctive stenciled wall decorations, carefully extracting samples from the original plaster to serve as templates for the reconstruction. The team carefully preserved and reinstalled a notable sunburst stencil from a second-floor fireplace mantle in the rebuilt house.
Artistic Heritage Within the Walls
The Dutton House's interior decorations are significant to art historians. The front four rooms feature distinctive stencil paintings dating to approximately 1800, primarily adorning the outer borders of the plaster walls. These aren't arbitrary designs but reflect artisanal patterns found throughout New England.
Art historians have noted similarities between one particular first-floor decoration and motifs in the Grimes House in Keene, New Hampshire. This connection suggests that renowned itinerant artists of the era, Jothan Stearns or Jedutham Bullin, may have left their mark on the Dutton House interiors, linking the building to a broader tradition of early American decorative arts.
Whispers from Beyond: The Hauntings
While museum curators highlight the Dutton House's architectural and artistic significance, many visitors and staff members speak in hushed tones about another aspect of the building—its supernatural residents.
According to many accounts, the house isn't simply a preserved historical artifact; it's home to spirits who have remained long after their physical lives ended. By the early 1900s, records show that over eleven people had died within the residence, potentially explaining why paranormal activity reportedly continued even during the four decades when the house stood abandoned in Cavendish.
Many describe the most frequently encountered presence as an older man often lurking in the corners of the attic. Museum staff have reported glimpses of this figure during tours and while closing up the building. Some employees have become so unsettled by these experiences that they prefer not to work in the Dutton House alone.
But the older man isn't the only reputed ghostly inhabitant. Visitors and staff have heard a child's laughter or crying echoing through empty rooms. Some paranormal enthusiasts suggest three distinct spirits: a hospitable female presence, a homesick child, and the older man who seems resentful of tourists invading his space.
Security Guard Encounters
The most detailed accounts come from former security personnel who monitored the building during quiet hours. One guard, Burt Levitt, described sensing dramatic shifts in the house's atmosphere—sometimes warm and welcoming, other times tense and uncomfortable, as though he had interrupted an argument.
Levitt and other security staff reported hearing footsteps across the upstairs floorboards when the building was empty and locked. Some witnessed adult-sized cradles rocking without human intervention, and at least one guard claimed to have seen a disembodied face peering from a window.
Morning staff occasionally discovered evidence of nocturnal activity, including a particular upstairs bed that appeared disturbed, as though someone had been lying on it during the night, despite the building being secured and alarmed.
The Skeptical Perspective
Not everyone who visits the Dutton House experiences supernatural phenomena. The author of this article, who lived near the museum for years, visited the attic—the alleged center of paranormal activity—during multiple visits and encountered nothing unusual.
This highlights an essential aspect of ghost stories: personal experience varies widely, and what seems clear to some remains imperceptible to others. Whether these variations stem from psychological factors, environmental conditions, or truly supernatural causes remains controversial among paranormal researchers and skeptics.
Visiting the Dutton House Today
For those intrigued by its historical significance or potential paranormal residents, the Dutton House remains accessible as part of the Shelburne Museum complex at 6000 Shelburne Road in Shelburne, Vermont. It is a testament to early American ingenuity and adaptation, near the covered bridge on the sprawling 45-acre museum grounds.
Whether you're a history buff, architecture enthusiast, or ghost hunter, the Dutton House offers a glimpse into multiple dimensions of Vermont's past. Its well-preserved rooms showcase the evolution of New England domestic life, while the persistent stories of unexplained phenomena add an element of mystery that continues to captivate visitors.
Like many historic sites associated with paranormal activity, the Dutton House invites us to consider what remains when a building outlives its original inhabitants. Are the reported phenomena merely the product of imagination in an atmospheric setting, or could something of those who lived, worked, and died within these walls linger in some form? Perhaps the answer awaits your visit to this remarkable piece of Vermont's tangible—and possibly intangible—heritage.
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