Mountain View Stock Farm, now known as Tylord Farm, is a historic estate farm on
Vermont Route 22A
Vermont Route 22A (VT 22A) is a state highway in western Vermont, United States. It is the northward continuation of New York State Route 22A. Its southern end is at the New York state line in Fair Haven and its northern end is ...
in
Benson, Vermont
Benson is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 974 at the 2020 census. The town is rural, with a concentration of several homes and businesses in Benson village, at the intersection of Stage Road and Lake Road.
...
. Developed in the early 20th century around a late 18th-century farmhouse, the farm was renowned in the state for its breeding of
Kentucky saddle horses and
Chester White
The Chester White is a breed of domestic pig which originated in Chester County, Pennsylvania. It was formerly known as the Chester County White.
History
The Chester White was first developed around 1815–1818, using strains of large, white pi ...
hogs
Hog or HOG may refer to:
Animals
* Pig
** Sometimes referring to other animals in the family Suidae, including:
*** Warthog
*** Red river hog
*** Giant forest hog
* Groundhog
* Hedgehog
* Hog (sheep), a yearling sheep, as yet unshorn
Other uses
...
. The farm complex also has architecturally distinctive Colonial Revival styling. The property was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1989.
Description and history
Mountain View Stock Farm is located east of the central village of Benson, on a property roughly bisected by Vermont Route 22A, the main north-south route through the community. It consists of , mainly rolling fields, with broad views across the fields to the east. The buildings of the farm are clustered in three areas along the road, with the main house in the northernmost group. It is a T-shaped two-story wood frame structure, set on the west side of the road, with a gabled roof and clapboard siding. A two-story gabled portico projects in front, supported by slender round columns, a porte-cochere extends to the right, and en enclosed porch, topped by a balustrade, extends to the left. Nearby stand a 20th-century barn and indoor riding arena. A second house, along with barn, creamery, and cattle shelter, are clustered about to the south, and a third cluster including another house is another down the road.
The early history of the farm property is reflective of general trends in the area. First granted in 1788, it was owned in the early 19th century by Chauncey Smith, a prominent local physician and politician. The farm was first used for mixed crop production, and by 1850 was one of the town's most successful dairy farms, at a time when many local farmers were breeding sheep. In 1901 the property was purchased by Charles B. Parsons, president of the
St. Joseph Lead Company of
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
; Parsons' grandfather had been a tenant farmer on the land under Smith. Under Parsons the farm was enlarged and the house given its present Colonial Revival styling. His successor, William R. Bush, introduced the Chester White hog breed to the area, and expanded the farm to its greatest extent, about . Now reduced to a more modest acreage, it has been used since the 1970s for the breeding of horses.
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See also
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References
{{NRHP in Rutland County, Vermont
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
Colonial Revival architecture in Vermont
Buildings and structures completed in 1810
Buildings and structures in Benson, Vermont
Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
National Register of Historic Places in Rutland County, Vermont