In the 1800s most of North Avenue past Lakeview cemetery was farmland. The mostly level land was ideal for farming, and many of the large farm lots fronted on water, either the lake to the west or the Winooski River to the east. One of the nicest lots was that owned by C.C. Morse of Bolton, who had a lot that straddled North Avenue. Most of the lot was on the west side of the avenue, and extended all the way to the lake, just behind the property of the Episcopal Institute. In 1867 Morse sold that western portion of his lot and the farmhouse on it to W.H.H. Barker (William Henry Harrison Barker) of Shrewsbury for $7500, a lot of money in 1867. Barker started farming the property. Farming didn’t get you in the papers much other than winning prizes at local fairs, which Barker did with regularity. Mrs. Barker was in the papers much more often for activities in local charities. Barker died in 1894, and his wife followed a year later. The estate was left to their three sons, but the other two conveyed their shares to Charles (C.C. Barker), who had been running the farm in his father’s later years. Mr. and Mrs. C.C. Barker became well known in Burlington, despite the relative isolation of the farm, he for his produce, which was sold throughout the region and she in educational circles. Mrs. Barker had run a private school for girls at 212 College, and later became principal of Thayer School. In 1911 they listed their farmhouse for rent for the summer, so we have a good description: “brick house, 20 rooms, 2 bathrooms, 6 open fireplaces, large shady grounds, sandy beach good for boating and bathing”. I never found the actual size of the farm, but it was large for Burlington. At one point an ad appeared for “30 acres of standing grass”. At this point the record is a bit murky, but shortly after 1911 the Barkers disappear from local pages. C.C. Barker is buried in New Jersey, so it seems they left Burlington around this time. The property, then commonly known as the Barker farm, came into the possession of Byron M. Lambkin. He was a former manager at Wells Richardson, and later became the manager of Dy-O-La in Burlington. This was a Canadian Dye company that set up a distribution operation on Pearl Street. Lambkin would have had experience with dyes in his position at Wells Richardson. He obviously had done pretty well to be able to buy a property like the Barker farm. The first mention of Lambkin living there is 1915, but he probably was there a bit earlier. In 1925 Lambkin enlisted local architect Louis Newton to renovate the old Barker farmhouse. The three black and white photos were taken by Newton prior to the renovation. Despite Lambkin’s full time Dy-O-La job, the property at 925 North Avenue continued as a farm, with a dairy and poultry and egg operations. Lambkin continued to live there until his death in 1944. The following year the farm came into the possession of John and Teresa Ireland, who turned it into the Happy Acres Inn, a tourist home, dine and dance establishment and restaurant. In 1955 the Irelands sold the entire original Barker property to the Burlington Elks Club for $90,000. The lot included 325 feet of frontage on North Avenue, and extended to the sandy beach on the west side. The property included 45 building lots that remain undeveloped. The Elks moved from their longtime clubrooms upstairs at 117 St. Paul Street into that huge renovated Barker farmhouse. The Burlington Elks are still located at 925 North Avenue. Other attachments are a clip of an 1969 map showing the Barker farm (lot 197), W.H.H. Barker (with beard), and C.C. Barker, and a current view.
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