Bishop Hopkins
Homestead
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| Old View from Rock Point Hillside Toward Burlington Source: Vermont Postcard Archives Special Collections, Bailey Howe Library University of Vermont |
The land on the Rock Point’s south side was cleared by
loggers in the mid 1800’s opening up a beautiful vista of Lake Champlain. “A
large extent of the Green Mountain range, with intervening hills, formed the
distance; while near by the village of Burlington, formed the college on the
top of the hill to the wharves on the lake shore was spread out before us,
together with the Burlington Bay.”[1]
The northern Rock Point peninsula remained covered with its native growth of
evergreens, mainly hemlock. This tree type lent its name to the property’s highpoint,
Hemlock Hill.
[1] Hopkins, John Henry (1873) The Life of
the Late Right Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Bishop of Vermont and Presiding
Bishop by One of His Sons, New York: F.J. Huntington , pg 207-208.
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| Old View of Bishop's House from the Pond Source: Vermont Postcard Archives Special Collections, Bailey Howe Library University of Vermont |
Bishop John Henry Hopkins, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Vermont, “was so impressed with this land that with the help of kind friends and his son, John Henry Jr., leased then purchased the rough rocky tract of 100 acres and began to build a home on the
hill. Great boulders and rocks were blasted. Harsh stumps and brush heaps were
dug up and removed. Stone for the building was quarried on the spot, and with
members of the family toiling with their own hands, a new home designed by the
Bishop was occupied in December 1841.”[1]
[1] Green, Edward (1959), The Episcopal Church in Vermont
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| Hopkins Golden Wedding Anniversary Source: Stereo-graph Collection Special Collections, Bailey Howe Library University of Vermont |
Bishop Hopkins and his large family (thirteen children of
which eleven survived into adult hood) tamed and modeled the property to the
landscape it is today. The family worked with the property’s natural resources.
Subsistence agriculture occurred in the central flat and rolling hill property,
while the peninsula and ridge areas provided pasture and modest woodland uses. An
apple orchard was planted on the west side of the Hemlock Hill homestead. The Hopkins
family lived on Rock Point for over fifty years. Historical records indicate
that each of the Hopkins sons was successively given the responsibility of overseeing
the farm until they left for University or to pursue careers.
Vermont Episcopal
Institute
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| Vermont Episcopal Institute Source: Stereo-graph Collection Special Collections: Bailey Howe Library University of Vermont |
Bishop Hopkins transformed Rock Point from his family farm to a center for Episcopal educational and a home to future bishops. In 1854 the property was transferred from John Henry, Jr to the Trustees of the Vermont Episcopal Institute to enable the Bishop to realize his dream if establishing a theological seminary, boy's school and the home of the Bishop.
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| Chapel Interior at the Vermont Episcopal Institute Source: Vermont Episcopal Diocese Archives Elizabeth Allison, Historiographer |
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| Chapel Interior at the Vermont Episcopal Institute Source: Vermont Episcopal Diocese Archives Elizabeth Allison, Historiographer |
Bishop Hopkins, a noted architect and builder, authored the
first US Gothic architecture book entitled “Essays on Gothic Architecture, with
Various Plans and Drawing for Churches.” His passion for Gothic buildings is
evident the Institute building’s interior and exterior design. Stone for the building was excavated from the onsite quarry.
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| Vermont Episcopal Institute with Military Cadets Source: Vermont Episcopal Diocese Archives Elizabeth Allison, Historiographer |
In 1860 the boy's school opened becoming a Military school during the Civil War. The Parade Ground on Rock Point was cleared for military students to used during drills. School attendance gradually declined and financial hard times forced it to close 1899.
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| Vermont Episcopal Institute around 1915 Source: Vermont Postcard Collection Special Collections, Bailey Howe Library University of Vermont |
In 1929 the building reopened as a center for church activities and summer conferences. The Institute was destroyed by fire on Easter Eve 1979. All that remains of the institute are a set of stairs alone one of Rock Point’s trails.
