Historic Butler House makes way for new development
April 30, 2026 | By Sarah Andrews
Waterbury’s oldest structure was relocated in January.
Its new home? A few hundred feet next door.
The historic Butler house on North Main Street (a block away from Butler Street) was built around 1800 by Ezra Butler, who played a large role in the early establishment of the town. It’s considered to be Waterbury’s oldest wood-frame house. Butler was the second recorded settler of Waterbury, who served on the town’s first selectboard, in the state legislature, and he went on to be the 11th governor of Vermont in 1826. Butler, who died in 1838, is buried in Hope Cemetery in downtown Waterbury.
His daughter, Fanny Butler, married Henry Fisk Janes, a lawyer, state representative and Vermont Congressman. Their son was Dr. Henry Janes, the Civil War surgeon, another prominent figure in Waterbury’s town history. Dr. Janes bequeathed his family property to the town upon his death. After serving as the town library for nearly a century, his former home is now the Waterbury History Center that’s part of the municipal complex; the Janes farmland is the adjacent Dac Rowe town park.
Though in the early 1800s, the Butler land encompassed over 200 acres, spanning the area from what’s known as Butler’s Pond down to the present-day municipal offices. Today, only Butler’s original house remains standing.
Located at 73 North Main Street, the home was carefully moved in January using hydraulic dollies onto a new foundation on the adjacent parcel of land, opening up space for further development.
Chris Noyes owns both parcels – the former Butler house property and the neighboring lot at 75 North Main Street, where Noyes in 2016 built a 9-unit townhouse complex.
On March 18, in a public hearing before the Development Review Board, Noyes proposed another multi-family apartment building where the Butler house previously stood. The new, 8,000 square-foot development also will be comprised of nine apartments, each with an in-unit garage. The two-story, federal-style apartments will be all white, with no vinyl siding, according to the project plans Noyes submitted.
At the public hearing, the board questioned the project's driveway. Board member Harry Shepard remarked that the lack of “breathing room” is a potential functional flaw of the development, impacting circulation through the driveway. Shepard was chiefly concerned about snow removal and trash pickup.
Architect Joe Greene and Noyes confirmed that the driveway width of 24 feet meets the minimum state requirements for a standard parking lot. Greene also reassured the board that each unit has a stoop and a sidewalk separating the unit from the driveway.
The state requires a minimum of one parking spot per dwelling unit. Still, board members worried about additional parking access. Since Noyes owns the adjacent property, he confirmed that he would allow renters access to the 38 parking spaces on the neighboring parcel.
Noyes said he was reluctant to consider connecting the two properties, which board members suggested would solve the parking issue. Because the existing apartments at 75 North Main received an Act 250 permit, any interconnection between the two parcels would trigger additional Act 250 review on the new proposed development. And the extra permitting steps would add time and cost to the project for Noyes as the developer.
Noyes and the board did not reach a conclusion on the proposal, largely due to disagreements between state and municipal standards for parking spaces. “You're holding me to a higher standard than what the state says I should be held to,” Noyes remarked.
The review board returned to Noyes’ project application at its April 1 meeting and voted to approve the request with conditions. The board will require that the travel lane is kept clear at all times, that all cars be parked in designated garage spaces, and that snow be removed in a timely fashion.
As for the historic Butler home, it is not on the National Register of Historic Places, meaning the owner is free to do with it as he pleases. Noyes has relocated the house onto a new slab foundation at 75 North Main Street.
Cheryl Casey, president of the Waterbury Historical Society, said Noyes is willing to work with the historical society to eventually put up a landmark or sign detailing the history of the home.
Writing in the March Waterbury Historic Society newsletter, society member P. Howard “Skip” Flanders shared details from Noyes, who grew up in Waterbury. “Chris said he remembers taking a walking tour of Waterbury in elementary school, with the Butler house a stop along the way,” Flanders writes. “Chris plans to bring the structure up to today’s standards and preserve the exterior appearance, saving some Waterbury history in the process.”
Casey said that the Butler house is just the beginning of a larger initiative for the organization to memorialize Waterbury's historical sites throughout town.
