Vermont HR 18: House resolution supporting the preservation of the Julian Scott birthplace in Johnson

Bill Text

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State of Vermont
House of Representatives
Montpelier, Vermont
House Resolution
H.R. 18
Offered by Representatives Noyes of Wolcott and Bailey of Hyde Park
House resolution supporting the preservation of the Julian Scott birthplace
in Johnson
Whereas, Julian Scott (1846–1901) was born in Johnson and studied at
Lamoille Academy, and at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, then 15 years
of age, he enlisted, with his two brothers, in the 3rd Vermont Infantry
Regiment, and
Whereas, deemed too scrawny to carry a gun, the military designated Julian
Scott a fife and drum player, a role that also encompassed service as a field
medic; and during the 1862 Battle of Lee’s Mill in Virginia, the young
Vermonter traversed a stream numerous times under heavy Confederate fire to
evacuate wounded Union soldiers, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor,
one of the first and youngest individuals so honored, and
Whereas, later in 1862, he sustained a serious hip wound during the Battle
of White Oak Swamp, also fought in Virginia, then recuperated in New York
City, mustered out of the U.S. Army in 1863, studied at the National Academy
of Design, and, through the generous financial support of a benefactor,
continued his art education in Europe under the tutelage of the German-born
artist Emanuel Leutze, who is famous for his early 1850s historical painting
Washington Crossing the Delaware, and
Whereas, in 1870, the General Assembly commissioned Julian Scott to
paint a mural commemorating Vermont’s Civil War role, and
Whereas, the Battle of Cedar Creek, as the Civil War military engagement
involving the most Vermonters, was the topic selected, and the resulting
masterpiece, the 10-by-20 foot The First Vermont Brigade at the Battle of
Cedar Creek (October 19, 1864), dominates the beautifully restored Cedar
Creek Room in the State House, and four other Julian Scott paintings, The
Rear Guard at White Oak Swamp; The Mounted Sentry; a portrait of General
William Farrar Smith; and the most recent addition, The Fourth Vermont
Forming Under Fire, which is on loan, are also displayed, and
Whereas, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA)
administers a program that grants funds to political subdivisions to purchase,
for demolition, homes and businesses that are repeatedly damaged in natural
disasters, and
Whereas, during the severe July 2023 flood, the slate-blue house built in
1840 and located at 384 Lower Main Street in Johnson, where Julian Scott was

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born and raised, was severely damaged, and although neither architecturally
striking nor maintained as a museum or art gallery, a State historic marker
flanks the property, and
Whereas, an April 15, 2026, article published in the Seven Days newspaper
reported, “it doesn’t appear that the state ever conveyed that historically
relevant information [the connection between the home and one of Vermont’s
greatest painters] when it applied for a hazard mitigation grant in 2024,” and
Whereas, according to the news article, on December 9, 2024, FEMA
notified the State in writing that the Julian Scott home, along with 13 other
properties in the vicinity, qualified for the federal buyout program, and
Whereas, the FEMA letter informing the State of this decision made no
mention of Julian Scott, but it designated the home as the Patch-Shattuck
House, referring to the owners as of 1992, and
Whereas, according to the President of the Johnson Historical Society, who
only learned of the demolition plans shortly before the town purchased the
home on January 29, 2026, when town officials initially saw the proposed
demolition list, they did not realize that one of the properties was the Julian
Scott birthplace, and
Whereas, the topic was only discussed at a Johnson Selectboard meeting on
January 22, 2026, a week prior to the purchase, and
Whereas, the State Historic Preservation Officer, while acknowledging the
importance of Julian Scott in Vermont history, cited the danger the building
posed to the public, the lack of any Julian Scott–related items in the house, and
the structural changes that have occurred over the years that “have detracted
from its original character and significance,” and
Whereas, the Julian Scott birthplace was slated for demolition on or before
April 29, 2026, and once this fact was widely publicized, opposition,
especially in the Town of Johnson, increased, and
Whereas, on April 20, 2026, all five members of the Johnson Selectboard
wrote a letter on the town’s behalf to Governor Philip B. Scott, requesting his
intervention to preserve the Julian Scott birthplace, and
Whereas, the Johnson Selectboard also requested FEMA to grant a delay of
the demolition date to allow the town to propose a preservation plan, and
Whereas, FEMA has granted the Town of Johnson a 90-day reprieve to
develop an alternative proposal, now therefore be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives:
That this legislative body supports the Town of Johnson’s efforts to