South Royalton, Vermont, USA

Burned 2019

The Disappointed Tourist: Eaton’s Sugarhouse Ellen Harvey, 2021. Oil and acrylic on Gessoboard, 18 x 24″ (46 x 61 cm). Photograph: Etienne Frossard.

The Sugarhouse on Route 89 dates back to the 1800s, when it was used as a cider mill. It was purchased and partially rebuilt by Cliff Eaton, who opened it in 1963 as sugar house selling maple sugar and syrup and added a restaurant in 1998. It also functioned as a country store and sold antiques. From 2003, the restaurant was run by Connie Poulin. The building was destroyed in a suspicious fire on Halloween in 2019. The painting is based on an uncredited photograph.

 A Vermont Icon. Susan K