Putney Historical Society

Mission:  To discover and collect materials illustrative of life, conditions, events, and activities of the past and present pertinent to the history of Putney.

Also, we strive to preserve and maintain property which reflects the historic character of Putney. Recently this has included work on Town Hall, the Putney General Store, The United Church of Putney, and assisting the East Putney Community Club with a new roof for Pierce’s Hall.

Through dint of tireless effort, particularly from Lyssa Papazian, Ruth Barton, and
Tom Jamison, as well as many, many others, we have succeeded in completing the
Putney General Store project; the longest-running general store in Vermont has
finally re-opened, in a grand celebration held December 10. Putney turned out in
large numbers, and many visitors came to town to shop and enjoy the day. Mike
Mrowicki and Jeannette White spoke, bringing greetings from Governor Shumlin,
and we also had a representative from Senator Leahy’s office, as well as the Vermont
Community Development Program and Paul Bruhn of the Preservation Trust. Even
Ruth Barton spoke! Lyssa Papazian was roundly honored, and given a plaque for her
incredible service to the town, and her dedication to this project. We are thrilled the
building is so beautiful (thanks to Ingram Construction and Maclay Architects), the
quality of food so high, and the proprietor, Ming Chou, so experienced and capable.
This has been a happy ending for us, and we hope it is just the beginning of the
revitalization of the Putney village business community.

On another front, we also have made extensive improvements to 15 Kimball Hill,
also known as Next Stage, or the former United Church of Putney. We’ve rewired
the building and added numerous safety upgrades which have satisfied the fire
marshals and safety inspectors alike. Next Stage Arts Project (with support from the
Fresh Sound Foundation) has been a wonderful partner in this effort, and has seen
to it that the building continually provides great entertainment to our community,
including movies, concerts, speakers and more, not to mention frequent programs
by the Yellow Barn and Twilight Music. We have much more to accomplish here,
though, as the building still needs huge maintenance improvements to roof,
insulation, ventilation, insulation, and structure (particularly a reconstruction of
the adjoining shed out back which houses the bathrooms). We need volunteers to
help with fundraising for these considerable tasks. In the meantime, we’re happily
ensconced in our new office in the former ladies’ parlor, and we encourage you to
visit us by appointment, or during our regular summer hours. Our new address is
PO Box 260, and our phone number is 387-4411.

Once again, we’re proud of our work this past year, and of the people of Putney for
their continued support.
And please, do not forget that we are one of your best sources of historical information for the town of Putney! Our frequent visitors include students, homeowners, geneologists, and researchers. Please visit us someday, to deepen your own interest in the history of our community. We are here to serve you.

–Stuart Strothman, Secretary