Work begins to rebuild Putney General Store
Toolbox
By SUSAN SMALLHEER STAFF WRITER - Published: April 18, 2010
PUTNEY — Logging and milling has started for the new post and beam frame for the Putney General Store, which will replace the historic building that was consumed in a fire set by an arsonist last November.
A portable sawmill has been set up on an empty lot off Route 5 near Basketville in Putney, and Mark Bowen of Putney has volunteered as the mill operator, according to Jeff Shumlin, a member of the General Store Task Force.
Shumlin said the new frame is being made of large oak and pine logs that were cut during the winter, after they were donated by Putney landowners.
The Nov. 1, 2009, fire was the second fire at the store. A May 2008 fire had heavily damaged the store, which some believe was the oldest continuously operating general store in Vermont. The historical society had bought the store from the owner, who didn't have the financial wherewithal to rebuild after the first fire.
The new store, which will be owned by the Putney Historical Society, still needs a new operator, Shumlin said.
"We just put out a request for letters of interest and we hope someone will show up," said Shumlin. "It's a great opportunity."
Shumlin said the historical society's goal is to raise enough funds so that the store operator won't have to get a mortgage, and pay less-than-market rents.
"The historical society will not be a traditional landlord. We want to charge a very reasonable rent and there's a natural constituency waiting for the store to open again," he said.
He said that while the historical society still has to raise some money for the project. "We're getting very close, I think we're within $40,000," he said, noting the rebuilding effort had raised more than $200,000 from local individuals since the fire.
"That's amazing for a small town," he said.
He said the historical society is planning a community festival for early summer to celebrate the raising of the new frame.
Shumlin said Leader Distribution Systems and Pepsi-Cola has contributed $10,000 in support of the volunteer timber frame rebuilding effort. The Pepsi Refresh Project funds projects that make neighborhoods better places to live, he said.
The Leader/Pepsi donation will go toward the historical society's requirement to raise $40,000, to match a $20,000 challenge grant from the Thomas Thompson Trust, which awarded the Putney project $20,000, contingent on the match.
susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com
10