Arlington Historical Society to Reorganize
Arlington, VT — A meeting to reorganize the historical society for the towns of Sandgate, Arlington, and Sunderland will be held on Thursday, August 30, at 6:30 p.m. in the meeting room of the Martha Canfield Memorial Library in Arlington.
An earlier Arlington society was organized in 1934, revived in 1954 and 1975, and has been inactive for many years. The 1954 revival identified the purpose as “to care for, house, and to make available for wider use these fascinating papers” donated by Dr. George Russell. In 1975, the society meet for the first time since the death of Dr. Russell, the founder of the Russell Vermontiana Collection, in 1968. The members sought “to stimulate and maintain interest in the history of the Arlingtons, including Sandgate and Sunderland.”
The new historical society will be a separate organization from the Russell Vermontiana Collection housed at the library, but is expected to work closely with them. The Russell Collection collects and preserves manuscript and print material such as diaries, photographs, journals, ledgers, maps, and books on state and local history. The proposed historical society is expected to collect and display artifacts such as tools, furniture, and physical objects, encourage the preservation of historic architecture, and sponsor seminars on local history. The meeting will be chaired by Bill Budde, curator of the Russell Collection, and author of the history of Arlington: Arlington, Vermont; its first 250 years. For further information contact Bill Budde at 802-753-6229 or by email at billbudde60@gmail.com.