GMALL presents: Rich Lumber of Manchester and Wanakena, New York

MANCHESTER, Vt. – Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning (GMALL) is excited to partner with the Manchester Historical Society to present this talk about the Rich Lumber Company. In 1912, the Rich Lumber Company moved its operations from Wanakena, New York to Manchester, Vermont, to harvest the 12,000+ acres of woodlands of the Lye Brook wilderness and beyond. The company employed over 300 people, many of them Italian, Swedish, and French-Canadian immigrants. To house its employees, the company built a neighborhood along what is now Richville Road and Cass Terrace. Some of the employees rode the 16 miles of standard-gauge rail up into the mountains where they would live and work over the next several years. When the mill burned in 1919, the company did not rebuild, but a number of the workers stayed in Manchester, and the echoes of this endeavor still ring in the valley and mountains today. MHS curator Shawn Harrington and board member Bill Badger will be joined by special guest Robert Waibel to explore this chapter in Manchester’s history. Registration is required in advance. For more information or to register, please call 802-867-0111 or visit our website at greenmtnacademy.org.