READING, Vt. – The Reading Community Trust (RCT) announced recently the commencement of its first town restoration and economic revitalization project with the July 1 purchase of the nearly 140-year-old Reading Grange, at 726 Route 106 in the Felchville neighborhood, Reading’s central, “downtown” section.
The RCT is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to strengthening the social, cultural, and economic vitality of Reading through community-driven projects, programs, and investments. Formed in June 2024 as a community-based, volunteer-led nonprofit governed by a local board of directors, the trust’s work combines local leadership with professional expertise in planning, architecture, and preservation. The RCT’s mission is to invest in spaces and initiatives that bring the community together and reflect the hopes of Reading residents.
The RCT and its board believe that Reading is ready for such an investment. With a population of some 680 residents and few retail businesses still operating in Felchville, the closure of the town’s general store in the spring of 2024 left the community without convenient access to essential groceries, deli sandwiches, and neighborly engagement. Since then, the Reading Greenhouse has worked successfully to broaden its business footprint, largely filling the gap. Still, the Reading community would welcome additional social and economic vitality within its downtown section.
After conducting extensive architectural and engineering assessments in Felchville, the Reading Grange became the trust’s primary focus for a site the restoration of which would preserve not only a historic building, but also restore that building’s storied, former role as a vital community hub.
The Reading Grange was originally constructed in 1893, in South Reading, where it housed the South Reading Cheese Factory. When the factory closed in 1902, the building was moved and reconstructed in its present location.
Throughout the 20th century, the Reading Grange served as an important community gathering place. According to information provided by the Reading Historical Society, from the 1940s through the 1960s, the building hosted frequent public and private events that included penny bingo, square dances, bazaars, community suppers, baby showers, and wedding receptions.
In recent years, the historic building has fallen into serious disrepair. The RCT’s purchase of the Reading Grange for the price of $85,000 is just the first financial step that the group will take in the coming days and months to raise funds that it estimates will exceed $1 million. These funds will be needed to begin required renovations that include bringing the grange up to current building codes, and then preparing it for its next set of uses, thereby returning it to a prominent site of activity in the center of Felchville for Reading residents and, potentially, retailers interested in serving them.
“The purchase price is only a fraction of the overall financial effort this project requires,” said Jack Kartsch, president of RCT and, like all board members, a Reading resident. “Between the structural and environmental assessment work, the architectural design, and the interior buildout, the acquisition is just one piece of a much larger investment in the building and in the village itself.”
The RCT’s work to revitalize Reading is supported by four partner organizations dedicated to rural vitality and historic preservation. These are the Preservation Trust of Vermont (PTV), the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), the Vermont Community Foundation, and the Village Trust Initiative (VTI).
In 2023, the VTI initiated a grants program for communities with populations fewer than 2,500 and commitments to revitalize their towns through specifically defined development projects. The funding was made possible through a $10 million Congressionally Directed Spending award from former Sen. Patrick Leahy’s office.
The RCT developed its own revitalization plan for Reading and applied for the Village Trust Initiative grant. In September 2024, the plan earned selection as one of seven villages in Vermont to receive VTI funding, receiving a grant of $300,000 for the preservation of a historic building in Felchville. These funds are dedicated specifically for the restoration work itself; no amount of the grant could be used for the purchase of the Reading Grange. To raise additional funding, the RCT is actively soliciting private donors interested in revitalizing the Village of Felchville and the Town of Reading, and helping the RCT to shape a thriving future for the Reading community.
To cover the actual purchase of the Reading Grange, the RCT relied on privately raised funding that included contributions from every one of the trust’s eight board members. As Kartsch explained, the board unanimously supported the idea that each member “have some skin in the game.”
Leading up to closing day, the RCT has completed structural engineering and conditions assessments of the grange building, overseen a myriad of environmental assessments of the property, and worked with an architect to design flexible plans for the building.
Going forward, the RCT and its board will look to volunteers throughout the community for both financial and construction assistance. Additionally, the trust’s business committee will actively seek retail operators who might be interested in helping the RCT customize the interior buildout of the grange to fit its future needs.
“We’re thrilled by Reading’s progress,” said Ben Doyle, president of the Preservation Trust of Vermont. “The grange is exactly the type of project we hoped this initiative could support: one that fosters community and uses a building from the past to shape the future.”
For more information, please visit www.readingcommunitytrust.org.