Historical Society Of Windham County Inc

The HSWC Resource Center (formerly the County History Museum): It is located on VT Route 30 (Main Street) and serves as a workspace from May to October for a Curator and Assistant Curator. The Resource Center is also the repository for HSWC's significant collections of historic objects (not currently on display in its museums) and its archives relating to Windham County. The Society's archives include materials dating from the 17th-21st centuries. Books, journals, photographs, maps, scrapbooks, documents and other primary resources are available to the public for personal and professional research, with research assistance provided. It houses an invaluable collection of close to 10,000 artifacts and archival materials relating to Windham County and an extensive collection of artifacts and documents relating to the history of the West River Railroad.

The West River Railroad Museum: Located within steps of the new County History Museum, the restored Newfane Train Station of the now defunct West River Railroad is open free of admission on Saturdays and Sundays (1-4) from Memorial Day through mid-October. Opened 2017, the restored original Newfane Station contains the Station Agent's office, a freight room, and a passenger waiting room. There is also an operable hand cart on the nearby wide-gage tracks and a restored water tower, one of only two still remaining along the Railroad's 36-mile route between Brattleboro and South Londonderry, VT. The RR Museum includes a mini-museum store where mission-related items such as postcards, notecards, pictures, and publications focused on the West River Railroad are available for purchase. Profits from these sales, as well as from donations left by visitors, help support the museum's operations.

Educational Outreach Programs: At present these include a newsletter for members mailed three times a year and available to the public in our museums, an organizational website (www.historicalsocietyofwindhamcounty.org) and occasional educational events and programs.