The Putney General Store Fires - A death in the family
Yesterday morning I got the news that the Putney General Store had burned down - again.
The Putney General Store (PGS) is literally in the center of Putney at the intersections of the two main roads: Route 5/Main St and Kimball Hill. It has been a general store since 1796 and was the longest continually operating general store in the state of Vermont until May 3, 2008 when a fire destroyed the roof and attic of the building and left the two main floors extensively damaged. The first fire was a huge shock to everyone in town and when the owners of the PGS said they could not afford to rebuild it the Putney Historical Society decided to buy the property and rebuild it, raising the funds through donations and grants. The response to this from the townspeople of Putney and various State agencies was very enthusiastic and as of November 1, 2009 a new roof slate roof had been built and the interior had been gutted and restored to the point where the reopening of the PGS was slated for May of 2010. I know everyone in my family was really looking forward to the PGS reopening and I'm sure just about everyone else in Putney was too.
And then my son called from Burlington, VT yesterday morning to tell me he'd just heard from a friend that the PGS had burned to the ground. "What?!" I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. While on the phone with my son, my wife called from work saying she had just heard the news. I was heading out to buy lumber yesterday and drove by the PGS which is now just a pile of charred timbers in a cellar hole. It is hard to look at and I haven't been able to bring myself to take a picture of it. It really feels like a death in the family.
I can't imagine what all the people who have worked so hard on rebuilding it are going through. All that hard work destroyed in minutes. The initial indications are that the second fire was intentional set which I find unfathomable. Who would do such a thing and why? And what happens now?
The Putney General Store (PGS) is literally in the center of Putney at the intersections of the two main roads: Route 5/Main St and Kimball Hill. It has been a general store since 1796 and was the longest continually operating general store in the state of Vermont until May 3, 2008 when a fire destroyed the roof and attic of the building and left the two main floors extensively damaged. The first fire was a huge shock to everyone in town and when the owners of the PGS said they could not afford to rebuild it the Putney Historical Society decided to buy the property and rebuild it, raising the funds through donations and grants. The response to this from the townspeople of Putney and various State agencies was very enthusiastic and as of November 1, 2009 a new roof slate roof had been built and the interior had been gutted and restored to the point where the reopening of the PGS was slated for May of 2010. I know everyone in my family was really looking forward to the PGS reopening and I'm sure just about everyone else in Putney was too.
And then my son called from Burlington, VT yesterday morning to tell me he'd just heard from a friend that the PGS had burned to the ground. "What?!" I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. While on the phone with my son, my wife called from work saying she had just heard the news. I was heading out to buy lumber yesterday and drove by the PGS which is now just a pile of charred timbers in a cellar hole. It is hard to look at and I haven't been able to bring myself to take a picture of it. It really feels like a death in the family.
I can't imagine what all the people who have worked so hard on rebuilding it are going through. All that hard work destroyed in minutes. The initial indications are that the second fire was intentional set which I find unfathomable. Who would do such a thing and why? And what happens now?
posted by Richard Bissell at
8:32 AM
0 Comments
