So for now, the museum is being much more selective. They took in enough beautiful organs that in 2002, some local musicians and historians started the Estey Organ Museum.īut the donations kept coming in: The museum says they've probably got about 150 organs that need some work. "Some of them were just really - just trash, almost they were in such bad shape. probably the most important thing that ever happened to Brattleboro," said historical society member John Carnahan, who was one of the members who began accepting the instruments more than 30 years ago.Ĭarnahan said it was the historical society's duty to take in these relics of Brattleboro's industrial past and, over time, the society collected more than 50 organs. The Brattleboro Historical Society began collecting old organs back in the 1980s, years before there was even an organ museum. So that's the point where we are now, I think." "You know, you don't want to be spending money on storage when you could be spending money on programs and that kind of a thing. "We're only now maturing into realizing that it's also a responsibility that you want to be able to take care of them," said George. George said the museum is coming into its own and offering concerts and talks on the Estey legacy - but, like at any nonprofit, every penny counts. But as the warehouse filled up, George said, it was time to make a change. George said that, for a very long time, the museum would pretty much accept anything that had the name Estey Organs on it. The storage warehouse behind the museum is filled with broken organs and related pieces. "Because some of them make sounds, but you wouldn't call it music."
"We had to stop just taking them," said Barbara George, a volunteer at the museum who owns the warehouses where the organs are being stored. Now, the museum is saying it just can't accept any more broken-down instruments. The museum has on display two Estey pipe organs, one from Alabama and the other from Hinsdale, N.H.The museum opened after people began donating their old organs - but with every working organ, there were three or four others that came in that needed some care. Michael’s Episcopal Church and Centre Congregational Church have disposed of their Esteys. 1 (1901) is at the United Methodist Church, having been moved from the church’s original location on Elliot Street. Many of those organs still exist, though most of them have been modified in some way.
The tour will conclude with a visit to the Estey Museum on Birge Street at 4:30 p.m., where refreshments will be served.įor many years the Estey Company had a policy that any church in Brattleboro could obtain a pipe organ at cost from the company. Michel’s Roman Catholic Church (2:15 p.m.) on Walnut Street, the Stone Church (3 p.m.), the Brattleboro Masonic Center (3:15 p.m.) and the First Baptist Church (3:45 p.m.) on Main Street. Stops on the tour, in addition to the Methodist Church, will include the First Church of Christ, Scientist (1:25 p.m.) and the Elks Lodge (1:45 p.m.), on Putney Road, St. Area organists will demonstrate each of the playable organs and explain the distinctive features of each one. The tour will start at the First United Methodist Church on Putney Road, and conclude at the Estey Organ Museum, 108 Birge St. BRATTLEBORO - The Estey Organ Museum will sponsor a tour of Brattleboro Estey pipe organs on Saturday, May 17, beginning at 1 p.m.
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