Greetings!

PTV helps people save the places they love. The places that create community.
 
Whether it’s through technical assistance, a grant, or endless encouragement, PTV works with people in towns and villages across Vermont (148 this year).  
 
Vermont has an amazing built environment. It was built, and is stewarded, by equally amazing people. At the Preservation Trust of Vermont, we invest in both.
 
We hope you'll include PTV in your year-end giving plans and be a part of this work in the coming year! It's easy to make a gift...just click here.
 
We are deeply grateful for your support and wish you a joyful holiday season. 

Best,

Ben Doyle, President

P.S. The Athens Meetinghouse is one of many projects we've supported over the last year, and will continue to support in the coming year. We hope you enjoy their story below!
Sherry Maher readily admits that she never had a lot of interest in historical matters, “But getting into the Athens Meetinghouse for the first time got me hooked on that building.”
Built in 1817 as a kind of hub of the Methodist Church at a time when the Athens population peaked at around 500 people, the building served its congregants until 1859 when they built a new church near a former schoolhouse that is now the town office. The building, known as the "Old Brick Church," was modified to serve both secular and civic purposes.
Any denomination was welcome to make use of the sanctuary. An entryway and second floor were created to provide space for town meeting and other community gatherings and speakers. It served the community in this way until the early 1980s, then sat mostly empty for decades. It was deemed unsafe for use in 2013.
Still, almost every physical element of the building has a story to tell, and it is a huge source of pride for the community.
The Athens Brick Meetinghouse Committee–formed long before the building was deemed unsafe–got to work. They raised funds to stabilize the floor in anticipation of their 200th anniversary in 2017.
Since then, they have opened the building and taken advantage of the broad lawn out front for concerts, quilt shows, harvest suppers, ice cream socials, cultural talks and more.
A Paul Bruhn Revitalization grant enabled them to restore and paint the historic windows this year. Recent grants and donations will support the installation of storm windows, leveling the floor, and moisture mitigation in the crawl space below the building. 
“Our next steps are to make it ADA accessible and restore the interior so people will be able to rent it out for celebrations,” Sherry says. “Athens has changed over the last three years. There are new people and new energy in town, and I hope to see the Meetinghouse as a place for all people to gather and engage with the community.”