Join Manchester Historical Society (MHS) Curator Shawn Harrington and MHS Board Member Bill Badger in association with the Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning for a presentation covering the century of history and change at the Historic Bennington County Courthouse in Manchester Village on Thursday, February 12th from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM.

The transformation of the Manchester, Dorset, and Granville (MD&G) Railroad into a modern recreational trail represents over a century of industrial and community history. Beginning in 1901, the Norcross-West Co. developed the railroad and a state-of-the-art finishing mill to transport over 500,000 cubic feet of “Dorset White” marble for the construction of the New York Public Library, then the largest marble building in the world. Following the cessation of operations in 1918, and removal of the rails in 1934, the line sat for decades fading from memory until a vision emerged to preserve this corridor as a public asset by the formation of Old Railroad Bed, LLC, which purchased the land in 2009. The project involved significant land and infrastructure donations, including legal challenges and hundreds of hours of work by volunteers overseeing the trail’s construction until the Town of Manchester officially took ownership following a ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 2, 2023.

This program is free and open to all – or pay what you wish and support local history at a level that feels right to you.