Help us buy a home for the Trolley Museum
November,2000
updated July 2004
Sam Bartlett

[The following was posted in November 2000.  Since then we have bought the yard, see below for a July 2004 update.]

For the past few years, the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum has been fortunate to be able to use the Buckland freight yard (aerial view) as our base of operations.  Because the tracks were already in place, we began operating sooner and saved many thousands of dollars.  Moreover, the rent has been relatively low due to the owner's generosity.

Now, the museum has begun a fund-raising campaign to purchase the yard.  The owner has given us two years to line up the necessary funding.  We are currently negotiating the price based on appraisals, and are contacting public and private funding sources.  If we can't raise the money, the owner will put the property on the open market.

We are seeking pledges spread over five years because the owner has agreed to accept the purchase price in five annual payments. We will begin collecting on the pledges when we are ready to purchase the yard.

There are many reasons why the freightyard is the best, if not the perfect, location for our trolley museum:

If the museum is unable to acquire this industrially zoned property, it could become a heavy equipment yard, concrete plant, self storage facility or other use which would destroy its historical significance and provide none of the benefits that the trolley museum brings.

We will be pursuing many public and private funding sources, but we need your help with this project, which is critical to our future.  Please fill out the pledge form, and give as generously as you can.  The museum is a non-profit organization, all donations are tax-deductible.
If I can answer any questions please call me at 413-624-0192  or e-mail me at sam@sftm.org..
Cordially,
Sam Bartlett
President

[This is an update, in case someone gets directly to this page and is confused by the progress we have made.]
The museum bought the yard on July 17, 2004, thanks to the many donations, large and small, made by our supporters.  See the July 17, 2004 newslog entry for details.   We have a large loan on the property to pay off and buildings to repair.  We expect to pay off most of the loan through renting space in the buildings, but we can always use your donations to help ease the process and save these historic buildings.  See our Contacts page for our address, or stop by and make a donation in person!