The Old Stone House Museum & Historic Village has unveiled a new brand, website, and logo, reflecting a renewed mission to serve as a regional hub for culture, education, and community.
Executive Director Molly Veysey said the rebranding effort, which began in fall 2020 with help from Flek Inc. of St. Johnsbury, was funded by the Northern Community Investment Corporation. The update coincides with the hiring of new staff and the formation of an advisory group.
The museum draws inspiration from Alexander Lucius Twilight, the African American educator and legislator who built the Old Stone House dormitory in the 1820s. Twilight was the first Black graduate of a U.S. college (Middlebury, 1823) and the first Black person elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. Last September, the state designated September 23 as Alexander Twilight Day, and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch entered a remembrance into the Congressional Record.
Despite the pandemic, the museum completed several projects in 2020: the Twilight Educational Trail, pandemic-safe programs, a state roadside marker for Twilight, a public WiFi hotspot in Brownington, and food donations from the museum’s Giving Gardens.
Plans for 2021 include interpreting trails at Willoughby State Forest’s CCC Camp S-55, a new Alexander Twilight exhibit, expanded Giving Gardens, and additional educational and adult programs.
“We’re not just looking to spark our own community but to create new opportunities for people in our local region and beyond,” said Board President Carmen Jackson.
The museum, located in the Brownington Historic District off Hinman Settler’s Road, is open May 15 to October 15, Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Originally reported by Newport Dispatch.
Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0). Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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