Heritage Winooski Mill Museum Celebrates 25 Years
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In 1997, St. Michael’s College faculty, Winooski Historical Society members, Winooski educators, and others began to explore and share the industrial and cultural histories of Winooski Falls, with a focus on the textile mills. Heritage Winooski quickly grew into a successful series of programs and a work-in-progress exhibit at the Champlain Mill.
Andre Senecal, an early museum curator, designed the Heritage Winooski logo to show the Winooski skyline over time. From left to right, the skyline includes a St. Francis Xavier spire, the cement factory smokestack, the American Woolen Mill Building No. 4 (now the Champlain Mill), the old fire station tower (now next to the fire station on Main Street), and the St. Louis Convent tower (no longer in existence).
In 1998, the museum opened to the public in space on the lower level of the Champlain Mill provided by mill owner Ray Pecor. Exhibits and programs expanded as Winooski community members and mill worker families shared objects, photographs and stories. Programs were developed to support K-12 teachers, including Clickity Clack, Wool, Work and Waterpower, a curriculum guide prepared by Jeffrey Badillo, Teresa Hawes and Cathy Richards. In 2000, museum director Laura Krawitt edited The Mills at Winooski Falls: Winooski and Burlington, Vermont, a collection of essays and oral histories about Winooski mill workers and operations during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Heritage Winooski was a project of St. Michael’s College until 2009. The Mill Museum, now organized as a non-profit organization and located on the main level of the Champlain Mill, continues to tell stories of Winooski’s industrial and cultural past, often weaving them into more contemporary histories and issues. Under the leadership of Miriam Block, who joined the museum as director in 2016, and with support from generous donors and community organizations, the museum collaborates with local groups around labor movements, activism, and social justice.
2018 event Poster for concert of labor songs performed by Ric Palieri. The Museum sponsored the concert in support of Vermont Reads book Bread and Roses , Too by Katherine Patterson.
In recent years, we have refreshed permanent exhibits and installed temporary exhibits that draw many new visitors to the museum. The museum continues to involve community members in creating exhibits and presenting programs. For Mill To Mall: Historic Space Reimagined (2022), viewers contributed their memories of shopping and dining in the Champlain Mill. In 2023, we participated in the Welcome Blanket project, inspiring community members to knit, crochet and quilt blankets for New Americans that were displayed in the museum. Our innovative Story Kiosk is a permanent digital display that evolves as people add their stories at the museum or online through the Story Kiosk Virtual Portal.
In celebration of our 25th Anniversary, a new display highlighting the history of the museum is now on view in our gallery. The community is invited to record their memories about the Mill Museum with our Story Kiosk at the museum or on-line. Stories about mill connections and immigration also welcome! Anyone who records a story by 8/31/23 will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift card for Waterworks Restaurant!
Join us at the Mill Museum on Sunday September 3rd from 10am - 2pm for our 25th Anniversary Celebration! We'll showcase community stories and announce the gift card winner at the event.
Article contributed by Margaret Tamulonis, HWMM Vice Chair and Prudence Doherty, HWMM Board Chair,