POMFRET — The Historical Society has launched a fundraising campaign to raise around $25,000 for a veterans monument in town.
The effort is intended to fill a void in the town, which currently lacks such a structure.
“These people have served,” Alan Graham, president of the Pomfret Historical Society, said. “Small towns in Vermont have sacrificed more than a lot of places. It’s very touching what they’ve done.”
The idea has been in the works, on and off, for years, Graham said. It started to gain momentum again during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when Graham worked with other historical society members to put together lists of Pomfret veterans dating back to before the Revolutionary War. The lists, which are organized by era, totaled hundreds of names.
While historical society members briefly considered trying to create a monument including all of the veterans’ names, they decided to go with a more general design.
“I just don’t want to leave anybody out,” Graham said. People who visit the monument once it is complete will be able to look up the list of veterans the historical society has compiled on the nonprofit organization’s website.
Plans call for a 12-by-12 foot timber frame structure to be built on the lawn between the Pomfret Historical Society, located at 5188 Pomfret Road, and the Pomfret Town Offices, which is next door.
Graham plans to restore an old church bell to put inside the timber frame structure to include as part of the monument. The bell, which weighs around 450 lbs., previously hung in what is now Pomfret Town Hall and is located across the street from the historical society and town offices. It has been stored in the balcony at the town hall since the early 1900s, Graham said.
“I’m very excited to bring it out in the open again,” he said.
Plans also call for hanging a plaque that says: “For Those Who Have Served,” on the timber frame structure and installing benches nearby.
The total cost of the monument is not yet known, Graham said. While the historical society set the fundraising goal at $25,000, members are working to reduce costs by recruiting volunteers.
Area businesses have donated materials and time, including Jon Harrington, of Harrington Civil Engineers, who provided a site plan for the memorial. The Pomfret Historical Society has also pledged $10,000.
The goal is to raise and construct the new monument in time for Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
Email PomfretHistoryVT@gmail.com or visit pomfrethistoryvt.com for more information.
