These organs were cheaper than pianos, lighter, and did not require tuning, and quickly became the instrument of choice for the well-appointed family parlor. Hundreds of builders dotted the country and competed for customers in the marketplace. The manufacture of reed organs was a phenomenon which swept the United States from approximately 1835 to the 1950вЂ™s.

This organ will be on display in the lobby of the Brattleboro Savings & Loan bank for several weeks, and will be played there by local organists. While not needed to produce the tones of the organ, these pipe tops were much in demand as an eye-catching adornment. The organ is significant not only due to the large number of stops it contains, but also because of the beautiful golden pipe top it displays. The company, based in Brattleboro, Vermont, was founded in 1852 by Jacob Estey, who bought out another Brattleboro manufacturing business.At its peak, the company was one of the worlds largest organ manufacturers, employed approximately 700 people, and sold its high-quality items as far away as Africa, Great Britain. Perhaps the most important instrument returned to Brattleboro is an Estey Chapel Organ, Style H98. Estey Organ Company was an organ manufacturer located in the United States. The Chaney collection also included an organ built by Ross, West and Morse which was delivered to the Poultney, VT Historical Society for its museum of melodeons built in that town. The Estey Organ Museum and the Brattleboro Historical Society will host a festival celebrating Estey organs and their history in Brattleboro this October.

Carpenter and Isaac Hines, all of whom were variously affiliated with Jacob Estey. Windham County was a dynamic hub of activity in the field, and included such well-known builders as Joseph Jones, Riley Burdett, Henry Kirk White, Edwin B. Philip Stimmel, Managing Director of the museum, travelled to North Carolina and selected those items which most clearly illustrated the important role that Brattleboro played in the 19 th and th century reed organ phenomenon in the United States. Further, the collection consisted of framed posters about organ building and other important archival memorabilia. In addition to several Estey reed organs, the collection included instruments by other builders who had a historical relationship with Estey, notably Riley Burdett of Putney, as well as instruments illustrating the development of the American reed organ. Recently, his son, John Chaney, decided that the Estey Organ Museum in Brattleboro was an appropriate home for a number of these instruments. Formerly a Professor of Educational Psychology at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama for over 40 years, Chaney retired to Clinton, NC. Over the years he built a sizeable personal collection of instruments of a wide variety, even setting up a small museum in his home so that others could view his collection. The buildings that have undergone renovations now house a variety of businesses, apartments, and the Estey Organ Museum.Lee Chaney had a life-long love of musical instruments, especially those with keyboards. The Estey Organ Factory complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been undergoing revitalization over the past decade. Other team members include Mary Jo Llewellyn, Architectural Historian Peter Stevenson of Peter Stevenson Construction Management and the North Springfield engineering firm of Stantec Consulting to assist with analysis of building systems and site. 'We were extremely pleased with the quality and depth of the proposals, and are looking forward to working with River Town Design to explore the best way to rehabilitate and reuse these historic factory buildings,' said Christopher Grotke, president of the Estey Organ Museum. In 1996 he was awarded the AIA Award for Excellence in Architecture for his work on the Museum of New Hampshire History. He has served on the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation since 1998 and is currently vice chair. Turner, a NCARB registered Architect, has 25 years of experience with a particular interest in historic buildings.

The project team of consultants will be led by George Turner of River Town Design. The Estey Organ Museum has an agreement with the Town to oversee the grant. Brattleboro was awarded status as a Preserve America community in 2005. The project is funded by a Preserve America grant awarded to the Town of Brattleboro by the Federal Department of the Interiors National Park Service with matching funds from the Town. ESTEY ORGAN MUSEUM HIRES ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTANTД«RATTLEBORO The Estey Organ Museum has hired River Town Design of Hartford, VT to prepare a Heritage Tourism Master Plan for four buildings in the Estey Organ Complex on Birge Street.

Estey organ museum brattleboro