Post-war and Post-railroad Rutland (1951-1980) continued
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From 1952 to 1954 the Chamber spearheaded the development of the Rocky
Pond recreation area which opened to the public in 1954.
Rutland outgrew its 1895 hospital and the 1927 expansion to it. In 1956
ground was broken for a new
hospital on the Chaffee Farm at Allen Street and Stratton Road. In
1958 the new hospital was occupied.
In 1953 passenger service on the Rutland
Railroad ceased. By 1961, after a strike and a lockout, the Rutland
Railroad ceased to operate. It was abandoned and its equipment sold.
Against the backdrop of a city in economic difficulty, local volunteers
built a Bicentennial Village
in 1961 to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Rutland's 1761 charter.
The village included a blacksmith shop, a village store and numerous exhibits.
Disaster struck the community again in 1973 when on a cold January evening,
the Town House (the old Berwick
Hotel) burned in a terrible fire. |