We cordially invite you to join us for the opening reception of our 250th exhibition CENTENNIALS: The Gilded Age & The Disco Era in Vermont’s Rail City on Friday, June 26th from 5-7 pm. Please join us for light refreshments, local wines from Maquam Winery, and good conversation in the Bliss Room.

The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial, of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, marking the formal founding of the United States. 

Saint Albans Museum partnered with Downtown Saint Albans, The City of Saint Albans, and Vermont Arts Council to realize our local focus for American’s 250th: CENTENNIALS. This lens on the centennial years gives a glimpse into Saint Albans & Franklin County during the formative years surrounding 1876 and 1976.

The Gilded Age & The Disco Era are historic turning points in industry, agriculture, fashion, and society-at-large in rural America. This collection of archival imagery tells the story of the expansion of a rural, agrarian community accelerated by rail into the industrial age, and a fast forward look 100 years later to the rise of counterculture in Vermont and the start of the decline of manufacturing & railroad jobs. The retrospective illustrates an ever-changing narrative of a resilient, distinct American city, that presently finds itself on the historic timeline as the fastest growing city in Vermont.

Director Trish Denton and curatorial staff Eliza Callahan collaborated with Vanish Works Experience Design and veteran set designer Jeffrey Modereger to design a multimedia installation that illustrates this important Saint Albans story. Join us to celebrate the culmination of this collective effort and formal opening of the exhibit - which will run from June 26th to October 9, 2026.

This original multimedia exhibition is sponsored by Vermont Arts Council, The City of Saint Albans, and Downtown Saint Albans and is independently produced by Saint Albans Museum.