Joan Coe
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ETHEL WALKER DEAL 424 ACRES $13.85 MILLION - 2006/10/14 08:03
This article was published in The Hartford Courant, October 14, 2006
Sturbridge Village Sells Woodland
Associated Press
STURBRIDGE, Mass. — The state and the town of Sturbridge have purchased 826 acres of woodland owned by Old Sturbridge Village for$3.8 million in a move that helps the struggling living his-
tory museum while increasing the state's conservation area.
"Tourism is the third-largest job producer and revenue producer in the commonwealth," said state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, who spearheaded the effort. "It was resonating in the area that Old Sturbridge Village was in deep, deep trouble."
Paul Wykes, executive vice president at Old Sturbridge, told The Boston Globe that attendance has slowed steadily,
dropping from 600,000 annually in the mid-1980s to 268,000 in 2005. He said the $9 million endowment is much smaller than the endowments of other living history attractions, making it more reliant on money from admissions.
Wykes said Old Sturbridge Village will use the money from the land sale to pay off $650,000 in operating debt and $1.8 million in borrowing. That leaves $1.35 million that theviUage will keep on reserve as a "cushion."[b]
Post edited by: joan coe, at: 2006/10/14 08:06
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