Jacob Estey and Estey Organ Company Achievements Featured on Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast

esteyfest esteypodcast poster

Brattleboro, Vermont; 24 September 2024: The September episode of the Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast tells the story of how Jacob Estey and the Estey Organ Company put Brattleboro on the map and helped shape American popular culture in the second half of the 19th Century. Jon Potter of Latchis Arts narrates the podcast with  a variety of organ and pipe music featured throughout. The Podcast is available for free on all podcast platforms at: https://brattleboro-words-trail-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/jacob-estey-the-estey-organ-companys-reverberations

The Estey podcast informs the September 26-30 EsteyFest 24 in Brattleboro. This national reed organ conference attracts hundreds to Brattleboro, site of the longest-lived and largest reed organ company in the world. The Estey Organ Company and the Estey family who ran it produced more than half a million musical instruments that traveled the globe with their prominent ‘Made in Brattleboro, Vermont’ stamp. 


The Legacy of Brattleboro’s Jacob Estey Featured on Local Podcast “That’s One for the History Books”

In episode 47 of their podcast “That’s One for the History Books”, Springfield VT resident Marty Cohn and his colleague Hugh Ryan of Westerly, RI featured the remarkable life and legacy of Jacob Estey, a Brattleboro pioneer in the world of musical instruments.

Jacob Estey, born in 1814, was a visionary entrepreneur and inventor who revolutionized the music industry. Although his name may not be widely recognized today, his contributions are undeniable. Estey began his working life as a plumber’s apprentice at the age of 17 and, before the age of 35, was a partner in plumbing, lumber, slate, and marble businesses. Sensing a business opportunity, Estey took over a share of a small melodeon business in 1852 in Brattleboro, Vermont. A melodeon is a type of 19th-century reed organ.


Jamie Mohr on “Here We Are”

“Rewarding the Curious” is what Epsilon Spires is all about – and Jamie Mohr is finding ways to bring the arts and science together in ways we never imagined……Tune in to hear about some of her adventures!


Estey Organ Museum Celebrates 20 Years of Living History 

Organ trio at Estey Organ Museum

Brattleboro, VT…. Brattleboro is home to many historic treasures, some large enough to grace the main street in town, others hidden gems that we need to seek out. The Estey Organ Museum is one of those pieces of history that is well worth a visit for many reasons. Tucked away in the company’s Old Engine House on Birge Street, it holds a century of local history that spread the Estey reputation far and wide. 

The new season starts on May 21 in celebration of the museum’s 20th year and will be open to the public on Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. through October. It is unique in that unlike what we’re used to in most museums, the hosts in this museum say to all visitors—adults and children alike—please touch; please sit down and play the organs. Visitors even have the opportunity of walking through a pipe organ to see how the mechanism works.