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Ira is in the Taconic Mts.
Herrick and Birdseye Mountains in Ira
Herrick Mountain
View of Herrick Mtn. from Ira
Bird's Mountain is situated in three towns: Ira on the east, and Castleton and Poultney on the west. The greater portion however is in Ira.
View from Castleton Birdseye Road
Ira/Castleton, VT
RRPC Group of Hikers
Bird Mountain 1916
Masonic Monument
The monument was built in 1886.
It was hit by a lightning strike in 1898 and continued to deteriorate since that time. Eventually some of the remaining blocks were carried to the Lee Lodge in Castleton, VT.
Excerpt from History of Bird's Mountain Masonic Monument, 1887
Fireplace made from blocks that were brought down from the monument.
Ray Ladd
Member of the LEE LODGE
Masonic Monument in Ruins
Birdseye Mountain.
Article from Rutland Weekly Herald March 14, 1912
MASONIC MONUMENT IN RUINS
Many of the Carved Blocks Taken Away From Bird's Eye
Picnickers and Souvenir Collectors Fast Completing the Destruction of Huge Shaft Erected 25 Years ago
Razed to the ground by the winds of summer and winter, but little remains of the Masonic monument which was erected on Bird's Mountain 25 years ago. The shaft was struck by lightning several years ago, and since that time it has been passing through a state of gradual demolition. Its complete destruction has been occasioned by the inclement winds and weather of the past winter, and now there is practically nothing left except the base.
Was the Masonic marker on a high hill, still up there? It turns out that at the top of Birdseye, these stones did not have an easy time of it. The monument was hit by lightning twice, first in 1898. It was pulled apart by time, weather conditions and vandals. For this reason, in 1917, the Lee Lodge Masons carried their stones back to Castleton to be incorporated, safe from adversarial weather conditions, into the new Lee Lodge they were building on Main Street. Looking more closely into the north east corner of the lodge dining room a massive and elaborate double chimney fireplace claims attention. The fireplace's white marble stones are dark and dim, inscribed in many cases with arcane symbols. Four commandery pieces mark the fireplace chimneybreast under a substantial Knights Templar commemorative. More stones are heaped in the storage bunkers, which line the room.
Excerpt from Rutland Herald: Masonic Mission, Lee Lodge houses stones from 19th-century monument by Pamela Hayes Rehlen, Oct. 6, 2005 Updated Oct. 27, 2018
Birdseye Mountain Ski Area
Susie Peak
Elev. 2,409'
Airplane Crash on Susie Peak. 1976
2 men killed
Windfarms Proposed for Ira Peaks 2009-2010
Picture depicting what the wind turbines would look like from the Ira Valley
In 2009 and 2010 a large scale wind farm was proposed for Ira and surrounding towns. The project was ultimately abandoned.
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