our Story
In 1988, a group of artists and entrepreneurs in the Lost River Valley created a cooperative to promote and market high quality arts and crafts to tourist and members of the community. The Lost River General Store Association was owned and operated by its members. It was located at the Lost River General Store. The LRGSA later became the Lost River Artisans Cooperative.
A few years later, the members decided there should be an educational component to the cooperative and in 1992, the Lost River General Store Education Foundation was formed. The foundation was identified as a 501(c)(3) organization by the IRS.
The foundation’s mission was, and continues to be, the preservation of traditional crafts and the promotion of arts through informational presentations, workshops and classes.
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In 1998, the LRGSA moved to the Harper Barn, located about a quarter-mile south on Route 259. The Education Foundation opened a museum on the lower level. Under the capable care of Bill and Nancy Powell, the museum told the story of farm families in the Lost River Valley.
