Goshen Lodge, sometime called Sunnyside, was situated about three-quarters of a mile south of Brandon Gap on the Long Trail, serving hikers traversing the central Vermont mountains. The shelter was a new closed shelter owned by the Green Mountain Club, first appearing in trail guides around the early 1920s as a modest facility. In the 1921 Long Trail Guide Book, Goshen Lodge was listed as a GMC camp with 2 bunks, providing basic overnight shelter for Long Trail users.
By 1925, the shelter underwent significant expansion. In 1925 a large, enclosed, steel hut was added at the location of Goshen Lodge, built by the GMC with funds gifted by Redfield Proctor by the Proctor Section. The new steel camp had bunks for 8 to 10 persons, with water available at the adjacent brook. This enhanced facility marked a transition in the shelter’s character from a simple lean-to to a more substantial structure.
The expanded Goshen Lodge functioned as a trail shelter into the 1960s, though its name and designation evolved over time. This camp was built in 1925 near the old Goshen Lodge location and was used until 1963. It was in use from 1925 to 1966 when it still provided shelter but not maintained, with capacity reduced to 4 persons. The shelter was eventually superseded by newer facilities at the same general location, becoming part of the historical lineage of what would become known as the Sunrise Shelters.
Sources
- Long Trail Guide Book 1921 (1921). Green Mountain Club. 20.
- Long Trail Guide Book 1921 (1921). Green Mountain Club. 21.
- "Long Trail News." , no. December (1925).
- Long Trail News 1961 (1961). Green Mountain Club. 6.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 2 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1920. Pp. 19.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 2 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1920. Pp. 20.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 4 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1922. Pp. 22.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 4 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1922. Pp. 23.
- Green Mountain Club. Long Trail Guide Book. 5 ed. Green Mountain Club, 1924. Pp. 28.
- Walter Collins O’Kane. Trails and Summits of the Green Mountains. The Riverside Press , 1926. Pp. 401.
- Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 104.
