Sign, Instructional

Object/Artifact

Vermont Historical Society

Name/Title

Sign, Instructional

Entry/Object ID

1992.55.1

Description

Fallout Shelter sign that was salvaged by donor after removal from Post Office in Woodstock where it had been displayed outside for years. Reflective yellow and black. In tiny printing near bottom of sign is: "DOD FS No 2 (Not to be reproduced or used without Department of Defense Permission) Traces of mint green paint around edges. Flash reflected on sign and changed the coloring.

Use

in Woodstock, VT

Acquisition

Accession

1992.55

Source or Donor

Teagle, Frank H., Jr.

Acquisition Method

Gift

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Sign, Instructional

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Sign

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Visual Communication Devices

Nomenclature Class

Visual Communication T&E

Nomenclature Category

Category 06: Tools & Equipment for Communication

Dimensions

Height

14 in

Width

10 in

Material

Metal

Relationships

Related Places

Place

Town

Woodstock

County

Windsor County

State/Province

Vermont

Country

United States of America

Continent

North America

Interpretative Labels

Label

The Community Fallout Shelter Program was started in 1961 as a way to protect people from the after-effects of a nuclear bomb explosion. These shelters were housed in existing municipal buildings that had sufficient mass to lessen the effects of radiation fallout. Many communities in Vermont had basements in schools, town halls, and post offices designated as Fallout Shelters, Buildings designated as shelters were supposed to house people people for at least two weeks after the initial blasts. Each shelter was given provisions and supplies provided by the federal government. This sign was originally on the Woodstock Post Office. In 1962 the federal government contracted for the manufacturing of 400,000 exterior and one million interior Fallout Shelter signs.