Pownal, Vermont

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Pownal, Vermont
Pownal, Vermont

Pownal is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 3,560.

Contents

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 121.0 km² (46.7 mi²). 120.8 km² (46.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.17%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there were 3,560 people, 1,373 households, and 1,010 families residing in the town. The population density was 29.5/km² (76.3/mi²). There were 1,563 housing units at an average density of 12.9/km² (33.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.84% White, 0.28% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.

There were 1,373 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $39,149, and the median income for a family was $41,006. Males had a median income of $30,753 versus $24,212 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,669. About 8.5% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

Prior to the arrival of Europeans and during the Woodland period, Pownal was settled by the Mahican people, with other peoples, such as those of the Mohawk nation, traveling across the area. Perhaps in the late 1600s, Europeans may have entered the area as a result of the establishment of the Dutch patroonship owned by Kiliaen Van Rensselaer -- Rensselaerwyck [or Rensselaerswijck], which extended west and east out of Albany and the community of Beverwyck. The southwestern corner of Pownal was part of the patroonship. Rensselaerwyck passed into English control in 1664. The first European settlers may have entered the area in the 1730s. Those first European settlers may have been Dutch or other Europeans who leased land within Rensselaerwyck. On January 28th, 1760, the Governor of the Province of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth, granted a charter to the township of Pownal, which he named after his fellow governor, Thomas Pownall, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Thereafter, settlers, primarily of English descent, began to arrive from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. In 1766, 185 male heads of households in Pownal sent a petition to the British king, George III, asking that their land claims be recognized and that the fees required to do so be waived. Since Wentworth had granted land to settlers that the Province of New York also claimed, legal and physical conflicts broke out between "Yorkers" and settlers in the New Hampshire Grants (or "The Grants"). As a result, a number of Pownal residents joined the Green Mountain Boys under Ethan Allen. By the time of the American Revolution, the town was deeply divided between “Yankees” and those sympathetic to England, the Tories, each of whom considered himself or herself a Loyalist (American Revolution). Tories were often arrested and imprisoned. By the end of the Revolution, most Tories had left Pownal for more safe locations among the United Empire Loyalists who settled in Canada.

The oldest house in Pownal and in Vermont is the Mooar-Wright House, possibly built in the 1750’s. Some think it may have been built by John Defoe (or DeVoet), a Tory who was imprisoned in 1776, escaped, fought on the side of the British and Brauenschweiger (or "Hessian") forces at the Battle of Bennington, was captured, escaped again, and settled in Canada. Others believe the Mooar-Wright house may have been built by Charles Wright in 1765.

Citizens of Pownal have always prided themselves on their independent spirit. In 1789 a touring minister, the Rev. Nathan Perkins, described the town this way: “ . . . Pawnal ye first town, poor land – very unpleasant – very uneven – miserable set of inhabitants – no religion, Rhode Island haters of religion – Baptists, quakers, & some Presbyterians – no meeting house.”

Today Pownal has five churches. The Pownal Center Community Church was organized in 1794 as the Union Church, serving both Baptists and Methodists, and open to any denomination. The first church was a log structure. It was replaced by the present church in 1849 and is jointly owned by the Town of Pownal and the church.

Both cotton mills and woolen mills operated during the 19th Century. The wool industry reached its peak between 1820 and 1840, though farmers continued to raise sheep until the 20th Century. On the Hoosic River in North Pownal, an 18th Century grist mill was replaced by a woolen mill that operated from 1849 until 1863, when it burned. The Plunkett & Baker Co. Mill, built in 1866, served as a cotton mill until 1930 and became a tannery in 1937. It closed in 1988. Remediated as a superfund site, the mill site is intended to become a recreation area.

During the early part of the 20th Century, Lewis Hine documented child labor in the mills. His photo of twelve-year old Addie Card, entitled “Anemic Little Spinner in North Pownal Cotton Mill, North Pownal, Vermont, August 1910,” was featured on the U.S. stampcommemorating the passage of the first child labor laws (see the Keating-Owen Act). Elizabeth Winthrop has written a novel, ‘’Counting on Grace’’, inspired by Addie’s photo and life.

An electric railroad came to Pownal on June 7th, 1907, and linked Pownal to The Berkshires and to Bennington, Vermont. The brick power station still stands along Route 7.

Schools were built in locations that children could easily walk to, and at one point Pownal had 11 schools, with four men and eleven women teaching in them. Two Presidents of the United States taught in North Pownal: James Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. Some children who attended high school in Bennington commuted on the electric railroad. Others rode wagons or horses to their schools.

Lime quarries operated in North Pownal until 1936. A rail car line extended from the southernmost quarry to the mill on the west side of Route 346 where the stone was crushed and packaged for shipment.

Pownal was formerly the home of Green Mountain Race Track. Opened in 1963, the track offered both thoroughbred and standardbred horse racing until 1976, when thoroughbred racing ceased, being replaced by greyhound racing. One year later standardbred racing was discontinued, and the track thereafter featured only greyhound racing until closing altogether in 1992 amid increasing pressure from animal rights activists, who object to greyhound racing as cruel (Vermont banned the sport in 1995). Since closing as a racetrack, the site has hosted live events occasionally, including a rock concert in the Lollapalooza series in 1996 and antique car shows in 2005 and 2006. In December of 2004 the 144-acre property was purchased by commercial developers who have plans for it which have not yet been finalized, but are believed to include a mix of new homes and small businesses.

The Pownal Historical Society maintains a website with substantial historical information.

[edit] External links

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