St. Johnsbury, Vermont

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St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Coordinates: 44°26′1″N 72°0′54″W / 44.43361, -72.015
Country United States
State Vermont
County Caledonia
Chartered 1786
Settled 1786
Organized 1790
Area
 - Total 36.8 sq mi (95.2 km²)
 - Land 36.7 sq mi (95.0 km²)
 - Water 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
Elevation 614 ft (187 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 7,571
 - Density 206.4/sq mi (79.7/km²)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s) 802
FIPS code 50-62200[1]
GNIS feature ID 1462199[2]

St. Johnsbury is the shire town[3] (county seat)[4] of Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 7,571 at the 2000 census. St. Johnsbury is located approximately 10 miles northwest of the Connecticut River and 40 miles south of the Canadian border. St. Johnsbury is the major town in the Northeast Kingdom. In 2006, the town was named "Best Small Town" in National Geographic Adventure's "Where to live and play" feature. [1] The more densely-settled southern half of the town is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP), where over 83% of the population resides.

Contents

[edit] Geography

St. Johnsbury is located at 44°25′N, 72°01′W, elevation 212.4m (697 ft.) [5]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.85 square miles (95.44 km²), of which, 36.72 square miles (4.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (.35%) is water.

The town lies at the heart of the Passumpsic River basin, one of the largest of the upper Connecticut.[6]

The town includes the unincorporated villages of St. Johnsbury, East St. Johnsbury, Goss Hollow, and St. Johnsbury Center.[7] The town center, which is defined as a census-designated place (CDP), encompasses the villages of St. Johnsbury and St. Johnsbury Center and covers an area of 13.1 sq mi (about 36% of the area of the town).

[edit] History

The town was originally granted in 1760 as part of the New Hampshire Grants and named Bessborough. However, it was regranted by Vermont in 1786 as Dunmore, and the town's first settlers of European descent were led by Dr. Jonathan Arnold, a member of the Continental Congress and the author of Rhode Island's act of secession from the United Kingdom in May, 1776. Arnold left Rhode Island in 1787 and he and six other families built their homes in what is now the center of town. By 1790 the town had grown to 143 inhabitants, and the first town meeting took place in Arnold's home that year, where the name St, Johnsbury was adopted. According to local lore, Vermont founder Ethan Allen himself proposed naming the town St. John in honor of his friend Jean de Crèvecoeur, a French-born author and agriculturist and a friend of Benjamin Franklin (he was known in the United States as J. Hector St. John). According to this account, de Crèvecoeur suggested instead the unusual St. Johnsbury to differentiate it from Saint John, New Brunswick.

In the mid-1800s, St. Johnsbury became a minor manufacturing center, with the main products being scales — the platform scale was invented there by Thaddeus Fairbanks in 1830 — and maple syrup and related products. With the coming of the railroad line from Boston to Montreal in the 1850s, St. Johnsbury grew quickly and was named the shire town (county seat) in 1856, replacing Danville. The oldest occupied residence in St. Johnsbury was built in 1801 and is located on Clarks Avenue.

[edit] Education

  • St. Johnsbury Academy is a private high school founded by the Fairbanks family in 1842. While they have the option of attending any approved school, most St. Johnsbury secondary school students choose to be educated at St. Johnsbury Academy at the town's expense. The town of St. Johnsbury does not operate a public school for grades 9-12. Vermont law requires towns not operating schools to pay tuition to other approved schools for students in the grades not provided up to the Average Announced Tuition for union schools [8]
  • St. Johnsbury Trade School opened in September of 1918, offering the only four year vocational education in the area. The school's founders, Fairbanks, Morse and Company, wanted to provide young people with the opportunity to learn a trade while providing them a base for earning more money and high school courses.[9] After serving the community for over 50 years, the Trade School was closed, and the building then became the junior high. In 1981, it changed again into a middle school known as the St. Johnsbury School. [10]

[edit] Industry

  • E.T. & H.K. Ide Company, a grain wholesaler, is the oldest continuously operating business in town, having been founded in 1813.
  • Fairbanks Scales, still doing business here after more than 175 years, employs 160 workers.[11]

[edit] Demographics

As of the census of 2000,[1] there were 7,571 people, 3,197 households, and 1,917 families residing in the town. The population density was 206.4 people per square mile (79.7/km²). There were 3,482 housing units at an average density of 94.49/sq mi (36.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.5% White, 0.5% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 1.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,197 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the town the population was spread out with 12.8% under the age of 18, 19.1% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $20,269, and the median income for a family was $41,961. Males had a median income of $30,846 versus $22,131 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,807. 14.7% of the population and 12.0% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 37.8% are under the age of 18 and 11.1% are 65 or older.

[edit] Town center

The U.S. Census Bureau refers to the most developed portion of the town as a census-designated place (CDP).

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 6,319 people, 2,726 households, and 1,561 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 486.8 people per square mile (188.0/km²). There were 2,985 housing units at an average density of 230.0/sq mi (88.8/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.23% White, 0.47% Black or African American, 0.74% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 1.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.

There were 2,726 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $26,702, and the median income for a family was $39,890. Males had a median income of $31,454 versus $21,283 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $16,561. About 12.8% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.3% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Culture

The village contains the only National Historic Landmark in the county, as well as the only one in the Northeast Kingdom - The Athenaeum. The village also contains 12 other places on the list of National Registry of Historic Places, the most in Caledonia county or the NEK:

  1. Benoit Apartment House-74 Pearl Street — 74 Pearl St. (added 6 June 1994)
  2. Benoit Apartment House-76 Pearl Street — 76 Pearl St. (added 6 June 1994)
  3. Caleb H. Marshall House — 53 Summer St. (added 16 September 1994)
  4. Cote Apartment House — 16 Elm St. (added 6 June 1994)
  5. Franklin Fairbanks House — 30 Western Ave. (added 27 October 1980)
  6. Maple Street-Clarks Avenue Historic District — 17-49 Maple St., 4-34 Clarks Ave., 95 1/2-101 Main St., 4 and 6 Frost Ave. and 3 and 5 Idlewood Terr. (added 5 June 1994)
  7. Morency Paint Shop and Apartment Building — 73-77 Portland St. (added 5 June 1994)
  8. Railroad Street Historic District — Roughly bounded N and S by Railroad St. and Canadian Pacific RR tracks (added 25 July 1974)
  9. Shearer and Corser Double House — 81-83 Summer St. (added 16 September 1994)
  10. St. Johnsbury Federal Fish Culture Station — 374 Emerxon Falls Rd. (added 18 April 2005)
  11. St. Johnsbury Historic District — U.S. 5 and U.S. 2 (added 17 May 1980)
  12. St. Johnsbury Main Street Historic District — Area along Main St. including intersecting streets (added 28 June 1975)

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Title 24, Part I, Chapter 1, §4, Vermont Statutes. Accessed 2007-11-01.
  4. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ St. Johnsbury: Connecticut River Byway
  7. ^ Caledonia County, Vermont Local History and Genealogy
  8. ^ Programs & Services : School Finance
  9. ^ Vermonter.com.
  10. ^ www.stjsd.org
  11. ^ St J loses some, but keeps its eyes level | Vermont Business Magazine | Find Articles at BNET.com
  12. ^ (1963) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 
  13. ^ Notable Alumni of Black River Academy. Vermont Historical Society. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
  14. ^ Winter Park Founder's Biographies
  15. ^ [http://www.wppl.org/wphistory/FoundersBio.htm#ALONZO%20W.%20ROLLINS Winter Park Founder's Biographies

[edit] References

  • Claire Dunne Johnson (1996). Images of America: St. Johnsbury. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-0260-9. 

[edit] External links


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Municipalities and communities of
Caledonia County, Vermont
Shire town: St. Johnsbury
Towns
Map of Vermont highlighting Caledonia County
Villages
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