Manchester Village, an incorporated village, and Manchester Center, are settlement centers within the town. Manchester has become a tourist destination, especially for those from New York and Connecticut, offering visitors factory outlet stores of national chain retailers as well as many locally owned businesses and restaurants.
History
View of Manchester in 1913c.1920s at Ye Olde Tavern
The town was one of several chartered in 1761 by Benning Wentworth, colonial governor of New Hampshire. It was his custom to name new towns after prominent English aristocrats of the day, hoping they might adopt a patronly interest in their namesakes. Wentworth named Manchester for Robert Montagu, 3rd Duke of Manchester. First settled in 1764, the town was laid out in 1784. The land was better suited for grazing than tillage, so by 1839 about 6,000 sheep roamed the pastures and hillsides.
Other industries came to include iron mines, marblequarries and mills, and lumber companies. The arrival of the railroad from industrialized centers like New York City brought tourists, drawn by Manchester's historic architecture and beautiful setting among mountains. Following the Civil War, the town developed into an affluent resort area, which it remains today.
Between 1812 and 1819, Manchester was made famous by the Boorn–Colvin case, called "America's first wrongful conviction murder case",[6] the subject of several books and still studied today.[7]
Orvis is a family-owned retail and mail-order business specializing in high-end fly fishing, hunting and sporting goods. Founded in Manchester in 1856 by Charles F. Orvis to sell fishing tackle, it is the oldest mail-order retailer in the United States.[8][9]
Jake Burton Carpenter, founder of Burton Snowboards, perfected snowboard design in his garage in Manchester. The company operated out of Manchester until 1992, when it relocated to Burlington.[8] Nearby Stratton Mountain was among the first ski resorts to allow snowboarding.
The town has three distinct state-recognized historic districts—the Depot district located on Highland Avenue and Elm Street, Bonnet Street, just north of Main Street, and Main Street itself.[8]
Geography
The Congregational Church in Manchester Village, VermontView of Manchester, Vermont by DeWitt Clinton Boutelle, 1870
Manchester is located in north-central Bennington County, lying between the Green Mountains to the east and the Taconic Range to the west. Equinox Mountain, the highest summit in the Taconics, with an elevation of 3,850 feet (1,170m), is in the western part of the town. Manchester is drained by the Batten Kill, Lye Brook, Munson Brook, Bromley Brook, and Bourn Brook. The Lye Brook Falls Hiking Trail, which leads to one of the highest waterfalls in Vermont, is a popular local attraction.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 42.2 square miles (109.4km2), of which 42.1 square miles (109.1km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3km2), or 0.29%, is water.[10]
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 4,180 people, 1,819 households, and 1,156 families residing in the town. The population density was 99.0 peopleper square mile (38.2 people/km2). There were 2,456 housing units at an average density of 58.2 unitsper square mile (22.5 units/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.87% White, 0.38% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.43% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.75% of the population.
There were 1,819 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples who were living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. Of all households 30.5% were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.81.
The population distribution by age for Manchester was 23.1% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $47,196, and the median income for a family was $59,191. Males had a median income of $36,453 versus $26,017 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,499. About 2.2% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
Manchester is crossed by four highways, including one Super-2 freeway. They are:
VTrans and NYSDOT have shown interest in restoring passenger train service to Manchester on a new Amtrak route between Albany and Burlington via Rutland, also linking up nearby Mechanicville, New York and North Bennington, Vermont. The new train would share much of its route with the Ethan Allen Express, likely running beyond Albany to New York City.[17][18] As of 2021, the idea is listed simply as a "potential initiative" in the Vermont Rail Plan.[19]
Notable attractions
Hildene, the summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln and Mary Lincoln, is a mansion in the Georgian Revival style completed in 1905 that is located southwest of Manchester Center.[20] Robert Lincoln, the only child of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln to survive into adulthood, served as Secretary of War to Presidents Garfield and Arthur, was appointed Minister (Ambassador) to Great Britain during the administration of President Benjamin Harrison, and later became general counsel and then president of the Pullman Company. The Hildene house and surrounding grounds are open to the public.
Also located in Manchester, at the base of Mount Equinox, is the Southern Vermont Arts Center (SVAC). In addition to hosting art exhibitions from its permanent collections and of visiting collections in its gallery facilities, SVAC conducts educational programs and provides facilities for performances and events in the arts. The permanent collection at SVAC includes the work of such regional artists as Ogden Pleissner, Jay Hall Conaway, Reginald Marsh, Guy Pene du Bois, Lorenzo Hatch, Luigi Lucioni, Arthur Gibbs Burton, and Robert Strong Woodward.[21]
Media
Like the rest of Bennington County, Manchester lies in the Albany–Schenectady–Troy television and radio media market.
Manchester is home to alternative rock radio station WEQX's studios. Their broadcast tower is on the summit of Equinox Mountain, from which their callsign derives, enabling their signal to reach the northern and eastern Capital Region of New York's radio market area,[22] while also being able to reach the remainder of southern Vermont, western Massachusetts, and southwestern New Hampshire.
In November and December 2020, John Gray's novel, Manchester Christmas, became a local and regional bestseller.[23]
WVNK 91.1 FM, a VPR partner station, is also licensed to Manchester.
Windsor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,753. The shire town is the town of Woodstock. The county's largest municipality is the town of Hartford.
Rutland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,572, making it the second-most populous county in Vermont. Its county seat and most populous municipality is the city of Rutland.
Bennington County is a county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,347. The shire towns are jointly Bennington and Manchester, and the largest municipality is Bennington. The county was created in 1778.
Addison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,363. Its shire town is the town of Middlebury.
Manchester Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Manchester in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 2,120, out of 4,391 people in the entire town of Manchester.
North Bennington is an incorporated village in the town of Bennington in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,716 at the 2020 census.
Stamford is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 861 at the 2020 census.
Williston is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Originally rural and laid out with many farms, in recent decades it has developed into a thriving suburb of Burlington, the largest city in the state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population of Williston was 10,103, an increase of over 1,000 people since the 2010 census. Williston is one of the fastest-growing towns in Vermont, and while becoming more populated, it has also developed as a major retail center for the Burlington area as well as much of central and northern Vermont. The town has a National Register Historic District in its unincorporated central village.
Middlebury is the shire town of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History and the adjacent hardware store.
Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous town in southern Vermont, the second-largest town in Vermont and the sixth-largest municipality in the state.
Rutland is the only city in and the seat of Rutland County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 15,807. It is located approximately 65 miles (105 km) north of the Massachusetts state line, 35 miles (56 km) west of New Hampshire state line, and 20 miles (32 km) east of the New York state line. Rutland is the third largest city in the state of Vermont after Burlington and South Burlington. Rutland City is completely surrounded by Rutland Town, which is a separate municipality. The downtown area of the city is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Ethan Allen Express is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a 310-mile (500 km) north–south route with a 7-hour 35 minute scheduled running time. The train is subsidized by New York and Vermont for the portion north of Albany. It is named for Vermont cofounder and American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen.
Vermont Route 7A (VT 7A) is a 27.8-mile-long (44.7 km) north–south state highway in Bennington County, Vermont, in the United States. It is an alternate route of U.S. Route 7 (US 7) between Bennington and Dorset. The route is signed as "Historic VT 7A" to distinguish it, the original routing of US 7, from the modern US 7 freeway.
Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home is the former summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln and his wife Mary Harlan Lincoln, located at 1005 Hildene Road in Manchester Center, Vermont.
Mary Lincoln Beckwith was a prominent descendant of Abraham Lincoln. Beckwith was the great-granddaughter and one of the last two confirmed descendants of Abraham Lincoln, along with her younger brother Robert.
Green Mountain Community Network (GMCN) is a private, nonprofit organization, that owns and operates the public transit system by local bus in Bennington County in southwestern Vermont called the Green Mountain Express. Their bus service currently has 3 local "fixed deviated" weekday routes in Bennington: the Red, Blue and Brown routes, which can deviate up to 1/4 mile from their alignment upon request. They also have two local Saturday routes, and three commuter routes: the Orange Line, with weekday plus Saturday service to Manchester; the Purple Line, with weekday service to Williamstown, Massachusetts; and the Emerald line, with weekday service to Wilmington. The Emerald Line is a partnership between West Dover-based Southeast Vermont Transit's "the MOOver" and GMCN.
Vermont Translines is an intercity bus company founded by its parent company, charter bus company Premier Coach, in 2013. The bus company mainly serves the US Route 7 and US Route 4 corridors in the New England state of Vermont. Aided by $400,000 in annual federal grant money disbursed by the Vermont Agency of Transportation, the company also utilizes Greyhound's ticketing system and connects with other Greyhound bus routes, primarily in Burlington, Albany and White River Junction. Service on two routes between Burlington, Vermont and Albany, New York and between Rutland, Vermont and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire officially began June 9, 2014, with intermediate stops at towns and cities between. The restart of intercity bus service for places like Rutland marked the first time some places along the current routes had seen any intercity bus service at all since Greyhound left Rutland in 2008, and in towns like Bennington since 2005.
The Equinox House Historic District encompasses the historic center of the village of Manchester, Vermont. It includes a small group of civic and commercial buildings around the junction of Main Street and Union Street, with the luxury Equinox House hotel as its primary focus. The district, developed as a tourist destination in the late 1800s, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and enlarged in 1980. It is a small portion of the Manchester Village Historic District.
Charity Rae Clark is an American lawyer and politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served as Vermont Attorney General since January 2023.
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