Rockingham, Vermont | |
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![]() Pleasant Valley Grange Hall, next to the Rockingham Meeting House | |
![]() Rockingham, Vermont | |
Coordinates: 43°9′57″N72°28′54″W / 43.16583°N 72.48167°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Vermont |
County | Windham |
Chartered | 1752 |
Area | |
• Total | 42.3 sq mi (109.6 km2) |
• Land | 41.9 sq mi (108.5 km2) |
• Water | 0.4 sq mi (1.1 km2) |
Elevation | 1,037 ft (316 m) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 4,832 |
• Density | 123.1/sq mi (48.7/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
ZIP code | 05101 |
Area code | 802 |
FIPS code | 50-60250 [1] |
GNIS feature ID | 1462189 [2] |
Rockingham is a town along the Connecticut River in Windham County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,832. Rockingham includes the incorporated villages of Bellows Falls and Saxtons River, as well as a large rural area west of Interstate 91.
Rockingham has no formal town center; instead, town offices and the Rockingham Public Library are located in the village of Bellows Falls. The approximate center is the Rockingham Meeting House, passed by Route 103, a popular east–west route across the state. The Meeting House was built in Rockingham Village, once the main settlement in the town, but with the increased use of water power for manufacturing, population shifted to other villages located on the two rivers in the town. Most of what was left of Rockingham Village (over a dozen buildings, also called the Old Town) burned in a fire on April 14, 1908; the fire came close to the Meeting House but it was saved. [3] The houses, hotel, and store that burned were not rebuilt. [4]
One of the New Hampshire grants, it was chartered by Governor Benning Wentworth on December 28, 1752, and named for Lord Rockingham. The township was granted to Samuel Johnson and 72 others. When the Town was first settled in 1753 by pioneers, its rivers were sites of fishing for salmon and shad, [5] as they had been for the original indigenous inhabitants. By 1771, the population reached 225. In 1785, Colonel Enoch Hale erected the first bridge over the Connecticut River, and until 1796, it remained the only bridge across. [5] The village of Bellows Falls became an important mill town, which reduced the runs of palatable fish.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 42.3 square miles (109.6 km2), of which 41.9 square miles (108.5 km2) is land and 0.4 square mile (1.1 km2) (0.97%) is water. It is drained by the Williams and the Saxtons rivers, and several brooks that flow directly into the Connecticut River; the latter river forms the eastern boundary of Rockingham.
The highest point in town is Berry Hill at 478 m/1568 ft elevation, near the northwestern corner of the town. [6] The lowest point is on the Connecticut River at the southern boundary of town, at 73 m/240 ft elevation. [7]
The town is crossed by Interstate 91, U.S. Route 5, Vermont Route 103 and Vermont Route 121. The Bellows Falls train station was once served by three rail lines, and today it has Amtrak service on the Vermonter route, with two trains a day, one heading south to Washington, DC and one heading north to St. Albans, VT.
The rural community, based on farming, had its peak of population in 1920.
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1790 | 1,235 | — | |
1800 | 1,684 | 36.4% | |
1810 | 1,954 | 16.0% | |
1820 | 2,155 | 10.3% | |
1830 | 2,272 | 5.4% | |
1840 | 2,330 | 2.6% | |
1850 | 2,837 | 21.8% | |
1860 | 2,904 | 2.4% | |
1870 | 2,854 | −1.7% | |
1880 | 3,797 | 33.0% | |
1890 | 4,579 | 20.6% | |
1900 | 5,809 | 26.9% | |
1910 | 6,207 | 6.9% | |
1920 | 6,231 | 0.4% | |
1930 | 5,302 | −14.9% | |
1940 | 5,737 | 8.2% | |
1950 | 5,499 | −4.1% | |
1960 | 5,704 | 3.7% | |
1970 | 5,501 | −3.6% | |
1980 | 5,538 | 0.7% | |
1990 | 5,484 | −1.0% | |
2000 | 5,309 | −3.2% | |
2010 | 5,282 | −0.5% | |
2020 | 4,832 | −8.5% | |
U.S. Decennial Census [8] |
As of the census [1] of 2000, there were 5,309 people, 2,202 households, and 1,387 families residing in the town. The population density was 126.7 people per square mile (48.9/km2). There were 2,425 housing units at an average density of 57.9 per square mile (22.3/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.38% White, 0.34% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population.
There were 2,202 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were couples living together and joined in either marriage or civil union, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,423, and the median income for a family was $45,503. Males had a median income of $29,200 versus $22,944 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,051. About 4.8% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.
The following smaller unincorporated villages are within the town of Rockingham, in addition to its two larger, incorporated villages (Bellows Falls and Saxtons River): [10] [11]
Bellows Falls is an incorporated village located in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,747 at the 2020 census. Bellows Falls is home to the Green Mountain Railroad, a heritage railroad; the annual Roots on the River Festival; and the No Film Film Festival.
Saxtons River is an incorporated village in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 479 at the 2020 census. For over a hundred years, Saxtons River has been the home of Vermont Academy, an independent secondary school. Most of the village is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as Saxtons River Village Historic District.
Chester is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,005 at the 2020 census.
The Saxtons River is a 22.9-mile-long (36.9 km) river in the U.S. state of Vermont, a tributary of the Connecticut River. Its watershed covers 78 square miles (200 km2) and a range in altitude of 1,800 feet (550 m); land use is about 80% forested and 3% agricultural, and the upper river supports wild brook trout and brown trout, while Atlantic salmon occur but are usually limited to the area below Twin Falls on the lower river.
Vermont Academy (VA) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory, boarding and day school in Saxtons River, Vermont, serving students from ninth through twelfth grade, as well as postgraduates. Founded in 1876, the campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Vermont Academy Campus Historic District in 2015.
Vermont Route 103 is a 42.036-mile-long (67.650 km) north–south state highway in southern Vermont, United States. It runs from U.S. Route 5 in Rockingham in the east to US 7 in Clarendon near Rutland in the west. The Vermont Country Store's second branch is one attraction along the route, as well as the Okemo Ski Resort in Ludlow.
The Bartonsville Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge in the village of Bartonsville, in Rockingham, Vermont, United States. The bridge is a lattice truss style with a 151-foot span, carrying Lower Bartonsville Road over the Williams River. It was built in 2012, replacing a similar bridge built in 1870 by Sanford Granger. The 1870 bridge, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was destroyed in 2011 in flooding caused by Hurricane Irene.
Bellows Falls station is an Amtrak intercity rail station located in the Bellows Falls village of Rockingham, Vermont, United States. The station is served by the single daily round trip of the Washington, D.C.–St. Albans Vermonter. It has a single side platform adjacent to the single track of the New England Central Railroad mainline.
The Williams River is a 27.0-mile (43.5 km) river in the US state of Vermont. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River. Its watershed covers 117 square miles; land use is about 80% forested and 4% agricultural, and the upper river supports wild brook trout and brown trout.
The Rockingham Meeting House, also known as Old North Meeting House and First Church in Rockingham, is a historic civic and religious building on Meeting House Road in Rockingham, Vermont, United States. The Meeting House was built between 1787 and 1801 and was originally used for both Congregational church meetings as well as civic and governmental meetings. Church services ceased in 1839 but town meetings continued to be held in it until 1869. It was restored in 1906 and has been preserved.
U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from New Haven, Connecticut, to the Canada–United States border at Derby Line, Vermont. In Vermont, the road runs south–north from the Massachusetts state line near Guilford to the international border. The 192.317 miles (309.504 km) that lie in Vermont are maintained by the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and run largely parallel to Interstate 91 (I-91). US 5 also follows the path of the Connecticut River from the Massachusetts border to St. Johnsbury, where the river turns northeast while US 5 continues north. The highway serves the major towns of Brattleboro, Hartford, and St. Johnsbury, along with the city of Newport near the Canadian border.
The Bellows Falls Arch Bridge was a three-hinged steel through arch bridge over the Connecticut River between Bellows Falls, Vermont and North Walpole, New Hampshire. It was structurally significant as the longest arch bridge in the United States when it was completed in 1905.
Vermont Route 121 (VT 121) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. The highway runs 21.439 miles (34.503 km) from VT 11 in Londonderry east to U.S. Route 5 in the incorporated village of Bellows Falls in the town of Rockingham. VT 121 follows the Saxtons River in northern Windham County. The highway has a pair of gravel sections in the towns of Windham and Grafton.
The Bellows Falls Neighborhood Historic District encompasses a residential area of the village of Bellows Falls, Vermont. Located south of downtown Bellows Falls, the area has one of the largest concentrations of well-preserved 19th century residences in southern Vermont. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, and enlarged in 2007.
The Hall Covered Bridge, located in southern Rockingham, Vermont, carries Hall Bridge Road across the Saxtons River, just north of its junction with Vermont Route 121. It is a Town lattice truss bridge, built in 1982 as a replica of a circa-1867 bridge that was destroyed by an overweight truck in 1980. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
The Rockingham Village Historic District encompasses the traditional village center of the town of Rockingham, Vermont. Settled in the 18th century, the district, located mainly on Meeting House Road off Vermont Route 103, includes a variety of 18th and 19th-century houses, and has been little altered since a fire in 1908. It notably includes the 18th-century National Historic Landmark Rockingham Meeting House. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
Bellows Falls Canal is a canal constructed to allow boat traffic to bypass Great Falls on the Connecticut River in Bellows Falls, Vermont. It was constructed by the Bellows Falls Canal Company and was one of the first canals in the United States. It was used for transport, to power mills, and later for hydroelectric power. The Bellows Falls Downtown Historic District includes the canal.
Rockingham Free Public Library is one of four Carnegie Libraries in the state of Vermont. The building, in Bellows Falls, Vermont, a village of Rockingham, Vermont, was designed by Boston architects McLean & Wright in Classical Revival style. The Carnegie grant was offered in 1905. The town took a while to decide on allocating matching funds. The library officially opened on November 23, 1909. A children's annex was added to the building in 1929. In 2003 a new entryway and elevator were added for improved accessibility.
Great Falls is a waterfall along the Connecticut River between Walpole, New Hampshire, and Bellows Falls, Vermont. It has also been called Bellows Falls, and its Abenaki name is Kitchee Pontegu, which means "great falls". Great Falls became its official name, based on local usage, in 2016. It drops 52 feet (16 m), and the village of Bellows Falls was established next to it, to take advantage of its water power. Previously, the main settlement in town, Rockingham Village, was on a high point of land overlooking the Williams River, with no potential for water power.