Westminster (town), Vermont

See also: Westminster (village), Vermont

Westminster, Vermont
Town
Westminster Town Hall
Westminster, Vermont
Westminster Location in the United States Show map of Vermont Westminster Westminster (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 43°04′29″N72°30′31″W / 43.07472°N 72.50861°W / 43.07472; -72.50861
Country	United States
State	Vermont
County	Windham
Settled	1751
Chartered	November 9, 1752
Government
• Town Clerk	Doreen Woodward [1]
Elevation	89 ft (27 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,016
• Density	66/sq mi (25.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	05158
Area code	802
Website	www.westminstervt.org/

Westminster is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,016 at the 2020 census. ^[2] It is also the first capital of the Republic of Vermont. It borders the state of New Hampshire.

History

Westminster is Vermont's oldest existing town and was chartered in 1735 by the Province of Massachusetts Bay and was called New Taunton or Township Number One. ^{[3] [4]} The town did not have any permanent settlers in the area until 1751. New Hampshire settlers came in and the town was later incorporated in the Province of New Hampshire on November 9, 1752, becoming the third chartered town for New Hampshire west of the Connecticut River. When the British government recognized the Province of New York's claims to what is now Vermont, New York moved its Court of Common Pleas for Cumberland County to Westminster in 1772. ^[5] It was the site of the Westminster massacre in March 1775, in which two men were killed attempting to prevent New York provincial officials from exerting their authority over the area in the long-running dispute over the New Hampshire Grants. ^{[6] [7]} On January 15, 1777, a group of Vermonters met in the Westminster courthouse to declare the independence of the Republic of New Connecticut (later renamed the Republic of Vermont). ^{[8] [9]}

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 46.1 square miles (119.5 km²), of which 46.1 square miles (119.3 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km²) (0.06%) is water.

Transportation

Westminster is crossed by Interstate 91 (Exit 5 serves the town), U.S. Route 5, Vermont Route 121 and Vermont Route 123.

The New England Central Railroad has track rights through the town. Amtrak's Vermonter passenger rail line runs through Westminster but does not stop in town. The closest stations are Bellows Falls to the north and Brattleboro to the south.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1790	1,601		—
1800	1,942		21.3%
1810	1,925		−0.9%
1820	1,974		2.5%
1830	1,737		−12.0%
1840	1,546		−11.0%
1850	1,721		11.3%
1860	1,300		−24.5%
1870	1,238		−4.8%
1880	1,377		11.2%
1890	1,265		−8.1%
1900	1,295		2.4%
1910	1,327		2.5%
1920	1,289		−2.9%
1930	1,324		2.7%
1940	1,403		6.0%
1950	1,400		−0.2%
1960	1,602		14.4%
1970	1,875		17.0%
1980	2,493		33.0%
1990	3,026		21.4%
2000	3,210		6.1%
2010	3,178		−1.0%
2020	3,016		−5.1%
U.S. Decennial Census [10]

As of the census ^[11] of 2000, there were 3,210 people, 1,246 households, and 843 families residing in the town. The population density was 69.7 people per square mile (26.9/km²). There were 1,412 housing units at an average density of 30.6 per square mile (11.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.73% White, 0.40% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.

There were 1,246 households, out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $44,263, and the median income for a family was $49,615. Males had a median income of $32,365 versus $26,303 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,019. About 7.1% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

• 
  Westminster is mostly rural in nature
• 
  I-91 in Westminster

Notable people

• Fanny Allen, daughter of Ethan Allen, who converted to Catholicism and became a nun after a religious experience while living in Westminster ^[12]
• Jerome Allen, educator and author ^[13]
• Stephen R. Bradley, US Senator from Vermont ^[14]
• William Czar Bradley. US Representative from Vermont ^[15]
• Edmund Burke, US Representative from New Hampshire ^[16]
• Joseph Dorr Clapp, Wisconsin State Senator, farmer, and businessman, was born in Westminster ^[17]
• Lot Hall, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court ^[18]
• Hiram Pratt, mayor of Buffalo, New York ^[19]
• Mark Richards, US Congressman and seventh Lieutenant Governor of Vermont ^[20]

See also

• Kurn Hattin Homes for Children
• List of capitals in the United States#Vermont Republic

References

1. "Town Clerk's Office". Westminster Vermont. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
2. "Census - Geography Profile: Westminster town, Windham County, Vermont". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 7, 2022.
3. "Westminster Vermont Chartered 1735". Westminster Vermont. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
4. Haas, Jessie (2012). Westminster, Vermont, 1735–2000: Township Number One. The History Press. p. 1. ISBN   9781609494759.
5. Collins, Anne L. (2007). Bellows Falls, Saxtons River and Westminster: A History of Vermont's Most Beloved River Communities. The History Press. p. 123. ISBN   9781596292376.
6. U.S. Government Printing Office (1903). Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 286.
7. United States Congressional serial set. United States Congressional serial set. 1908. p. 52.
8. Hass, Jessica (2012). Westminster, Vermont, 1735-2000: Township Number One. The History Press. p. 51. ISBN   9781609494759.
9. Conant, Edward (1915). A Text Book of the Geography, History, Constitution and Civil Government of Vermont: Also Constitution and Civil Government of the United States. A Publication Expressly Prepared to Comply with Vermont's State School Laws. Tutle Company. p. 191.
10. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
11. Bureau, U. S. Census. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved August 14, 2019.
12. Byrne, William (1899). History of the Catholic Church in the New England States. Vol. 2. Hurd & Everts. pp. 487–490.
13. Crowell, Edward Payson and Biscoe, Walter Stanley (1883). Biographical Record of the Alumni of Amherst College During Its First Half Century, 1821–1871. Edward Payson Crowell, Walter Stanley Biscoe. p.  245. Jerome Allen westminster vt.
14. "BRADLEY, Stephen Row, (1754–1830)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
15. "BRADLEY, William Czar, (1782–1867)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
16. "BURKE, Edmund, (1809 Fanny Allen – 1882)". Biographocal Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
17. 'Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at the Forth-eight session, December 11, 1900, Biographical Sketch of Joseph Dorr Clapp, pg. 95
18. Hall, Benjamin Homer (1858). History of Eastern Vermont: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Close of the Eighteenth Century. New York, NY: D. Appleton & Co. pp.  658–666.
19. Pratt, Walter Wilcox (1900). The Ancestry and the Descendants of John Pratt of Hartford, Conn. Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company. p. 71.
20. "RICHARDS, Mark, (1760–1844)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 27, 2012.

External links

• Town of Westminster official website
• City-Data.com
• ePodunk