Woodstock, Vermont | |
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Motto: We are one. | |
Coordinates: 43°37′25″N72°31′10″W / 43.62361°N 72.51944°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Vermont |
County | Windsor |
Chartered | 1761 |
Communities | |
Area | |
• Total | 44.6 sq mi (115.6 km2) |
• Land | 44.4 sq mi (114.9 km2) |
• Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2) |
Elevation | 702 ft (214 m) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 3,005 |
• Density | 67/sq mi (26/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
ZIP code | 05091 |
Area code | 802 |
FIPS code | 50-85975 [1] |
GNIS feature ID | 1462272 [2] |
Website | www |
Woodstock is the shire town (county seat [3] [4] ) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. [5] It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock.
Chartered by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth on July 10, 1761, the town was a New Hampshire grant to David Page and 61 others. It was named after Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England, as a homage to both Blenheim Palace and its owner, George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough. The town was first settled in 1768 by James Sanderson and his family. [6] In 1776, Joab Hoisington built a gristmill, followed by a sawmill, on the south branch of the Ottauquechee River. [7] The town was incorporated in 1837. [8]
Although the Revolution slowed settlement, Woodstock developed rapidly once the war ended in 1783. The Vermont General Assembly met here in 1807 before moving the next year to the new capital at Montpelier. Waterfalls in the Ottauquechee River provided water power to operate mills. Factories made scythes and axes, carding machines, and woolens. There was a machine shop and gunsmith shop. Manufacturers also produced furniture, wooden wares, window sashes and blinds. Carriages, horse harnesses, saddles, luggage trunks and leather goods were also manufactured. By 1859, the population was 3,041. [7] The Woodstock Railroad opened to White River Junction on September 29, 1875, carrying freight and tourists. The Woodstock Inn opened in 1892. [9]
The Industrial Revolution helped the town grow prosperous. The economy is now largely driven by tourism. Woodstock has the 20th highest per-capita income of Vermont towns as reported by the United States Census, and a high percentage of homes owned by non-residents. The town's central square, called the Green, is bordered by restored late Georgian, Federal Style, and Greek Revival houses. The cost of real estate in the district adjoining the Green is among the highest in the state. The seasonal presence of wealthy second-home owners from cities such as Boston and New York has contributed to the town's economic vitality and livelihood, while at the same time diminished its accessibility to native Vermonters.
The town maintains a free (paid for through taxation) community wi-fi internet service that covers most of the village of Woodstock, dubbed "Wireless Woodstock". [10]
In his City Life: Urban Expectations in a New World, Canadian author and architect Witold Rybczynski extensively analyzes the layout of the town and the informal and unwritten rules which determined it. According to Rybczynski:
The overall plan seems to have been dictated by the site: a narrow, flat valley hemmed in by the sweeping curve of the Ottauqueechee River on one side and a small creek on the other. The green was laid out lengthwise on the narrow peninsula between the river and the creek, allowing for many plots to have rear gardens running down to the riverbank. ... The builders of Woodstock were aware that important buildings needed important sites. The Episcopalian church is at the head of the green, the Methodist farther down, and the Congregationalist church artfully closes the vista of Pleasant Street where it dead-ends into Elm Street. ... The pride of place, on the green, is shared by private homes on one side, and the courthouse and the Eagle Hotel on the other. Stores, banks, the post office and other businesses are located on two streets adjacent to but not actually on the green. This is a subtle sort of urban design, but it is design, design that proceeds not from a predetermined master plan, but from the process of building itself. A rough framework is established, with individual builders adapting as they come along. If Parisian planning in the grand manner can be likened to carefully scored symphonic music, the New England town is like ... very restrained jazz. ... [L]ike jazz, it involves improvisation, and as in jazz, this does not mean that the result is accidental or that there are no rules. [11]
The author goes on to explicate some of the informal rules, such as that buildings stand close to the sidewalk, in the case of businesses, or ten to fourteen feet behind for homes; that plots are generally deep and narrow, keeping street frontages roughly equivalent; commercial buildings stand side by side, with only important buildings with a public function—the library or courthouse, for instance—being free-standing objects. Rybczynsk points out that there is no zoning in Woodstock, and "buildings with different functions sat—and still sit today—side by side on the same streets", with practical exceptions such as the slaughterhouse and the gasworks. [11]
The Rockefellers have had an enormous impact on the overall character of the town as it exists today. They helped preserve the 19th century architecture and the rural feel.[ citation needed ] In the late 1960s they tore down the landmark Woodstock Inn, a Victorian treasure reconstructed in 1892 from the old Eagle Hotel, which served as a center point for the town, and built a charming neo-colonial edifice farther back from the street. [12] Laurance and Mary French Rockefeller also had the village's power lines buried underground. To protect their ridgeline views, the town adopted an ordinance creating a Scenic Ridgeline District in order to protect the aesthetics and the views of the town. It was updated in 2007. [13]
Woodstock was named "The Prettiest Small Town in America" by the Ladies Home Journal magazine, [14] and in 2011, North and South Park Street and one block of Elm Street won an award for great streetscape by the American Planning Association's "Great Places in America" program. APA looks at street form and composition, street character and personality and the overall street environment and sustainable practices.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 44.6 square miles (115.6 km2), of which 44.4 square miles (114.9 km2) is land and 0.27 square miles (0.7 km2), or 0.63%, is water. [15] The Ottauquechee River flows through the town. [16]
Woodstock is crossed by U.S. Route 4, Vermont Route 12 and Vermont Route 106. Interstate 89 does not pass through the town, it is served by exit 1 in nearby Quechee. It is bordered by the town of Pomfret to the north, Hartford to the northeast, Hartland to the east, Reading to the south, and Bridgewater to the west.
Woodstock is a three-hour drive from Boston and is 250 miles (400 km) away from New York City. It is easily accessible via car or plane to Rutland or Lebanon Airports. Vermont Translines operates a daily intercity bus route between Rutland and Lebanon, stopping in Woodstock along the way. The closest regular public transportation hubs are in White River Junction (12 miles (19 km) east) and Rutland (48 miles (77 km) west).
This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Woodstock has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. [17]
Climate data for Woodstock, Vermont (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1892–present) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 67 (19) | 66 (19) | 83 (28) | 93 (34) | 95 (35) | 99 (37) | 104 (40) | 100 (38) | 96 (36) | 88 (31) | 80 (27) | 71 (22) | 104 (40) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 49 (9) | 51 (11) | 61 (16) | 79 (26) | 87 (31) | 91 (33) | 92 (33) | 91 (33) | 87 (31) | 78 (26) | 67 (19) | 53 (12) | 94 (34) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 29.5 (−1.4) | 32.8 (0.4) | 41.0 (5.0) | 55.0 (12.8) | 68.1 (20.1) | 76.9 (24.9) | 81.6 (27.6) | 80.1 (26.7) | 73.0 (22.8) | 59.2 (15.1) | 46.4 (8.0) | 35.2 (1.8) | 56.6 (13.7) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 18.4 (−7.6) | 20.7 (−6.3) | 29.9 (−1.2) | 43.2 (6.2) | 55.4 (13.0) | 64.8 (18.2) | 69.5 (20.8) | 67.7 (19.8) | 60.2 (15.7) | 47.4 (8.6) | 36.2 (2.3) | 25.4 (−3.7) | 44.9 (7.2) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 7.3 (−13.7) | 8.5 (−13.1) | 18.7 (−7.4) | 31.4 (−0.3) | 42.7 (5.9) | 52.6 (11.4) | 57.4 (14.1) | 55.4 (13.0) | 47.3 (8.5) | 35.5 (1.9) | 26.1 (−3.3) | 15.6 (−9.1) | 33.2 (0.7) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | −15 (−26) | −12 (−24) | −3 (−19) | 19 (−7) | 29 (−2) | 38 (3) | 46 (8) | 44 (7) | 33 (1) | 23 (−5) | 12 (−11) | −4 (−20) | −18 (−28) |
Record low °F (°C) | −38 (−39) | −43 (−42) | −27 (−33) | 2 (−17) | 17 (−8) | 29 (−2) | 35 (2) | 29 (−2) | 19 (−7) | 9 (−13) | −16 (−27) | −38 (−39) | −43 (−42) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.85 (72) | 2.65 (67) | 3.19 (81) | 3.50 (89) | 3.61 (92) | 4.11 (104) | 3.92 (100) | 3.68 (93) | 3.59 (91) | 4.57 (116) | 3.59 (91) | 3.19 (81) | 42.45 (1,078) |
Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 12 (30) | 16 (41) | 13 (33) | 4 (10) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (2.5) | 3 (7.6) | 11 (28) | 19 (48) |
Source: NOAA [18] |
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1790 | 1,605 | — | |
1800 | 2,132 | 32.8% | |
1810 | 2,672 | 25.3% | |
1820 | 2,610 | −2.3% | |
1830 | 3,044 | 16.6% | |
1840 | 3,315 | 8.9% | |
1850 | 3,041 | −8.3% | |
1860 | 3,062 | 0.7% | |
1870 | 2,910 | −5.0% | |
1880 | 2,815 | −3.3% | |
1890 | 2,545 | −9.6% | |
1900 | 2,557 | 0.5% | |
1910 | 2,545 | −0.5% | |
1920 | 2,370 | −6.9% | |
1930 | 2,469 | 4.2% | |
1940 | 2,512 | 1.7% | |
1950 | 2,613 | 4.0% | |
1960 | 2,786 | 6.6% | |
1970 | 2,608 | −6.4% | |
1980 | 3,214 | 23.2% | |
1990 | 3,212 | −0.1% | |
2000 | 3,232 | 0.6% | |
2010 | 3,048 | −5.7% | |
2020 | 3,005 | −1.4% | |
U.S. Decennial Census [19] |
As of the census [1] of 2010, there were 3,048 people, 1,388 households, and 877 families residing in the town. The population density was 72.6 people per square mile (28.0/km2). There were 1,775 housing units at an average density of 39.9 per square mile (15.4/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.08% White, 0.40% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 0.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.
There were 1,388 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were couples living together and joined in either marriage or civil union, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.7% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $47,143, and the median income for a family was $57,330. Males had a median income of $33,229 versus $26,769 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,326. About 4.3% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.
The Billings Farm & Museum is a local tourist attraction. The land and farmhouse were owned by Laurance Rockefeller and his wife Mary French Rockefeller. The farm and museum include an operating dairy farm and a restored 1890 farm house. [25] [26]
F. H. Gillingham & Sons, a general store located in its original building at 16 Elm Street, is another local tourist attraction. The store was established in 1886 by Frank Henry Gillingham. [27]
The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is located in Woodstock, and is the only unit of the United States National Park System in Vermont (except for the Appalachian Trail). The park preserves the site where Frederick Billings established a managed forest and a progressive dairy farm. [25] [28]
Woodstock is served by Woodstock Elementary School, The Prosper Valley School, [29] and Woodstock Union High School & Middle School. The schools are part of the Windsor Central Supervisory Union. [30] [31] [32]
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.
Barnard is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 992 at the 2020 census.
Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As the "Birthplace of Vermont", the town is where the Constitution of Vermont was adopted in 1777, thus marking the founding of the Vermont Republic, a sovereign state until 1791, when Vermont joined the United States. Over much of its history, Windsor was home to a variety of manufacturing enterprises. Its population was 3,559 at the 2020 census.
Woodstock is an incorporated village located within the town of Woodstock in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 900.
Laurance Spelman Rockefeller was an American businessman, financier, philanthropist, and conservationist. Rockefeller was the third son and fourth child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. As a trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, he provided venture capital for Intel, Apple Computer and many other successful start-ups. Rockefeller was known for his involvement in wilderness preservation, ecology and the protection of wildlife. His crusade was the establishing of a conservation ethic, and he was declared America's leading conservationist by Lady Bird Johnson.
Frederick H. Billings was an American lawyer, financier, and politician. He is known for his legal work on land claims during the early years of California's statehood and his presidency of the Northern Pacific Railway from 1879 to 1881.
Jacob Collamer was an American politician from Vermont. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives, as Postmaster General in the cabinet of President Zachary Taylor, and as a U.S. Senator.
Quechee is a census-designated place and one of five unincorporated villages in the town of Hartford, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 656. It is the site of Quechee Gorge on the Ottauquechee River and is also the home to the Quechee Lakes planned community, initiated in the late 1960s, which also brought to the community the small Quechee Lakes Ski Area in the 1970s.
The Windsor-6-1 Representative District is a one-member state Representative district in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is one of the 108 one or two member districts into which the state was divided by the redistricting and reapportionment plan developed by the Vermont General Assembly following the 2000 U.S. Census. The plan applies to legislatures elected in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. A new plan will be developed in 2012 following the 2010 U.S. Census.
Franklin Swift Billings was an American businessman and politician from Woodstock, Vermont. He served as the 54th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1923 to 1925 and as the 60th governor of Vermont from 1925 to 1927.
The George Perkins Marsh Boyhood Home, also known as the Marsh-Billings House or Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion, is the architectural centerpiece of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, a National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont, United States. The house, built in 1805 and enlarged several times, is historically significant as the boyhood home of George Perkins Marsh (1801–1882), an early conservationist, and as the home later in the 19th century of Frederick H. Billings (1823–1890), a businessman and philanthropist who was a cofounder of the Northern Pacific Railroad. It is also architecturally significant as a high-quality example of Queen Anne architecture, alterations and enlargements commissioned by Billings and designed by Henry Hudson Holley. The house and its surrounding gardens were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1967. The 550-acre (220 ha) estate on which it stands was given by Mary French Rockefeller and Laurance Rockefeller to the people of the United States in 1992.
A Place in the Land is a 1998 American short documentary film directed by Charles Guggenheim with field director Judith Dwan Hallet. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
Franklin Swift Billings Jr. was an American politician and judge from the state of Vermont. Billings served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.
Mary Billings French Rockefeller was an American heiress, socialite, philanthropist, and a member of the extensive Rockefeller family. She was married to Laurance Rockefeller, son of John Davison Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. She was the mother of Laura Rockefeller Chasin, Marion Rockefeller Weber, Lucy Rockefeller Waletzky, and Laurance Spelman Rockefeller Jr.
Mary Montagu Billings French was an American heiress and society figure, as well as YWCA president and board member. She was the daughter of Frederick Billings and inherited the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park from him before she died. She passed it on to her daughter, Mary French Rockefeller.
Mount Tom is a small peak, standing at 1357 feet, located in the town of Woodstock, Vermont. It is a part of the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. The peak has a multitude of hiking, running, and Nordic skiing trails, and has many sites dedicated to the national park. Standing in the middle of Woodstock, Vermont, the peak also is host to many annual town events, including the Road to the Pogue Race. Visible from the top are sights such as the village of Woodstock, the sister peak of Mount Tom, the Ottauquechee River, Vermont Route 4A, and many neighboring mountains.
Thomas M. Debevoise was a Vermont attorney who served as Vermont Attorney General from 1960 to 1962.
Franklin Noble Billings was a Vermont businessman and merchant. A member of the prominent Billings family, he was notable for his investment stakes and management roles in several Vermont businesses. He was the father of Governor Franklin S. Billings and grandfather of Judge Franklin S. Billings Jr. In addition, he was the brother of Frederick H. Billings, uncle of Mary Billings French, and grand-uncle of Mary French Rockefeller.
F. H. Gillingham & Sons is a historic general store in Woodstock, Vermont. Specializing in retail and mail order, the company was established in 1886, and is operated by the Billings family.
West Woodstock is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Woodstock, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 401.
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