Windsor, Vermont

Windsor, Vermont
Town
Old Constitution House, where the Constitution of the Vermont Republic was signed
Motto(s):  Birthplace of Vermont Freedom and Unity [1]
Location in Windsor County and the state of Vermont.
Windsor Location in the United States
Coordinates: 43°28′36″N72°24′4″W / 43.47667°N 72.40111°W / 43.47667; -72.40111
Country	United States
State	Vermont
County	Windsor
Area
• Total	19.8 sq mi (51.2 km2)
• Land	19.5 sq mi (50.6 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
Elevation	1,066 ft (325 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,559
• Density	180/sq mi (70/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	05089
Area code	802
FIPS code	50-84925 [2]
GNIS feature ID	1462266 [3]
Website	www.windsorvt.org

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. ^[4]

History

One of the New Hampshire grants, Windsor was chartered as a town on July 6, 1761, by colonial governor Benning Wentworth. It was first settled in August 1764 by Captain Steele Smith and his family from Farmington, Connecticut. ^[5] In 1777, the signers of the Constitution of the Vermont Republic met at Old Constitution House, a tavern at the time, to declare independence from the Great Britain (the Vermont Republic would not become a state until 1791). ^[6] In 1820, it was the state's largest town, a thriving center for trade and agriculture. In 1835, the first dam was built across Mill Brook to provide water power. Factories made guns, machinery, tinware, furniture and harnesses. The community is named for Windsor, Connecticut. ^[1]

In 1846, Robbins and Lawrence received a government contract to manufacture firearms. Using advanced machine tools to produce interchangeable parts, they and their associates established factories in the Connecticut River valley and throughout New England. Two factories, now both closed, sustained the economy of Windsor: Cone Automatic Machine Company and a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant.

Windsor village began development at the end of the 18th century and achieved importance in Vermont history as the location of the framing of the constitution of Vermont. It is known as the birthplace of Vermont, where the state constitution was signed, and acted as the first capital until 1805 when Montpelier became the official state capital. ^[1]

Commerce prospered due to the village's location on the banks of the Connecticut River where several smaller streams run into it. The economy improved in the mid-19th century when Windsor became the first town in the state to break ground for the railroad with the construction of a rail depot. Windsor Station connected the town to out-of-state markets. It was after the railroad went through that the area was discovered by tourists.

Windsor's war memorial, the City Center Veterans Memorial, was created by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan. ^[7]

• 
  Main Street c. 1910
• 
  Print of Windsor from 1886 by L.R. Burleigh with list of landmarks depicted
• 
  American Precision Museum is the old Robbins and Lawrence factory.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 19.8 square miles (51.2 km²), of which 19.5 square miles (50.6 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.5 km²) (1.06%) is water. Home to part of Mount Ascutney, Windsor is situated beside the Connecticut River.

The town is crossed by Interstate 91, U.S. Route 5, Vermont Route 12, Vermont Route 44, and Vermont Route 44A. It is bordered by the town of Weathersfield to the south, West Windsor to the west, and Hartland to the north. To the east, across the Connecticut River, is Cornish, New Hampshire, to which Windsor is connected by the Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge, one of the longest covered bridges in the world.

• 
  Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge, built 1866, rebuilt 1988

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1790	1,542		—
1800	2,211		43.4%
1810	2,757		24.7%
1820	2,956		7.2%
1830	3,134		6.0%
1840	2,744		−12.4%
1850	1,928		−29.7%
1860	1,669		−13.4%
1870	1,699		1.8%
1880	2,175		28.0%
1890	1,846		−15.1%
1900	2,119		14.8%
1910	2,407		13.6%
1920	3,687		53.2%
1930	4,359		18.2%
1940	4,155		−4.7%
1950	4,402		5.9%
1960	4,468		1.5%
1970	4,158		−6.9%
1980	4,085		−1.8%
1990	3,714		−9.1%
2000	3,756		1.1%
2010	3,553		−5.4%
2020	3,559		0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [8]

As of the census ^[2] of 2000, there were 3,756 people, 1,520 households, and 945 families residing in the town. The population density was 192.1 people per square mile (74.2/km²). There were 1,611 housing units at an average density of 82.4 per square mile (31.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.74% White, 0.24% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.

There were 1,520 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were couples living together and joined in either marriage or civil union, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $33,815, and the median income for a family was $43,551. Males had a median income of $29,897 versus $23,313 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,640. About 6.4% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Windsor is served by Mount Ascutney School District, Vermont. The district is home to the Windsor Yellow Jackets and serves grades kindergarten to twelfth. The three schools in the district are the Windsor School and Windsor High School, as well as Albert Bridge School in West Windsor, Vermont. ^[9]

• 
  Windsor Jr/Sr High School
• 
  Windsor Public Library on State St.

Infrastructure

Health care

The Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is located in Windsor.

Transportation

See also: Windsor station (Vermont)

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides daily service through Windsor, operating its Vermonter between Washington, D.C., and St. Albans, Vermont.

• 
  Mt. Ascutney Hospital
• 
  Windsor Amtrak Station
• 
  US Post Office on US Route 5

Culture

Music

Moon Dance Since 1999, Windsor has regularly hosted this Autumn street festival, complete with live bands, magicians, and hypnotists. ^[10]

Parks

Windsor is home to Paradise Park in the Windsor Town Forest, which borders Runnemede Lake.

Brewery

Windsor is also home to the second location of Harpoon Brewery of Boston.

Notable people

• Asa Aikens, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court ^[11]
• Rollin Amsden, U.S. Marshal for Vermont ^[12]
• Asher Benjamin, architect, author, educator
• Carlos Coolidge, politician and distant relative of Calvin Coolidge
• Edward Curtis, politician
• A. E. Douglass, astronomer
• Marie Dressler, stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star
• Josiah Dunham, Secretary of State of Vermont ^[13]
• Maxwell Evarts, lawyer, president of the Windsor Savings Bank and founded the State Fair Program in Vermont
• William M. Evarts, United States Attorney General, United States Secretary of State, and U.S. senator for New York
• Horace Everett, US congressman ^[14]
• William Laurel Harris, educator and arts organizer
• Joseph D. Hatch, Vermont state legislator and mayor of Burlington, Vermont ^[15]
• Joab Hoisington, one of Windsor's founders, militia leader on the Patriot side in the American Revolution ^[16]
• Valentine B. Horton, US congressman ^[17]
• Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, fur trader and developer of Chicago
• Jonathan Hatch Hubbard, US congressman ^[18]
• William Hunter, US congressman ^[19]
• Stephen Jacob, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court ^[20]
• Bob Keeshan, actor and television producer (Captain Kangaroo) ^[21]
• Thomas Leverett, Secretary of State of Vermont ^{[22] [23]}
• Maxwell Perkins, editor
• John Pettes, US Marshal for Vermont ^[24]
• Matt Salinger, actor
• Stephen William Shaw, artist
• Mark Shepard, state senator
• Nathaniel Simonds, politician
• William H.H. Stowell, US congressman, merchant and industrialist ^[25]
• John C. Thompson, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court ^[26]
• Allen Wardner, prominent banker and businessman who served as Vermont State Treasurer. He was the father-in-law of William M. Evarts and grandfather of Maxwell Evarts ^[27]
• Henry D. Washburn, US congressman and general

See also

• List of capitals in the United States#Vermont Republic
• Juniper Hill Farm-Maxwell Evarts House

References

1. "Profile for Windsor, Vermont, VT". ePodunk. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
3. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
4. "Census - Geography Profile: Windsor town, Windsor County, Vermont". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 7, 2022.
5. "ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRA" . Retrieved October 8, 2023.
6. "History".
7. "Sculptor commissioned to complete Joe Frazier statue has died". Barre Montpelier Times Argus . August 2, 2013. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
9. "Mt. Ascutney School Board - Windsor High School" . Retrieved February 12, 2022.
10. Windsor’s Moondance Festival Planned October 5 Archived 2013-02-17 at archive.today . The Vermont Journal. Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
11. Wiley, Edgar J. (1917). Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College. Middlebury, VT: Middlebury College. p. 10.
12. "Hon. Rollin Amsden". Vermont Journal. Windsor, VT. February 4, 1899. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Bisbee, Marvin Davis (1900). General Catalogue of Dartmouth College and the Associated Schools 1769-1900. Cambridge, MA: University Press. pp.  121–122. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
14. "EVERETT, Horace, (1779 - 1851)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
15. Carleton, Hiram (1903). Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont. Vol. I. New York, NY: Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 305–306. ISBN   9780806347943 – via Google Books.
16. Wells, Frederic P. (1902). History of Newbury, Vermont. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Caledonian Company. p. 578 – via Google Books.
17. "HORTON, Valentine Baxter, (1802 - 1888)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
18. "HUBBARD, Jonathan Hatch, (1768 - 1849)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
19. "HUNTER, William, (1754 - 1827)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
20. Ullery, Jacob G. (1894). Men of Vermont Illustrated. Brattleboro, VT: Transcript Publishing Company. p.  178.
21. "Bob Keeshan". IMDb. Archived from the original on May 13, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
22. Condos, James (2011). "Vermont Secretaries of State, 1778-Present". Vermont Government Officials: State Officers. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
23. "Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908: Death and Burial Entry for Thomas Leverett" . Ancestry.com. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, LLC. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
24. M. D. (April 11, 1868). "The Late Maj. John Pettes". Vermont Journal and Farmer. Windsor, VT. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
25. "STOWELL, William Henry Harrison, (1840 - 1922)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
26. Taft, Russell S. (March 1, 1894). "The Supreme Court of Vermont, Part IV: John C. Thompson". The Green Bag . Boston, MA: Boston Book Company. pp. 123–124.
27. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Archived 2014-10-23 at the Wayback Machine , Volume 47, 1916, page 314

Further reading

• A. J. Coolidge & J. B. Mansfield, A History and Description of New England, Boston, Massachusetts 1859
• Hayward's New England Gazetteer of 1839
• English and American Tool Builders. Joseph Wickham Roe, 1916 by Yale University Press and 1987 by Lindsay Publications Inc., Bradley IL 60915. ISBN   0-917914-73-2 paper

External links

• Town of Windsor official website
• Windsor Public Library
• American Precision Museum
• Windsor School District
• Virtual Vermont Internet Magazine: Windsor, Vermont
• City-Data.com