Orleans, Vermont
Encyclopedia
Orleans is a village
Village (Vermont)
In the U.S. state of Vermont, villages are named communities located within the boundaries of an incorporated town. Villages may be incorporated or unincorporated....

 in the northwestern corner of Barton
Barton (town), Vermont
Barton is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,780 at the 2000 census. The town includes two incorporated villages, Barton and Orleans. Approximately 30% of the town's population lived in the village of Orleans, 27% in the village of Barton, and 43% outside of the...

, Orleans County
Orleans County, Vermont
Orleans County is one of the four northernmost counties in the U.S. state of Vermont. It borders Canada. In 2010, the population was 27,231. Its county seat is Newport. As in the rest of New England, few governmental powers have been granted to the county...

, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 826 at the 2000 census, making it the largest village in Orleans County.

Government

Like all Vermont incorporated villages, the government is run directly by the people at the village meeting held on the second Tuesday of March. They elect all officers including those in the Fire Department.

Officers:
  • Moderator (runs March village meeting. Elected each year) - Bill Davies
  • Trustee - Larry Wilcox
  • Trustee - Gerry Martel
  • Trustee - Eric Lanou
  • Clerk - Shelia Martin
  • Village Manager (appointed by Trustees) - John Morley III

Fire department

In 2008, the department provided service not only to the village but to the adjacent town of Brownington
Brownington, Vermont
Brownington is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 885 as of the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.4 square miles , of which 28.3 square miles is land and 0.1 square mile is...

.

Water and sewage

The village pumps water from the Willoughby River to its high reservoir during off-peak hours. The water is treated with chlorine
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...

, fluoride
Fluoride
Fluoride is the anion F−, the reduced form of fluorine when as an ion and when bonded to another element. Both organofluorine compounds and inorganic fluorine containing compounds are called fluorides. Fluoride, like other halides, is a monovalent ion . Its compounds often have properties that are...

 and polyphosphate
Polyphosphate
Triphosphates are salts or esters of polymeric oxyanions formed from tetrahedral PO4 structural units linked together by sharing oxygen atoms. When two corners are shared the polyphosphate may have a linear chain structure or a cyclic ring structure. In biology the polyphosphate esters AMP, ADP...

. Sewage is treated by an anoxic-oxic system.

Billing and fees are quarterly. Households or apartment buildings pay a flat fee of $39 per quarter, plus $2 for 1000 gallons (3,785.4 l) of water beyond 5000 gallons (18,927.1 l). There is a flat fee of $78.12 per dwelling per quarter for sewage.

Education

The village and surrounding area supports a graded school. The effective spending per pupil was $11,770 in 2008. The average in Vermont was $11,548.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the village has a total area of 0.7 square mile (1.8 km2), all land.

The village is at the northwestern corner of the town of Barton.

At the edge of the village, the Willoughby River Falls is a 200 feet (61 m) long stretch of river with cascades and a chute. In spring trout migrate up the river and falls from Lake Memphremagog
Lake Memphremagog
Lake Memphremagog is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. The lake is long with 73 percent of the lake's surface area in Quebec, where it drains into the Magog River. However, three-quarters of its watershed, , is in Vermont. The...

.

History

Roger Enos purchased land in 1820 in the area from Ira Allen
Ira Allen
Ira Allen was one of the founders of Vermont, and leaders of the Green Mountain Boys; and was the brother of Ethan Allen.-Biography:...

, who had been given original grants in the area but may have purchased this parcel from Herman Allen. It was named "Barton Landing," as a reminder that this was the first place where craft could be safely loaded for transportation down the Barton River
Barton River
The Barton River is a tributary of Lake Memphremagog, over long, in northern Vermont in the United States.It runs north from Glover through Barton, Brownington, Coventry and drains through Newport into Lake Memphremagog's South Bay.-Course:...

 to Lake Memphremagog
Lake Memphremagog
Lake Memphremagog is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. The lake is long with 73 percent of the lake's surface area in Quebec, where it drains into the Magog River. However, three-quarters of its watershed, , is in Vermont. The...

. The place was where the Willoughby River entered the Barton River, providing sufficient water for flotation

In 1833, the Valley House was built as a restaurant and tavern. In 1875 twenty rooms were added for an inn. The building was destroyed by fire in 1998.

The railroad reached the town in 1859-1860.

The town changed its name to Orleans in 1908 by popular vote.

In the late 1970s, the federal and state governments stopped the village from dumping raw sewage into the Barton River. Orleans' new treatment plant cost $2.8 million, 90% of which was paid for by state and federal governments. The village was able to separate out its old storm sewers from the sewage system.

In 1999, the local Ethan Allen plant employed 600 workers. This dropped substantially in the 21st century.

Demographics

The village showed a gain in population in 2000, the first since 1940.

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 826 people, 364 households, and 228 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,204.2 people per square mile (462.2/km2). There were 400 housing units at an average density of 583.1/sq mi (223.8/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 97.82% White, 0.12% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.48% Asian, and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.36% of the population.

There were 364 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the village the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.

Personal Income

The median income for a household in the village was $26,131, and the median income for a family was $34,583. Males had a median income of $25,789 versus $21,750 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the village was $15,318. About 11.6% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

Ethan Allen Manufacturing
Ethan Allen (furniture company)
Ethan Allen Global, Inc. is a North American furniture chain with almost 300 stores across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1932 by two brothers-in-law, Nathan S...

 employs about 325 workers locally. In 2005 the plant was valued at $7,048,200 and was sited on 85 acres (343,983.1 m²).

Media

Christian Ministries owns radio station W243AE which broadcasts out of Orleans on 96.5 FM.

Electricity

Orleans operates its own Electric Department which, aside from serving the village, also provides power to the parts of Barton outside the village, as well as West Brownington and East Irasburg. It has 665 customers. It does not generate power but purchases it in bulk. It maintains the distribution system. 70% of the department's expense is for power purchases.

Culture

Orleans has a library which is open 28 hours a week over four days. It is a non-profit corporation. There is one part-time paid librarian. Other help is volunteer. The library is unique in the county for having an endowment left as an estate which also constructed the building.

Education

The elementary school was recognized as being among the ten "most improved" schools in the state in 2008. It also exceeded state averages in every category on the standardized NECAP test and was the only school in the area to do so.

Major routes

The opening of the Interstate north on November 9, 1972 and opening south in 1978 had an impact on the town comparable to the opening of the railway a century earlier.
  • Interstate 91
    Interstate 91
    Interstate 91 is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of New England...

     - Barton village
    Barton (village), Vermont
    Barton is a village located near the center of the town of Barton, in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 742 at the 2000 census.-Government:...

     southbound, Derby
    Derby, Vermont
    Derby is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,604 at the 2000 census. The town contains four unincorporated villages: Beebe Plain, Clyde Pond, Lake Salem and North Derby; and two incorporated villages: Derby Center and Derby Line...

     northbound
  • U.S. Route 5
    U.S. Route 5
    U.S. Route 5 is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Springfield, Massachusetts. From Hartford northward to St...

     - Barton village, southbound, to Coventry, northbound
  • Vermont Route 58
    Vermont Route 58
    Vermont Route 58 is an east–west state highway in northern Vermont, United States. The western terminus of the route is at VT 118 in Montgomery. The eastern terminus of VT 58 is at VT 5A north of Westmore and Lake Willoughby. In Orleans, VT 58 runs concurrent to U.S...

     - To Irasburg
    Irasburg, Vermont
    Irasburg is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2000 census.-Town:* Moderator - David Turner* Selectman - Randy Wells, Roger Gagnon * Town Clerk - Barbara Lawson* Town Treasurer - Barbara Lawson...

     westbound and to Westmore
    Westmore, Vermont
    Westmore is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 306 at the 2000 census, making it the least populated town in the county...

     eastbound


During the April school vacation since at least 1983, the village has hired school children to clean the village streets for one day as part of a village "spring cleaning."

Bridges

Willoughby Falls Bridge needed replacing in 2007. It will cost $1.6 million. The village must contribute 10% ($160,000). This was the most expensive state project in Orleans County that year.

Railroads

While the Washington County Railroad (The Vermont Railway System) runs through Orleans, it does not service the town.

Notable native

  • Henry Alexander Stafford
    Heinie Stafford
    Henry Alexander "Heinie" Stafford was an American Major League Baseball player who played a single game for the New York Giants in .-Tufts University :...

     - professional baseball player for the New York Giants
    San Francisco Giants
    The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

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