Vergennes (/vɚˈdʒɛnz/) is a city located in the northwest quadrant of
Addison CountyAddison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2000, the population was 35,974. Its shire town is Middlebury.-Geography:...
,
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Bordered by the towns of
FerrisburghFerrisburgh is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. It was founded June 24, 1762. The population was 2,657 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
,
PantonPanton is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 682 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.0 square miles , of which, 15.5 square miles of it is land and 6.6 square miles of it is...
and
WalthamWaltham is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 479 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 8.9 square miles , of which, 8.7 square miles of it is land and 0.2 square miles of it is...
, as of the
2000 censusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
the city population was 2,741. It is the smallest of Vermont's nine cities in terms of population (though the city of
WinooskiWinooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, in the United States. Located at the mouth of the Winooski River, as of the 2000 census the city population was 6,561...
covers a smaller area).
Vergennes was established in 1788, the only one of Vermont's cities not to have been first chartered as a town or independent village.
Vergennes (/vɚˈdʒɛnz/) is a city located in the northwest quadrant of
Addison CountyAddison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2000, the population was 35,974. Its shire town is Middlebury.-Geography:...
,
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Bordered by the towns of
FerrisburghFerrisburgh is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. It was founded June 24, 1762. The population was 2,657 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
,
PantonPanton is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 682 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.0 square miles , of which, 15.5 square miles of it is land and 6.6 square miles of it is...
and
WalthamWaltham is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 479 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 8.9 square miles , of which, 8.7 square miles of it is land and 0.2 square miles of it is...
, as of the
2000 censusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
the city population was 2,741. It is the smallest of Vermont's nine cities in terms of population (though the city of
WinooskiWinooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, in the United States. Located at the mouth of the Winooski River, as of the 2000 census the city population was 6,561...
covers a smaller area).
History
Vergennes was established in 1788, the only one of Vermont's cities not to have been first chartered as a town or independent village. Instead, portions of the pre-existing towns of
New HavenNew Haven is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,666 at the 2000 census. New Haven contains the village of Belden as well as Brooksville, New Haven Junction and New Haven Mills.-Geography:...
,
PantonPanton is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 682 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.0 square miles , of which, 15.5 square miles of it is land and 6.6 square miles of it is...
and Ferrisburg where they came together at the Otter Creek Falls were drawn off to create Vergennes. It is the smallest city (by population) in Vermont.
The city is named for Charles Gravier,
ComteComte is a title of French nobility. In the English language, the title is count, a rank in several European nobilities. The corresponding rank in England is earl. A Comte ranks below a Marquis or Margrave and above a Vicomte....
de Vergennes. Reluctant to openly do anything that might involve her in another war with
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
agreed to aid the colonists in their
revolutionThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
behind the scenes, thanks mainly to the efforts of
Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, soldier, and diplomat...
. As directed by Louis XVI, Gravier established a fictional company through which the Americans received nearly 80% of their military supplies. It was also Gravier who negotiated the
1783 Treaty of ParisThe Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ratified by the Congress of the Confederation on January 14, 1784 and by the King of Great Britain on April 9, 1784 , formally ended the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States of America, which had...
which formally brought the Revolutionary War to a close.
Here,
Thomas MacDonoughThomas MacDonough was an early-19th-century American naval officer. He a leading member of "Preble's Boys", a small group of naval officers who served during the First Barbary War. His most notable achievement occurred during the War of 1812...
built and armed the fleet that would defeat the British on Lake Champlain. The Monkton Iron Company (which was at the time the largest iron works in the colonies) manufactured the fittings for MacDonough's fleet, as well as most of the cannon shot used by the army in the north. The ore used was mined in nearby
MonktonMonkton is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,759 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Monkton is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.2 square miles , of which, 36.0 square miles of it is land and...
.
The motive for a city form of municipal government is said to have been to provide a vision for building the area as an industrial center. The Otter Creek Falls and close access to the
Lake ChamplainLake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada – United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
waterway was thought to be a fertile place for commercial growth.
Industry boomed in the late nineteenth century, in particular a shipping industry connected to the Champlain Canal and wood-finishing related to lumber imported from
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. As railways supplanted the canal system, manufacturing declined. An ill-fated railroad spur from Ferrisburgh to the base of the falls proved a failure, with grades too steep for practical operations.
Commercial decline continued in the twentieth century, narrowing down to a few surviving companies; as the twenty-first opened, a group of civic boosters and merchants shined up the downtown area along Main street. The resultant 'boutique Vergennes', catering to tourists and transients, is hampered by centralization of land ownership and resultant escalation of commercial rents.
Geography
According to the
United States Census BureauThe 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. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km
2), of which, 2.4 square miles (6.2 km
2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km
2) of it (4.00%) is water.
The city's borders form a rectangle, nearly a square. The Otter Creek river travels north through the town. In the middle of town is a tall falls, at 37 feet, with a large, infrequently flooding basin.
Demographics
As of the
censusA "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.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 2,741 people, 979 households, and 632 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 1,141.1 people per square mile (441.0/km
2). There were 1,032 housing units at an average density of 429.6/sq mi (166.0/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.43% White, 2.01% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.06% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.92% of the population.
There were 979 households out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,763, and the median income for a family was $48,155. Males had a median income of $33,669 versus $20,527 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $15,465. About 8.1% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.
Schools
Vergennes has four schools: Vergennes Union Elementary School,
Vergennes Union High SchoolVergennes Union High School is a high school/junior high school of about 700 students in Vergennes, Vermont, United States. The school serves the city of Vergennes, as well as the towns of Addison, Ferrisburgh, Panton, and Waltham...
, Champlain Valley Christian School, and Northlands
Job CorpsJob Corps is a no-cost education and vocational training program administered by the the United States Department of Labor. It serves youth, ages 16 through 24....
Center, which has no affiliation with the former Weeks School [formerly an orphanage and juvenile delinquent home until the late 1970s, in the same facility.]
Vergennes Union High School also offers an alternative public program, the Walden Project, available to area students.
Culture
The city features the Vergennes Opera House, which has weekly events involving the community and special guests, bands, singers, politicians and theater groups.
Notable residents
- Joseph K. Edgerton
Joseph Ketchum Edgerton was a U.S. Representative from Indiana, brother of Alfred Peck Edgerton.Born in Vergennes, Vermont, Edgerton attended the public schools of Clinton County, New York....
,a U.S. RepresentativeThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from IndianaIndiana is a U.S. state, the 19
th admitted to the Union. It is located in the Great Lakes region, and with approximately 6.3 million residents, is ranked 16
th in population and 17
th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38
th in land area, and is the...
- Ethan A. Hitchcock
Ethan Allen Hitchcock was a career United States Army officer and author who had War Department assignments in Washington, D.C., during the American Civil War, in which he served as a major general.-Early life:...
, U.S. Army officer and author
- Henry Porter
Walter Henry Porter was an American Major League Baseball player born in Vergennes, Vermont who pitched for three different teams during his six year career.-Career:...
, an American Major League Baseball player
- Frederick E. Woodbridge
Frederick Enoch Woodbridge was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from Vermont.-Biography:Born in Vergennes, Vermont, Woodbridge graduated from the University of Vermont in 1840, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1843, commencing practice in Vergennes...
, Mayor of Vergennes and U.S. Representative
External links