Chelsea is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in and the shire town (

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

) of Orange County,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, United States. The population was 1,233 at the 2020 census.

Geography

Chelsea is located in a river valley in central Vermont. The First Branch of the White River travels through the valley and the town. Located in the center of town, in the village of Chelsea, are two

commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 40.1 square miles (103.4 km), of which 40.06 square miles (103.4 km) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km) (0.05%) is water.

Climate

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 1,238 people, 541 households, and 334 families residing in the town. Of the 541 household 117 had children under the age of 18 living within them. The racial makeup of the town was 96.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.6%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian,

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population. The median age of residents is 48.3. The median household income is $49,500. 89.2% of adults have earned a high school diploma or higher level of education. 17.9% of individuals live below the poverty line.

History

The town was founded on August 4, 1781. It was originally called Turnersburgh after settler Bela Turner. In 1788 the townspeople of Turnersburgh approved a bill to rename the town Chelsea. The first small schoolhouses were established in the early 1800s. By 1845 there were 18 schools operating around the town. In 1852 the Chelsea Academy was built in the village district. The Chelsea Academy burnt in 1870. In 1913 the "new" Chelsea High School building was built, this building still houses the Chelsea Public School today.

Historic sites

In 1983 the historic village center of Chelsea was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as the Chelsea Village Historic District. Chelsea also has two standalone structures listed on the National Register: the Congregational Church of Chelsea and the Moxley Covered Bridge.

Figure Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif * Noise figure, in telecommunication * Dance figure, an elementary dance patt ...

, the original

Morgan horse The Morgan horse is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the foundation bloodstock, foundation sire Figure (horse), Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, Morgans served ma ...

, is buried in Chelsea.

Barn Quilt Trail

In 2018 The Chelsea Arts Collective led a project to create a barn quilt trail in Chelsea. Barn quilts are painted pieces of plywood. Designs are often geometric and resemble the patchwork of a quilt.

Popular culture

The following movies were filmed (either fully or partially) in Chelsea: * ''The Last Stand Farmer'' (1976) * '' The Gift of Love'' (1983) * '' Vermont is for Lovers'' (1992) * ''A Stranger in the Kingdom'' (1997)

Notable people

* John L. Bacon, Chelsea and

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

banker and

State Treasurer In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...

* Daniel Buck, US representative in the 4th States Congress * Daniel Azro Ashley Buck, raised in Chelsea, US representative for Vermont in the 18th and

20th United States Congress The 20th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1827, ...

* Berthold C. Coburn, member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

* Alban Jasper Conant, portrait painter * David Whitney Curtis, member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

* Edson S. Densmore, White House Chief Usher * Robert S. Hale, US Representative from New York * William Hebard, resided in Chelsea, US representative for Vermont in the 31st and 32nd United States Congress * Lyman G. Hinckley, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont * Walter L. Kennedy, speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives * F. Ray Keyser Sr., Justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The court ...

* F. Ray Keyser Jr., born and raised in Chelsea, 72nd

governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...

* Burnham Martin, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont * William A. Palmer, resided in Chelsea, US senator in the 15th and

16th United States Congress The 16th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1819, ...

, 13th

* James Parker and Robert Tullock, juvenile murderers, resided in Chelsea * William Freeman Vilas, born in Chelsea,

United States Postmaster General The United States postmaster general (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...

, US senator from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

* Stanley C. Wilson, resided in Chelsea, 62nd

* John Young, born in Chelsea, US representative in the 24th and

27th United States Congress The 27th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., between March 4, ...

, 15th

governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

Footnotes

External links

Chelsea Vermont Official Town Website
{{authority control Towns in Vermont County seats in Vermont Towns in Orange County, Vermont