Danby is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Rutland County,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, United States. The population was 1,284 at the
2020 census.
Name origin
According to the ''Vermont Encyclopedia'', Danby was most likely named for
Thomas Osborne, Earl of Danby and Duke of Leeds.
["Danby" in ''The Vermont Encyclopedia'' (eds. John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand & Ralph H. Orth: University of Vermont Press, 2003), p. 101.] However,
Henry Gannett
Henry Gannett (August 24, 1846 – November 5, 1914) was an American geographer who is described as the "father of mapmaking in America."Evans, Richard Tranter; Frye, Helen M. (2009).History of the Topographic Branch (Division) (PDF). ''U.S. Geo ...
in 1905 attributed the town's name to
Danby, North Yorkshire
Danby is a village and civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2011 UK census, Danby parish had a population of 1,411, a reduction on the 2001 UK census figure of 1,515. The statistician Karl Pear ...
, in England. Historian
Willard Sterne Randall
Willard Sterne Randall is an American historian and author who specializes in biographies related to the American colonial period and the American Revolution. He teaches American history at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont
Burlington ...
, in his biography of
Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for ...
, gives yet another name origin: that Allen named Danby "after the French Naval commander whose fleet invaded New England's waters in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
."
Geography, geology, and landmarks
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.22%, is water.
Most of the town lies in
Taconic Mountains
The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range () are a range of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western Vermont. ...
; the eastern boundary of the town generally follows the course of
Otter Creek in the narrow Valley of Vermont.
The
village of Danby lies along the eastern border of the town, on the west side of Otter Creek, and extends east into
Mount Tabor
Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee.
In the Hebrew Bible (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount Tabo ...
.
Dorset Peak, part of the Taconic range, lies on the town's southern border and reaches an elevation of .
Danby quarry, located near the peak,
opened in the early 20th century and is likely the world's largest underground marble quarry.
[Frederick Bradley/Studio Marmo, ''Fine Marble in Architecture'', Vol. 1 (W.W. Norton, 2001).] It was reported in 2001 to have a total monthly output of about 1,200 tons of marble, half of which consists of Imperial Danby, a fine architectural marble with a variety of uses.
Danby marble has been used in a number of notable buildings, including the
United States Supreme Court building
The Supreme Court Building houses the Supreme Court of the United States. Also referred to as "The Marble Palace," the building serves as the official workplace of the chief justice of the United States and the eight associate justices of th ...
and the
Jefferson Memorial
The Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial built in Washington, D.C. between 1939 and 1943 in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, a central intellectual force behind the A ...
.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 1,292 people, 502 households, and 362 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 31.2 people per square mile (12.0/km
2). There were 647 housing units at an average density of 15.6 per square mile (6.0/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.53%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.54%
Native American, 0.23%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, and 0.70% from two or more races. 0.62% of the population were
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race.
There were 502 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were
married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $37,137, and the median income for a family was $39,737. Males had a median income of $29,063 versus $20,795 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $16,984. About 4.6% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 9.8% of those under the age of 18 and 9.1% of those 65 and older.
Notable people
*
Pearl S. Buck
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, Pulitze ...
, Nobel Prize-winning writer – lived in Danby
*
Luther Buxton, New York and Wisconsin legislator and physician
*
Thomas Chittenden
Thomas Chittenden (January 6, 1730August 25, 1797) was an American politician from Vermont, who was a leader of the territory for nearly two decades. Chittenden was the first and third governor of the state of Vermont, serving from 1778 to 1789 ...
, First Governor of Vermont
*
Asher Crispe, Orthodox Rabbi and technology futurist
*
Silas L. Griffith, Vermont businessman and politician and First Vermont Millionare
*
Henry D. Hitt, farmer, businessman, Wisconsin legislator
["Henry D. Hitt" in ''A Biographical History, with Portraits, of Prominent Men of the Great West'' (ed. John A. Campbell: Western Biographical and Engraving Co., 1902), p. 223.]
*
Thomas Rowley, "poet of the Green Mountain Boys" – lived in Danby
References
{{authority control
Towns in Vermont
Towns in Rutland County, Vermont