Essex is a town in
Chittenden 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.
Vermont Route 289
Vermont Route 289 (VT 289) is a state highway located within the town of Essex, Vermont. It is a limited-access highway that extends from VT 2A southeast to VT 117 on the north bank of the Winooski River. Most of VT ...
crosses the town from east to west. The city of
Essex Junction, with a population as of 2020 of 10,590, was located within the town as an
incorporated village until 2022.
History
The town was incorporated on June 7, 1763,
named after the
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...
.
The Village of
Essex Junction was formed within the town of Essex on November 15, 1892. The village was formed to provide additional services (such as sidewalks, water, and sewers) to its residents. The rural areas of the town did not want the services or the needed taxes.
As the town outside the village developed, it gradually added its own similar services, and by 1958, merger proposals appeared via voter petition. Over the years, various votes (often contentious) regarding a merger occurred in the village and the town, but never passing in both communities. - a requirement by the state legislature for a merger.
On November 7, 2006, a merger passed in both the town (as a whole) and village. The town as a whole (including the village) voted once on the merger, while the village, separately, voted in a second ballot to accept the merger if it passed the townwide vote. Complicating the matter, the regional paper misreported the merger failed based solely on results outside the village. The next day the correct results were reported in both the town's paper, and as a correction in the regional paper.
On December 6, 2006, a petition to reconsider the merger was submitted to the town. The petition contained signatures totaling more than 5 percent of registered voters, the threshold required for a re-vote. The re-vote was held on January 23, 2007. Those results overturned the merger by 191 votes, rejecting the current merger proposal.
An approval result would have triggered a multi-year merger process creating a new "Town of Essex Junction" and replacing the current governments of the town of Essex and the village of Essex Junction.
On November 2, 2021, voters in the village of Essex Junction voted to separate from the town of Essex, citing an unfair tax burden. The vote was 3,070 to 411 in favor of separation. Essex Junction separated on July 1, 2022.
Geography
Essex is located in central Chittenden County, bordered on the south by the
Winooski River
The Winooski River (also known as the Onion River) is a tributary of Lake Champlain, about long, in the northern half of Vermont. Although not Vermont's longest river, it is one of the state's most significant, forming a major valley way fro ...
. Neighboring municipalities are
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''.
Colchester occupies the ...
to the west,
Milton at the northwest corner,
Westford to the north,
Underhill at the northeast corner,
Jericho
Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017.
F ...
to the east,
Williston to the south, and the cities of
South Burlington
South Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Along with neighboring Burlington, it is a principal city of the Burlington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,292, making it the seco ...
and
Essex Junction to the southwest.
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 of Essex in 2010 had a total area of , of which was land and , or 1.26%, was water.
The 575 acre
Indian Brook Town Conservation Area and 335 acre
Saxon Hill Town Forest are located within the town.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the census
of 2010, there were 19,587 people and 7,322 households in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 91.6% non-Hispanic
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 ...
, 1.5% Black or
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 ...
, 3.2%
Asian, 0.3%
Native American, 0.1%
other races, and 1.8% from two or more races.
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 made up 1.7% of the population. The population density was 534 people per square mile (184.4/km
2). There were 7,170 housing units at an average density of . There were 7,013 households, out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 27.9% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $58,441, and the median income for a family was $65,794. Males had a median income of $45,428 versus $27,426 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $25,854. About 1.8% of families and 2.6% 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 ...
, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.
Arts and culture
Museums and other points of interest
The Harriet Farnsworth Powell Museum is located in Essex. The museum is housed in a former two-room schoolhouse, and includes a collection of costumes, school items, and local memorabilia.
Government
Until 2022, Essex comprised three Vermont Legislature districts (seats) within
Chittenden County: District 8–1, the central portion of the town of Essex; District 8–2, the
former village of Essex Junction; and District 8–3, northern town of Essex and the
town of Westford. The town of Essex and the city of Essex Junction continued to share municipal services until July 1, 2023.
Education
The Essex Westford School District (EWSD)—unified on July 1, 2017—serves 4,500 Pre-K to grade 12 students in Essex,
Essex Junction, and
Westford, Vermont
Westford is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,062 at the 2020 census.
History
The area that is today described as Westford, Vermont originally fell within the traditional territories of the Sokoki, Miss ...
. EWSD operates ten schools in the two towns—Albert D. Lawton Intermediate School, Essex Center for Technology, Essex Elementary School,
Essex High School (EHS), Essex Middle School, Founders Memorial School, Hiawatha Elementary School, Summit Street School, Thomas Fleming School, and Westford School. Previously, the three communities had separate Pre-K to grade 8 school districts that fed the already unified EHS.
EWSD provides busing for students in Essex and Westford, as well as students in Essex Junction, who did not have buses prior to 2018. EWSD also provides busing to students from
South Hero,
Grand Isle,
North Hero
North Hero is a town in and the shire town (county seat) of Grand Isle County, Vermont, United States. The population was 939 at the 2020 census.
The town was named in honor of the American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen.
Government
The N ...
and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
who choose to attend EHS.
Media
''
The Essex Reporter'' is a weekly newspaper published in town, covering news in Essex and the surrounding communities in Chittenden County. It has a weekly circulation of 8,800 copies.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Vermont's Circumferential Highway (
Vermont Route 289
Vermont Route 289 (VT 289) is a state highway located within the town of Essex, Vermont. It is a limited-access highway that extends from VT 2A southeast to VT 117 on the north bank of the Winooski River. Most of VT ...
or "The Circ") courses through Essex, and the section within Essex's jurisdiction has been completed. However, further construction of the highway was halted in surrounding communities by court action from
environmental protesters.
Bus service is provided by
Green Mountain Transit
Green Mountain Transit (GMT) is the regional public transit system based in Burlington, Vermont, which was formed in 2016 through the merger of two more localized transit systems: the Chittenden County Transportation Authority and the Green Mount ...
.
Rail
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
, the national rail passenger system, provides daily service via its station in neighboring Essex Junction, operating the ''
Vermonter'' train between
St. Albans, Vermont and Washington, D.C. In 2008, a study indicated that the cheapest method for one person to get to New York City from the Burlington area was by train, at $48. It was also the longest, taking an estimated 9 hours and 25 minutes.
Notable people
*
Bert Abbey (1869–1962), pitcher with the
Washington Senators,
Chicago Colts
The following is a franchise history of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball, a charter member of the National League who started play in the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings, before joining t ...
, and
Brooklyn Grooms/Bridegrooms
*
William B. Castle, mayor of
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
*
Linda K. Myers, 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 ...
See also
*
Essex Junction, Vermont
Essex Junction is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 10,590. It was incorporated as a village on November 15, 1892. Essex Junction became Vermont’s 10th city on July 1, 2022.
...
References
External links
Town of Essex official websiteePodunk: Profile for Essex, Vermont
{{authority control
Towns in Vermont
Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area
Towns in Chittenden County, Vermont