Richmond 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 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. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,167. The main settlement of Richmond, in the north-central part of town, is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP), with a population of 853 at the 2020 census; it was formerly an incorporated village.

History

In 1775, Amos Brownson and John Chamberlain made the first settlement attempt. They abandoned their efforts in the fall of that year, but returned in the spring of 1784, at the close of the Revolutionary War. Richmond was incorporated by the General Assembly on October 27, 1794, then organized in 1795. The Winooski River and Huntington River both offered locations for

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

s. Industries began to manufacture

wagon A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by Working animal#Draft animals, draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are i ...

s, harnesses, tinware,

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

cabinet work Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

and woodenware. By 1859, the population was 1,453. Richmond is noted for the Round Church, a rare 16-sided meetinghouse that was erected in 1812–1813. Originally designed to be a town meeting place and a Protestant church, today it is open to the public and a popular tourist destination.

Public health controversy

In October 2022, the town's water superintendent resigned after admitting that he had, without notifying city officials, lowered the water's fluoridation levels to less than half that recommended by the state to protect health. The superintendent confessed that he had done so since 2011 without seeking permission; the town's water and sewer commission immediately voted to restore fluoridation to the levels recommended by public health authorities.

Geography

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 , of which is land and , or 1.59%, is water. Richmond is bisected by the Winooski River, with its tributary, the Huntington River, crossing the southeast corner of the town. Richmond is located in the western foothills of the

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont and are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Que ...

. The town is crossed by Interstate 89, with access from Exit 11 in the northwest part of town, by U.S. Route 2, and by the New England Central Railroad. A scenic view of Camel's Hump and the foothills of the Green Mountains presents itself to southbound motorists around mile marker 80.2, as the interstate descends a 6% grade into Richmond.

Education

Local students attend Mount Mansfield Union High School, Camel's Hump Middle School and Richmond Elementary School. Mount Mansfield Union High is in the neighboring town of

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 ...

. The MMU athletic teams are the Cougars, who play the teams of neighboring schools such as CVU. On November 4, 2014, the communities of Bolton, Jericho, Richmond, Underhill ID and Underhill Town voted to form the Mount Mansfield Modified Union School District (MMMUSD). This new school district serves and governs the current town school districts of Bolton (Smilie Memorial School), Jericho (Jericho Elementary), Richmond (Richmond Elementary), Underhill ID School District (Underhill ID Elementary), Underhill Town (Underhill Central School), Mt Mansfield Union School District (Browns River Middle, Camels Hump Middle and Mt. Mansfield Union High Schools) students in Pre-K through grade 12, and Huntington students in grades 5–12.

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 2000, there were 4,090 people, 1,504 households, and 1,100 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was 128.4 people per square mile (49.6/km²). There were 1,528 housing units at an average density of 48.0 per square mile (18.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.36%

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 ...

, 0.05%

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 ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.07% from other races, and 0.86% 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 people of any race were 0.83% of the population. There were 1,504 households, of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them; 62.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together; 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present; and 26.8% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.13. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.3% under the age of 18; 5.4% from 18 to 24; 34.1% from 25 to 44; 24.5% from 45 to 64; and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $57,750, and the median income for a family was $66,875. Males had a median income of $36,161 versus $30,019 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 $25,692. About 3.2% of families and 5.1% 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 6.2% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Trey Anastasio, lead singer and guitarist of the

rock band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

; previously lived here * Barbara Ann Cochran, Olympic alpine skier and member of the Skiing Cochrans * George F. Edmunds, US Senator * Joel Furr, internet personality; coined the term "

spam Spam most often refers to: * Spam (food), a consumer brand product of canned processed pork of the Hormel Foods Corporation * Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages ** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages ...

" * Louis Greenough, pioneer and inventor * Ted King, retired professional cyclist, current gravel and adventure cyclist, co-founder of UnTapped (a maple syrup product company based on Richmond, VT) * John Phillips, Wisconsin physician and politician'Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at it Annual Meeting,' Volume 51, Wisconsin Historical Society: 1904, Biographical Sketch of John Phillips, pg. 97 * George Dallas Sherman, first leader of the Burlington Concert Band

References

External links

Town of Richmond official website
*
Richmond Area Business Association
{{authority control Towns in Vermont Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area Towns in Chittenden County, Vermont