Waterbury, VT
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Waterbury 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 Washington County in central
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. Although the town is still home to the Waterbury Village Historic District, the village sharing the name of the town officially dissolved as a municipality in 2018. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,331.


History

The townsite was once the frontier between the
Mahican The Mohicans ( or ) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, whose indigenous territory was ...
and
Pennacook The Pennacook, also known by the names Penacook and Pennacock, were Algonquian Indigenous people who lived in what is now Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine. They were not a united tribe but a network of politically and culturally ...
people. European settlement dates from 1763, when King
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
granted a charter for land in 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 ...
valley. James Marsh became the first permanent white settler in the region in 1783. Many of the early settlers came from
Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
, and named their new town in honor of the hometown. The village of Waterbury was incorporated in 1882 with a population of over 2,000. The
Central Vermont Railroad The Central Vermont Railway was a railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec. It connected Montreal, Quebec, with New London, Connect ...
came to Waterbury in 1849. The railroad expanded a passenger station for the railroad in 1875, making the station a more major stop on the ''Vermonter''. The
Green Mountain Seminary Green Mountain Seminary is a historic seminary building on Hollow Road in Waterbury Center, Vermont. Built in 1869 as a Free Will Baptist coeducational school, it has seen educational uses since its construction, and is a prominent local exampl ...
was built in Waterbury Center in 1869. The state opened the Vermont State Asylum for the Insane in Waterbury in 1891. The hospital, renamed the
Vermont State Hospital Vermont State Hospital, alternately known as the Vermont State Asylum for the Insane and the Waterbury Asylum, was a mental institution built in 1890 in Waterbury, Vermont to help relieve overcrowding at the privately run Vermont Asylum for th ...
, grew to occupy over 40 buildings, but by the 1980s the number of patients had declined to the point where only one building was required. The remainder of the campus came to be used for state offices. Like many
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
towns, Waterbury's economy was based around the local river mill industry and the surrounding agricultural producers. The mills produced products such as
lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
and finished wood products, wicker products, leather, starch, and alcohol. The agriculture was based on
sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...
through the 19th century but switched over to
dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...
by the 20th century. Waterbury had a ski factory in the 1940s, the Derby & Ball Company. In 1927, Waterbury, like many other Vermont communities, was devastated by
flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
ing. Inscriptions on the sides of some buildings in Waterbury village purport to show where the level of the water rose during the 1927 flood. The village recovered, and in 1938 the
Waterbury Dam The Waterbury Dam was built between 1935 and1938 by 2,000 men working for the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, to serve as one of three dams to control the flow of Little River, Vermont, Winooski River and its tributaries. In 1927, flood ...
was built on the Little River by the Army Corps of Engineers to control future flooding in areas downstream of the town center. On August 29, 2011,
Tropical Storm Irene The name Irene has been used for twelve tropical cyclones worldwide. Seven in the Atlantic, two in the South and Western Pacific, and one on the South-West Indian Ocean and Australian region basins. It has also been used for two European windstorms ...
flooded downtown Waterbury and filled the buildings of the Vermont State Hospital, Vermont's public psychiatric complex, with up to of water. Patients from the mental hospital were temporarily housed in various locations around Vermont, and over 1,100 of the 1,586 state employees were working in office space in other towns as of October 2011. The state was expected to decide by 2012 whether to relocate all or part of the workforce back to Waterbury. In 2017, the citizens within the Village of Waterbury voted to dissolve it as a municipality, completing their merger with the Town of Waterbury. The Village dissolved on June 30, 2018.


Economy

Waterbury is the location of
Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...
Ice Cream, whose factory tours have become one of Vermont's most popular
tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...
s. Other local businesses include a number of restaurants and bars. Businesses in the town, which sits between several major mountains including
Mount Mansfield Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont, reaching an elevation of above sea level. Located in the northwest of the state, it is also the highest peak in the Green Mountains. Its summit is located within the town of Underhill, Vermon ...
, typically thrive during the month of October, when tourism swells thanks to
fall foliage Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown. The phenomenon ...
.


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 4,915 people, 2,011 households, and 1,321 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 810.4 people per square mile (312.9/km2). There were 2,106 housing units at an average density of 347.2 per square mile (134.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.80%
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 ...
, 0.26%
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, 0.65% Asian, 0.26% from other races, and 0.89% 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 were 0.67% of the population. There were 2,011 households, out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% 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, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.93. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $44,940, and the median income for a family was $60,547. Males had a median income of $35,566 versus $25,838 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 $25,858. About 3.3% of families and 6.1% 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 7.0% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.


Government and infrastructure

The State of Vermont operates the Waterbury Office Complex. The
Vermont Department of Corrections The Vermont Department of Corrections is the government agency in the U.S. state of Vermont charged with overseeing correctional facilities, supervising probation and parolees, and serving in an advisory capacity in the prevention of crime and j ...
has its headquarters in the Waterbury Office Complex.


Education

Waterbury belongs to the Washington West Supervisory Union. Students attend Brookside Primary School for grades preschool and Kindergarten through 4th grade, Crossett Brook Middle School for grades 5–8, and
Harwood Union High School Harwood Union High School is a mid-sized public secondary school located in Duxbury, Vermont. As a member of the Washington West Supervisory Union, the school serves the towns of Duxbury, Fayston, Moretown, Waitsfield, Warren, and Waterbury ...
for grades 9–12.


Transportation

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 passenger rail system, provides daily service to Waterbury, operating its '' Vermonter'' between
St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...
and
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
The Green Mountain Transit Agency (GMTA) provides public transit bus services to Burlington, Montpelier, Morrisville, and Stowe. Waterbury is served by
Interstate 89 Interstate 89 (I-89) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States traveling from Bow, New Hampshire, to the Canada–United States border between Highgate Springs, Vermont, and Saint-Armand, Quebec. As with all ...
,
U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected ...
, and Route 100.


Media

Radio station
WDEV WDEV (550 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Waterbury, Vermont, United States. Programming is simulcast on WDEV-FM (96.1 MHz) licensed to Warren, Vermont. The stations' studios and offices are located near U.S. Route 2 in Waterbu ...
 -550 AM & 96.1 FM (News/Talk), is located in town, with its offices and studios on Stowe Street. WAVJ –103.3 FM is officially licensed to Waterbury and has its transmission tower located on Ricker Mountain (which it shares with former sister station WNCS Montpelier), but its programming originates with the
Air1 Air1 is an American Christian radio network owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry. It primarily broadcasts contemporary worship music, and is a sister to the EMF's K-Love network. History On July 15, ...
network in
Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020 Uni ...
. The Waterbury Record was a weekly newspaper that served the local area. On March 26, 2020, the
Vermont Community Newspaper Group The Vermont Community Newspaper Group is a media company and publisher of five weekly newspapers and multiple magazines in the U.S. state of Vermont. History After owning the Stowe Reporter for 17 years, publisher Biddle Duke sold a majority ...
announced that it was suspending publication of the Waterbury Record, after 13 years of publication, citing the lack of widespread advertising support and now the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In May 2020 a web-based publication, the Waterbury Roundabout, was founded by Lisa Scagliotti to provide local news with support from the University of Vermont’s Community News Service. A partnership was formed with the
Barre Montpelier Times Argus The ''Barre Montpelier Times Argus'' is a daily newspaper serving the capital region of Vermont. The circulation area includes Washington, Orange, Lamoille, Addison, Caledonia, and parts of Chittenden, Franklin, Orleans and Windsor coun ...
to distribute a free weekly printed "Waterbury Reader" to residents of Waterbury. That partnership ended in September 2022 and the Waterbury Roundabout returned to being a web-only publication.


Notable people

* Charles J. Adams,
Vermont Attorney General The Vermont attorney general is a statewide elected executive official in the U.S. state of Vermont who is elected every two years. It was created by an act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1790, repealed in 1797, and revived in 1904. The office ...
* Elmer Ellsworth Adams, Minnesota newspaper editor and politician * Harold D. Campbell, Major general in the
Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
*
Paul Dillingham Paul Dillingham Jr. (August 10, 1799 – July 26, 1891) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont, the 24th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1862 to 1865, and the 29th governor of Vermont from 1 ...
, 29th
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 ...
* William P. Dillingham, 42nd
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 ...
* Wallace M. Greene, commandant of the Marine Corps * Henry Janes, soldier, humanitarian and chief surgeon at Gettysburg *
Thomas D. Kinley Thomas D. Kinley (born June 14, 1945) is a retired business executive and Army National Guard officer. He served in the Army National Guard from 1966 to 1999, and attained the rank of Major general (United States), major general as commander of th ...
, US Army major general, lived in Waterbury Center *
Ken Squier Kenley Dean Squier (April 10, 1935 – November 15, 2023) was an American sportscaster and motorsports editor from Waterbury, Vermont. From 1979 to 1997, he served as the lap-by-lap commentator for '' NASCAR on CBS'', and was also a lap-by-l ...
,
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
commentator for
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
, owner of
WDEV WDEV (550 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Waterbury, Vermont, United States. Programming is simulcast on WDEV-FM (96.1 MHz) licensed to Warren, Vermont. The stations' studios and offices are located near U.S. Route 2 in Waterbu ...
Radio and co-owner of the
Thunder Road International SpeedBowl Thunder Road International Speedbowl, more commonly known as just Thunder Road, is a high-banked, Road surface, paved short track motor racing, short track speedway located in the town of Barre (town), Vermont, Barre, Vermont. The track was fou ...
auto-racing track in Barre * William Wells, merchant, Civil War general and Medal of Honor recipient


Climate

This
climatic Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorolog ...
region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers that are known to occasionally reach 90 to 100 degrees and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Waterbury has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.


References


External links


Town of Waterbury official website

Waterbury Public Library
{{authority control Towns in Vermont Towns in Washington County, Vermont