West Fairlee 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 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 621 at the 2020 census.

History

Originally a part of the town of Fairlee, West Fairlee separated in 1797. The town was first settled by Nathaniel Niles that same year. The town remained predominantly agricultural until copper was discovered in nearby Vershire in 1813. With the opening of the Ely Copper Mine in 1821 the town rapidly began to grow. The mine became the site of Vermont's largest labor revolt, dubbed the 'Ely War,' in 1883. Unable to remain financially solvent the mine was sold to

George Westinghouse George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) was a prolific American inventor, engineer, and entrepreneurial industrialist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his creation of the railway air brake and for bei ...

. Combined with a fire that destroyed much of the town in 1910 and the mine's closure in 1920, West Fairlee's economy suffered immensely. Today the town is largely a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

. Samuel Graves originally established his brass and woodwind instrument company Graves & Co. here in 1824. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, 98 residents served, or 11% of the town’s population. Among them was Medal of Honor recipient General Stephen Thomas. The town also sent men from Company A of the 15th Vermont Infantry Regiment, which was organized in West Fairlee in 1862. West Fairlee was the summer residence of Nobel-winning economist

Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and ...

, which he named "Capitaf." It was here that he and his wife,

Rose Friedman Rose Director Friedman ; born Rose Director (30 December 1910 – 18 August 2009) was a free-market economist and co-founder of the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation. Biography Rose Director was born in Staryi Chortoryisk, in Ukraine, to ...

wrote the 1980 bestselling book, ''

Free to Choose ''Free to Choose: A Personal Statement'' is a 1980 book by economists Milton and Rose D. Friedman, accompanied by a 10-part series broadcast on public television, that advocates free market principles. It was primarily a response to an earlie ...

''. Portions of the 1983 film '' The Survivors'', starring Walter Mathau and Robin Williams was filmed in West Fairlee. West Fairlee Village

Landmarks

* West Fairlee is home to two historic summer camps: Camp Billings and Aloha Horizons Camp. * West Fairlee Center Church * Asa May House Lake Fairlee

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 22.8 square miles (59.1 km²), of which 22.6 square miles (58.5 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.6 km²) (0.96%) is water. The

Ompompanoosuc River The Ompompanoosuc River is a river, about 25 mi (40 km) long, in eastern Vermont in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound. According to the Geographic Names Information System, ...

flows through the southwestern part of the town.

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 726 people, 278 households, and 197 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 32.1 people per square mile (12.4/km²). There were 340 housing units at an average density of 15.0 per square mile (5.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.76%

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 ...

, 0.14%

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 ...

, 0.55% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.14% from other races. There were 278 households, out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% 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 29.1% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $40,667, and the median income for a family was $42,500. Males had a median income of $27,200 versus $22,788 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 $18,011. About 8.0% of families and 10.7% 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 16.1% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Residents are in the Rivendell Interstate School District. Westshire Elementary School is in West Fairlee.

Notable people

* Asa L. Baldwin, Wisconsin state assemblyman * Chauncey C. Churchill *

Jabez William Clay Jabez William Clay (1852–1880) was an American-born graduate of Massachusetts Agricultural College, and beginning his career in agricultural supply at the time of his death only five years after graduation. He is chiefly remembered as one of s ...

, Founder of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. * Eben Pomeroy Colton, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Vermont from 1878 to 1880 *

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

-winning economist in economics; owner of the summer estate named ''Capitaf'' (a portmanteau of "Capitalism" and "Freedom"), book from which he and his wife

were able to buy land and build from the proceeds. The book ''

'' was written in West Fairlee during their summers spent at ''Capitaf''. Capitaf continues to host private summer colloquia for students hailing from universities all around the United States * Nathaniel Niles, US congressman * Albert Southworth, photographer known for their daguerreotypes in the first half of the 19th century * Stephen Thomas, recipient of the Medal of Honor for gallantry *

Charlotte Geer Charlotte Mosher "Carlie" Geer (born November 13, 1957, in Greenwich, Connecticut) is a rower from the United States. Olympics Geer and her sister qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team; however, neither was able to compete due to the U.S. Ol ...

Olympic rower

References

External links

*
Town of West Fairlee Website
{{authority control Towns in Vermont Towns in Orange County, Vermont