Windsor is a town in
Windsor County
Windsor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,753. The shire town (county seat) is the town of Woodstock. The county's largest municipality is the town of Hartford.
History
Wind ...
,
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 the ...
, United States. As the "Birthplace of Vermont", the town is where the
Constitution of Vermont
The Constitution of the State of Vermont is the fundamental body of law of the U.S. state of Vermont, describing and framing its government. It was adopted in 1793 following Vermont's admission to the Union in 1791 and is largely based upon th ...
was adopted in 1777, thus marking the founding of the
Vermont Republic
The Vermont Republic (French: ''République du Vermont''), officially known at the time as the State of Vermont (French: ''État du Vermont''), was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The s ...
, a
sovereign state
A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...
until 1791, when Vermont joined the United States. Over much of its history, Windsor was home to a variety of manufacturing enterprises. Its population was 3,559 at the
2020 census.
History
One of the
New Hampshire grants
The New Hampshire Grants or Benning Wentworth Grants were land grants made between 1749 and 1764 by the colonial governor of the Province of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. The land grants, totaling about 135 (including 131 towns), were made o ...
, Windsor was chartered as a town on July 6, 1761, by colonial governor
Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. While serving as governor, Wentworth is best known for issuing several ...
. It was first settled in August 1764 by
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Steele Smith
Steele may refer to:
Places America
* Steele, Alabama, a town
* Steele, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Steele, Kentucky, an unincorporated community
* Steele, Missouri, a city
* Lonetree, Montana, a ghost town originally called Steele
...
and his family from
Farmington, Connecticut
Farmington is a town in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 26,712 at the 2020 census. It sits 10 miles west of Hartford at the hub of major I-84 interchanges, 20 miles ...
. In 1777, the signers of the
Constitution of the Vermont Republic met at
Old Constitution House
The Old Constitution House is a historic house at 16 North Main Street in Windsor, Vermont. It is the birthplace of the Vermont Republic and the Constitution of the State of Vermont. A mid-18th century building built in a simple Georgian archi ...
, a tavern at the time, to declare independence from the
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
(the
Vermont Republic
The Vermont Republic (French: ''République du Vermont''), officially known at the time as the State of Vermont (French: ''État du Vermont''), was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The s ...
would not become a state until 1791). In 1820, it was the state's largest town, a thriving center for
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exch ...
and
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...
. In 1835, the first
dam was built across Mill Brook to provide
water power
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a ...
. Factories made
guns,
machinery
A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecul ...
,
tinware,
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating ( tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks) ...
and
harnesses. The community is named for
Windsor, Connecticut
Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population of Windsor was 29,492 at the 2020 census.
...
.
[
In 1846, Robbins and Lawrence received a government contract to manufacture firearms. Using advanced machine tools to produce interchangeable parts, they and their associates established factories in the Connecticut River valley and throughout New England. Two factories, now both closed, sustained the economy of Windsor: Cone Automatic Machine Company and a ]Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, ...
plant.
Windsor village began development at the end of the 18th century and achieved importance in Vermont history as the location of the framing of the constitution of Vermont. It is known as the birthplace of Vermont, where the state constitution was signed, and acted as the first capital until 1805 when Montpelier became the official state capital.[
Commerce prospered due to the village's location on the banks of the Connecticut River where several smaller streams run into it. The economy improved in the mid-19th century when Windsor became the first town in the state to break ground for the railroad with the construction of a rail depot. ]Windsor Station Windsor station or Windsor railway station may refer to:
Australia
* Windsor railway station, Brisbane
* Windsor railway station, Sydney
* Windsor railway station, Melbourne
Canada
* Windsor Station (Montreal)
* Windsor station (Nova Scotia)
* W ...
connected the town to out-of-state markets. It was after the railroad went through that the area was discovered by tourists.
Windsor's war memorial, the City Center Veterans Memorial, was created by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan.
File:Main Street, Windsor, VT.jpg, Main Street
File:Windsor, Vermont (2675176211).jpg, Print of Windsor from 1886 by L.R. Burleigh with list of landmarks depicted
File:American_Precision_Museum_Windsor_Vermont.jpg, American Precision Museum is the old Robbins and Lawrence factory.
Geography
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
An economy is an area of th ...
, the town has a total area of 19.8 square miles (51.2 km2), of which 19.5 square miles (50.6 km2) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.5 km2) (1.06%) is water. Home to part of Mount Ascutney, Windsor is situated beside the Connecticut River.
The town is crossed by Interstate 91
Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Connect ...
, U.S. Route 5, Vermont Route 12, Vermont Route 44, and Vermont Route 44A
Vermont Route 44 (VT 44) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. The highway runs from VT 106 in Reading east to U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and VT 12 in Windsor. VT 44 passes through West Windsor in southern ...
. It is bordered by the town of Weathersfield to the south, West Windsor to the west, and Hartland to the north. To the east, across the Connecticut River, is Cornish, New Hampshire
Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,616 at the 2020 census. Cornish has four covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair.
History
The town was granted in 1763 and contained a ...
, to which Windsor is connected by the Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge, one of the longest covered bridges in the world.
File:Cornish windsor bridge.jpg, Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge, built 1866, rebuilt 1988
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 in ...
[ of 2000, there were 3,756 people, 1,520 households, and 945 families residing in the town. The ]population density
Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...
was 192.1 people per square mile (74.2/km2). There were 1,611 housing units at an average density of 82.4 per square mile (31.8/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.74% White
White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 0.24% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 0.40% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.
There were 1,520 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were couples living together and joined in either marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
or civil union
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,815, and the median income for a family was $43,551. Males had a median income of $29,897 versus $23,313 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 $17,640. About 6.4% of families and 7.7% 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 5.9% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Windsor is served by Mount Ascutney School District, Vermont
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish ...
. The district is home to the Windsor Yellow Jackets and serves grades kindergarten to twelfth. The three schools in the district are the Windsor School and Windsor High School, as well as Albert Bridge School in West Windsor, Vermont.
File:Windsor_VT_High_School.jpg, Windsor Jr/Sr High School
File:Windsor_VT_Library.jpg, Windsor Public Library on State St.
Infrastructure
Health care
The Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is located in Windsor.
Transportation
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
, the national passenger rail system, provides daily service through Windsor, operating its Vermonter between Washington, D.C. and St. Albans, Vermont St. Albans, Vermont may refer to:
* St. Albans (town), Vermont, established 1763, a town in Franklin County, Vermont, U.S.
*St. Albans (city), Vermont, established 1902, a city in Franklin County, Vermont, U.S.
See also
* St. Albans Bay, Vermont, ...
.
File:Windsor_VT_Mt_Ascutney_Hospital.jpg, Mt. Ascutney Hospital
File:Windsor Station.jpg, Windsor Amtrak Station
File:Windsor_VT_Post_Office.jpg, US Post Office on US Route 5
Culture
Music
Moon Dance
Since 1999, Windsor has regularly hosted this Autumn street festival, complete with live bands, magicians, and hypnotist
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
s.
Parks
Windsor is home to Paradise Park in the Windsor Town Forest, which borders Runnemede Lake.
Brewery
Windsor is also home to the second location of Harpoon Brewery
257px,
Harpoon Brewery is an employee owned American brewery, with locations in Boston, Massachusetts, and Windsor, Vermont.
History
Harpoon Brewery, also known as the Massachusetts Bay Brewing Company, was originally founded in 1986. The ...
of Boston.
Notable people
* Asa Aikens
Asa Aikens (January 13, 1788 – July 12, 1863) was an attorney, politician, and judge in Vermont and New York. A veteran of the War of 1812, Aikens served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1823 to 1824.
Biography
Asa Aikens (som ...
, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court.
The Cou ...
* Rollin Amsden, U.S. Marshal for Vermont
* Asher Benjamin, architect, author, educator
* Carlos Coolidge
Carlos Coolidge (June 25, 1792 – August 15, 1866) was an American Whig politician, a lawyer, a Vermont State Representative, the Speaker of the Vermont House, a State Senator, and the 19th governor of Vermont.
Biography
Coolidge was born i ...
, politician and distant relative of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...
* Edward Curtis
Edward Sherriff Curtis (February 19, 1868 – October 19, 1952) was an American photographer and ethnologist whose work focused on the American West and on Native American people. Sometimes referred to as the "Shadow Catcher", Curtis traveled ...
, politician
* A. E. Douglass, astronomer
*Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Great Depression, Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-lengt ...
, stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star
* Josiah Dunham, Secretary of State of Vermont
The secretary of state of Vermont is one of five cabinet-level constitutional officers in the U.S. state of Vermont which are elected every two years. The secretary of state is fourth (behind the lieutenant governor, speaker of the House of Repres ...
* Maxwell Evarts
Maxwell Evarts (November 15, 1862October 7, 1913) was an American lawyer and politician.
Early life and education
Maxwell Evarts was born on November 15, 1862, in New York City, the youngest of the twelve children of Helen Minerva (Wardner) and ...
, lawyer, president of the Windsor Savings Bank and founded the State Fair Program in Vermont
* William M. Evarts, United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
, United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's ...
, and U.S. senator for New York
* Horace Everett, US congressman
* William Laurel Harris
William Laurel Harris (February 18, 1870 – September 24, 1924) was an American muralist, educator, editor, and arts organizer.
Harris was a member of the Municipal Art Society (of which he was president in 1912), the Architectural L ...
, educator and arts organizer
* Joseph D. Hatch
Joseph D. Hatch (January 21, 1811 - May 21, 1898) was a Vermont politician and businessman. He was most notable for terms in the Vermont House of Representatives and Vermont Senate, and for serving as mayor of Burlington from 1876 to 1883.
Ear ...
, Vermont state legislator and mayor of Burlington, Vermont
* Joab Hoisington, one of Windsor's founders, militia leader on the Patriot side in the American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...
* Valentine B. Horton
Valentine Baxter Horton (January 29, 1802 – January 14, 1888) was a U.S. Representative from Ohio during the first two years of the American Civil War.
Biography
Born in Windsor, Vermont, Horton attended the Partridge Military School and ...
, US congressman
* Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard
Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard (August 22, 1802 – September 14, 1886) was an American fur trader, insurance underwriter, and land speculator. He was influential in the development of the city of Chicago and responsible for its growth during the 19t ...
, fur trader and developer of Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
* Jonathan Hatch Hubbard
Jonathan Hatch Hubbard (May 7, 1768September 20, 1849) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont.
Biography
Hubbard was born in Tolland in the Connecticut Colony. At the age of eleven Hubbard moved ...
, US congressman
* William Hunter, US congressman
* Stephen Jacob, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court.
The Cou ...
* Bob Keeshan, actor and television producer (''Captain Kangaroo'')
* Thomas Leverett, Secretary of State of Vermont
The secretary of state of Vermont is one of five cabinet-level constitutional officers in the U.S. state of Vermont which are elected every two years. The secretary of state is fourth (behind the lieutenant governor, speaker of the House of Repres ...
* Maxwell Perkins, editor
* John Pettes, US Marshal for Vermont
* Matt Salinger, actor
* Stephen William Shaw, artist
* Mark Shepard
Mark I. Shepard (born 1960) is a former Vermont State Senator ( R-Bennington) and unsuccessful candidate for the 2006 Republican nomination for Vermont's at-large United States House of Representatives seat.
Biography
Shepard was born on Septe ...
, state senator
* Nathaniel Simonds, politician
* William H.H. Stowell
William Henry Harrison Stowell (July 26, 1840 – April 27, 1922) was a 19th-century congressman, merchant and industrialist from Virginia, Vermont, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Biography
Born in Windsor, Vermont, Stowell attended p ...
, US congressman, merchant and industrialist
* John C. Thompson
John C. Thompson (1790–June 27, 1831) was a Vermont lawyer, politician, and judge who served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1830 until his death.
Biography
John C. Thompson was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, probably in 1790. ...
, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court.
The Cou ...
* Allen Wardner, prominent banker and businessman who served as Vermont State Treasurer
The State Treasurer's Office is responsible for several administrative and service duties, in accordance with Vermont Statutes. These include: investing state funds; issuing state bonds; serving as the central bank for state agencies; managing the ...
. He was the father-in-law of William M. Evarts and grandfather of Maxwell Evarts
Maxwell Evarts (November 15, 1862October 7, 1913) was an American lawyer and politician.
Early life and education
Maxwell Evarts was born on November 15, 1862, in New York City, the youngest of the twelve children of Helen Minerva (Wardner) and ...
[New York Genealogical and Biographical Society]
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record
, Volume 47, 1916, page 314
* Henry D. Washburn, US congressman and general
See also
* List of capitals in the United States#Vermont Republic
* Juniper Hill Farm-Maxwell Evarts House
Juniper Hill Farm, also known historically as Juniper Hill Inn and the Maxwell Evarts House, is a historic estate and mansion house on Juniper Hill Road in Windsor, Vermont. Built in 1902 by Maxwell Evarts, it is a large and elaborate example o ...
References
Further reading
A. J. Coolidge & J. B. Mansfield, ''A History and Description of New England'', Boston, Massachusetts 1859
Hayward's ''New England Gazetteer of 1839''
* English and American Tool Builders. Joseph Wickham Roe, 1916 by Yale University Press and 1987 by Lindsay Publications Inc., Bradley IL 60915. paper
External links
Town of Windsor official website
Windsor Public Library
American Precision Museum
Windsor School District
{{Authority control
Towns in Vermont
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 the ...
Vermont populated places on the Connecticut River
Towns in Windsor County, Vermont
Capitals of former nations
1764 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies