Barre ( ) is the most populous city in Washington 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 municipal population was 8,491. Popularly referred to as "Barre City", it is almost completely surrounded by " Barre Town", which is a separate municipality. Barre is often twinned with the nearby Vermont state capital of Montpelier in local media and businesses. It is the main city in the Barre-Montpelier micropolitan area, which has nearly 60,000 residents and is Vermont's third largest metropolitan area after those of Burlington and

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

. Barre is also Vermont's fifth largest city.

History

On November 6, 1780, the land was granted to William Williams and 64 others. Originally called Wildersburgh, it included what is today both the town and city of Barre. It was first settled in 1788 by John Goldsbury and Samuel Rodgers, together with their families. But dissatisfied with the name Wildersburgh, citizens renamed the town after Isaac Barré, a champion of the American Colonies. In 1895, within the town was set off and incorporated as the separate city. "In 1780 a tract of 19,900 acres of land in Vermont was chartered under the name of "Wildersburgh" to a number of proprietors. At a town-meeting of the inhabitants of this tract held in September, 1793, it was agreed that a house of worship should be erected, and it was voted that the man who would give the most towards building the same should have the right to name the township. Ezekiel Dodge Wheeler bid £62, and was permitted to name the township "Barre"—for Barre, Massachusetts, whence some of the settlers of the new township had emigrated."

Granite industry

Barre is the self-proclaimed "

Granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

Center of the World". Initially established with the discovery of vast granite deposits at Millstone Hill soon after the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, the granite industry and the city itself saw a boom with the arrival of the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

. The fame of this vast deposit of granite, which some geologists say is long, wide and deep, soon spread to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Large numbers of people migrated to Barre from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, Canada, and a number of other countries. The population increased from 2,060 in 1880, to 6,790 in 1890, to 10,000 in 1894. By the turn of the century, Barre was noted as the state's most diverse city. Millstone Hill is now the site of a recreational, wooded trail network, where the mining holes and grout piles are still peppered throughout. The Italian immigrants in particular brought a radical, largely

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

labor movement to Barre. In the 1920s and 1930s, a number of granite strikes roiled the city; some disputes concerned wages, but workers increasingly mobilized to address health and hazard in the quarries and "sheds." The strike of 1922, arguably fought to a draw, raised ethnic tensions; French Canadians were painted as strikebreakers. The Quarry Workers' International Union of North America was based in Barre. They were originally affiliated with the

Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...

before affiliating with the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

, and in 1916 and in 1929 the city elected a

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

candidate as mayor of Barre. The old Socialist Labor Party Hall is still standing and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2000. "Barre Gray" granite is sought after worldwide for its fine grain, even texture, and superior weather resistance. Many sculpture artists prefer it for outdoor sculpture. In 1936 the granite quarry in Barre carved out a 35-ton cross from one section of stone in the quarry. Hope Cemetery in Barre displays extensive examples of the sculptors' art.

Geography and climate

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 city has a total area of , all land. Barre is drained by the Stevens Branch River and Jail Branch River,

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

of 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 ...

. The city is served by I-89, US 302, VT 14 and VT 62. It is bordered by the town of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

to the west but is otherwise surrounded by the separate Town of Barre.

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 9,291 people, 4,220 households, and 2,253 families residing in the city. 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 . There were 4,477 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.40%

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 ...

, 0.48%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.38% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.32% 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 1.68% of the population. There were 4,220 households, out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were couples living together and joined in either

marriage 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 ...

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.6% were non-families. Of all households, 39.2% were made up of individuals, and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 69, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 82.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,393, and the median income for a family was $42,660. Males had a median income of $33,175 versus $20,319 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 city was $18,724. About 9.9% of families and 13.0% 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 16.2% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's movie ''

The Trouble With Harry ''The Trouble with Harry'' is a 1955 American Technicolor black comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes was based on the 1950 novel by Jack Trevor Story. It starred Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe, Mildred Na ...

'' premiered at the Paramount Theater in Barre on September 27, 1955. The original version of the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning musical

Hadestown ''Hadestown'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice, a young girl looking for something to eat, goes to work in a hellish industrial vers ...

initially premiered in Barre in 2006. * Barre Opera House * Studio Place Arts * Vermont Historical Society * Vermont Granite Museum
Summer Street Mural Project

Government

The mayor of Barre is Thomas Lauzon. Barre City has a "Council-Manager" form of government, and mayors serve two-year terms, with nonpartisan elections held in May (formerly March). The city is divided into three wards, and each ward elects two members of the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

. Councilors serve staggered two-year terms, so one council seat from each ward is up for election every March. Barre City also elects a full-time

city clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...

and

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

. The current Clerk and Treasurer is Cheryl Metivier. The city of Barre employs a full-time

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

. Nicolas Storellicastro currently holds this position.

Sports

A Premier Basketball League (PBL) team, the Vermont Frost Heaves, played its games in Barre at the Barre Auditorium and at the Memorial Auditorium in Burlington,

. The team was originally owned by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' writer Alexander Wolff. A local group later assumed ownership and operated the Heaves until the team ceased operations in late 2010 and subjected its players to a dispersal draft. The Vermont Mountaineers, a collegiate summer baseball team which belongs to the New England Collegiate Baseball League, plays its home games at nearby Montpelier Recreation Field. The quarter-mile, high-banked

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 ...

is the premier motorsports venue in the state and associated with notable

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 ...

figures Ken Squier and Dave Moody. Vermont Governor

Phil Scott Philip Brian Scott (born August 4, 1958) is an American politician, businessman, and Stock car racing, stock car racer who has been the List of governors of Vermont, 82nd governor of Vermont since 2017. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...

often participates in the track's "Governor's Cup 150" among other events. Thunder Road is also frequented by the

American Canadian Tour The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) is an independent regional stock car racing series based in the northeastern United States, and Eastern Canada. The American-Canadian Tour was founded in 1979 and conducts professionally-run stock car racing event ...

late-model series of New England, New York, and southeastern Canada. The track, which is located in Barre Town, was built in 1958 and has been in operation since 1960.

Parks and outdoor recreation

* City Hall Park * Cow Pasture (natural area) * Currier Park * Canales Woods Park * Dente Park * Municipal Swimming Pool * Rotary Park * South Barre Bike Path

Notable people

* Gayleen Aiken, artist * Norman Anderson, athlete * David Ball, NFL player * Lucina C. Broadwell, murder victim * Thomas H. Cave,

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 th ...

* Deane C. Davis, 74th

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 ...

* Ira Hobart Evans, Civil War era

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient * Young Firpo, boxer * James Fisk,

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

and

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

from Vermont *

Luigi Galleani Luigi Galleani (; 12 August 1861 – 4 November 1931) was an Italian insurrectionary anarchism, insurrectionary anarchist and Communism, communist best known for his advocacy of "propaganda of the deed", a strategy of political assassinations ...

, Italian anarchist * Hollister Jackson, 54th lieutenant governor of Vermont * Thomas D. Kinley, US Army major general, lived in Barre * Jennifer McMahon, novelist * James F. Milne, Secretary of State of Vermont * Dave Moody, sportscaster *

Katherine Paterson Katherine Paterson (née Womeldorf; born October 31, 1932) is an American writer best known for Children's literature, children's novels, including ''Bridge to Terabithia (novel), Bridge to Terabithia'' (1977), which won the Newbery Medal in 197 ...

, author * Charles Poletti, 46th

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

* Paul N. Poirier, member

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 ...

and Barre City Council * Sheldon Clark Reed (1910–2003), biologist and geneticist,was born in Barre * Richard Romanus, actor *

, 82nd

* Socrates N. Sherman, member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

* Fred Swan, artist

Mayors of Barre

Mayors of Barre since it was incorporated as a city include: * Emery L. Smith, 1895–1896 * John W. Gordon, 1896–1900 * Harvey Hersey, 1900–1901 * Nelson D. Phelps, 1901–1902 * Charles W. Melcher, 1902–1903 * J. Henry Jackson, 1903–1904 * William Barclay, 1904–1907 * John Robins, 1907–1910 * James Mutch, 1910–1912 * Lucius H. Thurston, 1912–1913 * William H. Ward, 1913–1915 * Frank E. Langley, 1915–1916 * Robert Gordon, 1916–1917 * Eugene C. Glysson, 1917–1920 * Frank E. Langley, 1920–1922 * Waldron Shield, 1922–1926 * Frank L. Small, 1926–1928 * Nelson E. Lewis, 1928–1929 * Fred W. Suitor, 1929–1931 * Edwin Keast, 1931–1932 * William W. LaPoint, 1932–1934 * John A. Gordon, 1934–1939 * Edwin F. Heininger, 1939–1944 * Chauncey M. Willey, 1944–1954 * Reginald T. Abare, 1954–1956 * Cornelius O. Granai, 1956–1958 * George N. Estivill, 1958–1964 * Cornelius O. Granai, 1964–1966 * Garth W. Blow, 1966–1968 * Wilfred J. Fisher, 1968–1978 * Vergilio L. Bonacorsi, 1978–1982 * Robert S. Duncan, 1982–1984 * Robert A. Bergeron, 1984–1990 * Wilfred J. Fisher, 1990–1992 * Harry S. Monti, 1992–1996 * Paul A. Dupre, 1996–2000 * Harry S. Monti, 2000–2004 * Peter D. Anthony, 2004–2006 * Thomas J. Lauzon, 2006–2018 * Lucas J. Herring, 2018–2022 * Jake Hemmerick, 2022–2024 * Thomas J. Lauzon, 2024–Present

References

A. J. Coolidge & J. B. Mansfield, ''A History and Description of New England''; Boston, Massachusetts 1859

External links

City of Barre official website
* * *
Barre Granite Association

Sites of interest

Barre Opera House
*
Vermont Granite Museum

Studio Place Arts

Firehouse Inn
{{Authority control Cities in Vermont Cities in Washington County, Vermont Micropolitan areas of Vermont

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...