Brighton 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 Essex 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 1,157 at the 2020 census. The town was named "Gilead" in its original grant in 1780. The town was sold to a group consisting primarily of soldiers commanded by Colonel Joseph Nightingale and subsequently named "Random". The town's name was finally changed by the legislature to "Brighton" in 1832. The Brighton village of Island Pond gets its name from the

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...

word ''Menanbawk'', which literally means island pond. Brighton is part of the

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 ...

, NH- VT Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Brighton is in western Essex County, bordered to the north by Warren's Gore and Averys Gore, to the northeast by Lewis, to the southeast by

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

, to the southwest by Newark in Caledonia County and Westmore in Orleans County, and to the northwest by Charleston and Morgan in Orleans County. The unincorporated community of Island Pond, the main community in the town, is at the north end of the lake of the same name in the center of the town. 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 of Brighton has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.76%, is water. Island Pond, originally called "Knowlton Pond" in the 19th century to honor Luke Knowlton, who surveyed and laid out the town, is Brighton's largest body of water. The Clyde River flows out of the north end of Island Pond and proceeds in a northwesterly direction towards Charleston. Spectacle Pond is a

kettle lake A kettle (also known as a kettle hole, kettlehole, or pothole) is a depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating ...

just east (upstream) of Island Pond. It is only deep, with a thick bottom of muck. Most of the town, including Island and Spectacle ponds and the Clyde River, is part of the

Lake Memphremagog Lake Memphremagog (; , ) is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport (city), Vermont, Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. The lake spans both Quebec and Vermont, but is mostly in Quebec. Most of the watershed th ...

watershed, and thus part of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

basin, via the Magog and Saint-François rivers of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The east side of the town drains to the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

, mostly to the east via the Nulhegan River, but a small portion to the south via the East Branch of the Passumpsic River. The highest point in Brighton is the southern summit of Bluff Mountain, in the northern part of the town. Vermont Routes

114 114 may refer to: *114 (number) *AD 114 *114 BC *114 (1st London) Army Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, an English military unit *114 (Antrim Artillery) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, a Northern Irish military unit *114 (MBTA bus) *114 (New Je ...

and

105 105 may refer to: *105 (number), the number * AD 105, a year in the 2nd century AD * 105 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 105 (telephone number), the emergency telephone number in Mongolia * 105 (MBTA bus), a Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority ...

cross the town, joining as Derby Street through Island Pond. Route 114 leads north to the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

at Norton, Vermont, and south to Lyndonville. Route 105 leads east to Bloomfield on the

and northwest through Charleston to Derby Center.

History

In 1957, a white spruce was chosen from the town for display as the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.

Demographics

The racial make up is 95.4% White, 1.2% Asian and 3.1% from two or more races. 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 1,260 people, 529 households, and 356 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 891 housing units at an average density of . There were 529 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% 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 ...

, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 27.6% 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 2.38 and the average family size was 2.88. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

Economy

Personal income

The median income for a household in the town was $26,932, and the median income for a family was $31,316. Males had a median income of $26,413 versus $23,125 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 $12,999. About 14.9% of families and 19.2% 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 28.7% of those under age 18 and 15.3% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

Tourism

The Brighton Snowmobile Club maintains of trails during the winter.

Media

WVTI 106.9 broadcasts from Island Pond.

References

External links

Town of Brighton official website

Island Pond commercial website
{{authority control Towns in Vermont Berlin, New Hampshire micropolitan area Towns in Essex County, Vermont