Castleton is the primary villageAlthough commonly called a village, it is not incorporated as a village. and a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in the town of Castleton, Rutland 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, it had a population of 1,337, out of 4,458 in the entire town. A large portion of the village is part of the Castleton Village Historic District, 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 1979. It is also home to

Castleton University Castleton University was a public university in Castleton, Vermont. In July 2023, Castleton University merged with Northern Vermont University and Vermont Technical College to form Vermont State University, of which it now serves as a branc ...

, founded in 1787, and now part of the

Vermont State Colleges The Vermont State Colleges System (VSCS) is the University system, system of public colleges in the U.S. state of Vermont. It was created by act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1961. There are presently two entities in the VSCS consortium, t ...

system.

Geography

Castleton Village is located in western Rutland County, in the south-central part of the town of Castleton, on the south side of the Castleton River, about midway between

Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont *Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The ...

, and

Whitehall, New York Whitehall is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 4,023 at the 2020 census. The Town of Whitehall contains a village also named Whitehall. H ...

. Main Street runs east–west through the village, designated

Vermont Route 4A Vermont Route 4A (VT 4A) is a east–west state highway in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. It runs from Fair Haven to West Rutland. VT 4A was the former alignment of U.S. Route 4 (US 4) before it was relocated to ...

;

U.S. Route 4 U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs from East Greenbush, New York, in the west to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the east, traversing Vermont. In New York, US 4 is signed north–south to reflect ...

, a limited-access highway, runs east–west on the north side of the river. The village center is at North Road and South Street, which provide access to rural parts of the town;

Vermont Route 30 Vermont Route 30 (VT 30) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. VT 30 runs from U.S. Route 5 in Vermont, U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and Vermont Route 9, VT 9 in Brattleboro, Vermont, Brattleboro to U.S. Rout ...

, the principal north–south artery in the town, is west of the village in the community of Castleton Four Corners. The village has one active rail line, running east–west north of Main Street, that presently carries the

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 ...

Ethan Allen Express The ''Ethan Allen Express'' is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a north–south route with a 7-hour 35 mi ...

'', stopping at the station at the east end of the village.

History

Castleton Village was settled in the early 1770s, and Main Street was laid out in 1772 as the principal east–west route in the region. In 1775, the village is where

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

mustered the

Green Mountain Boys The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization established in 1770 in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants and later in 1777 as the Vermont Republic (which later be ...

for the

Capture of Fort Ticonderoga The capture of Fort Ticonderoga occurred during the American Revolutionary War on May 10, 1775, when a small force of Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold surprised and captured the fort's small British garrison. T ...

, early in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. Castleton College was founded in 1787, and

Castleton Medical College The Castleton Medical College Building, now known as the Old Chapel, is a historic building of the Castleton Medical College on Seminary Street in Castleton, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1818, it was the first medical college in Vermont, a ...

was founded in 1818, both located on the south side of Main Street. The town was prosperous in the 19th century because of the marble and slate industries, and benefited from the construction of two railroad lines in the 1850s. Around the turn of the century the tourist industry, serving summer trade at

Lake Bomoseen Lake Bomoseen ( ) is a freshwater lake in the western part of the U.S. state of Vermont in the towns of Castleton and Hubbardton in Rutland County. It is the largest lake that lies entirely within the state's boundaries, with a surface area of ...

, resulted in the construction of hotels and other service facilities. The village was devastated by a series of fires in the 1910s, which destroyed a number of landmark buildings. Most of the village was listed on the

in 1979 for its 19th-century architectural character.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Vermont Census-designated places in Rutland County, Vermont Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Federal architecture in Vermont Greek Revival architecture in Vermont Castleton, Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Rutland County, Vermont

Geography

History

See also

References