Highgate 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 Franklin 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 3,472 at the 2020 census. The town is on the Canada–US border and is a border town with

Philipsburg, Quebec Philipsburg is an unincorporated community in Saint-Armand, Quebec, Canada, on Lake Champlain. It is recognized as a designated place by Statistics Canada. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Philipsbu ...

History

Highgate was named after

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

in England. The

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

played two shows in Highgate at the

Franklin County State Airport Franklin County State Airport is a public airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of Highgate, a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. It is owned by the State of Vermont. Although most U.S. ai ...

in July 1994 and June 1995. An estimated 60,000 people attended in 1994 and an estimated 100,000 in 1995, when

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

opened and on-site camping was allowed. In town, there is an egg farm which has 100,000 chickens. In 2008, the farm wanted to double its operation, requiring state permission. Neighbors objected to this increase.

Geography

Highgate is in northwestern Franklin County. The northern border of the town is 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' ...

. It is one of the communities that is intersected by the

45th parallel north The 45th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the ...

U.S. Route 7 U.S. Route 7 (US 7) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in western New England that runs for through the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I-95) e ...

and

Interstate 89 Interstate 89 (I-89) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States traveling from Bow, New Hampshire, to the Canada–United States border between Highgate Springs, Vermont, and Saint-Armand, Quebec. As with all ...

pass through the town, intersecting at I-89's Exit 22, just south of the international border. The two highways lead south to Swanton,

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

, and Burlington.

Vermont Route 78 Vermont Route 78 (VT 78) is a east–west state highway in northwestern Vermont, United States. It begins at U.S. Route 2 (Vermont), U.S. Route 2 (US 2) in Alburgh, Vermont, Alburgh near the New York (state), New York and C ...

crosses the southern part of town, passing through the communities of Highgate Center and East Highgate. Route 78 leads southwest into Swanton and southeast into Sheldon. Vermont Route 207 passes through the eastern part of Highgate, connecting Highgate Center with Morses Line at the border. Communities within the town include Highgate Center, Highgate Falls, East Highgate, and Highgate Springs. 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 , of which is land and , or 15.08%, is water. The Missisquoi and

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

rivers, tributaries of

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

, flow through the town. The northwest corner of town is within

Missisquoi Bay Missisquoi Bay is a large extension in the northern part of Lake Champlain, at the East of the output of the latter in Richelieu River. It takes the form of a violin head, with the neck extending from the head of the lake and is about in diameter. ...

, an arm of Lake Champlain.

Surrounding areas

Saint-Armand, Quebec Saint-Armand () is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located within the Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality and the Eastern Townships. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 1,248. It is located on the Canada ...

, Canada *

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

* Sheldon * Swanton * Alburgh

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 3,397 people, 1,207 households, and 922 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 66.4 people per square mile (25.6/km²). There were 1,375 housing units at an average density of 26.9 per square mile (10.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 92.93%

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 ...

, 0.03%

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 ...

, 4.21% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 0.21% from other races, and 2.44% 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 0.15% of the population. Of the 1,207 households, 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% 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, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were non-families. 16.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.13. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $41,556, and the median income for a family was $44,697. Males had a median income of $30,342 versus $25,000 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 $16,505. About 7.4% of families and 10.0% 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 12.5% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

Highgate Manor Highgate Manor is a manor located on Vermont Route 207 in Highgate, Vermont. It has been used as a home, as a bed and breakfast, and as a dance hall. Local legend says that the children of a doctor who once owned the house and performed experimen ...

* Franklin County Field Days * Tyler Place Family Resort

Infrastructure

Electricity

Highgate has had an

HVDC A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating current (AC) transmission systems. Most HVDC links use voltages betwe ...

back-to-back station since 1985; it was built by

Asea ''Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget'' ( English translation: General Swedish Electrical Limited Company; Swedish abbreviation: ASEA) was a Swedish industrial company. History ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in Västerås ...

in the record time of eight months. It operates with a bipolar voltage of 56 kV, and can transfer a maximum power of 225 megawatts from Hydro-Quebec to the New England power grid or 190 megawatts from New England to Quebec. It was built on short notice because the

Vermont Yankee Vermont Yankee was an electricity generating nuclear power plant, located in the town of Vernon, Vermont, in the northeastern United States. It generated 620 megawatts (MWe) of electricity at full power. The plant was a boiling water reac ...

nuclear power plant had an extended maintenance period approaching.

Natural gas

Vermont has one natural gas distribution company, Vermont Gas Systems, Inc. (VGS). VGS's gas is supplied from a connection at Highgate Springs to the TransCanada Pipeline.

Transportation

Located within the town is the

Highgate Springs–St. Armand/Philipsburg Border Crossing.

Notable people

* Heman Allen (1779–1852),

U.S. congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

, U.S. Minister to Chile, resided in and practiced law in Highgate * Roswell M. Austin (1887–1966), brother of Warren Austin, Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, born in Highgate *

Warren Austin Warren Robinson Austin (November 12, 1877 – December 25, 1962) was an American politician and diplomat who served as United States Senator from Vermont and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. A native of Highgate Center, Vermont, Austin wa ...

(1877–1962),

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

United States Ambassador to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the United States Mission to the United Nations, U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the Permanent representative to the U ...

, born in Highgate Center * Jeptha Bradley (1802–1864),

Vermont Auditor of Accounts The auditor of accounts of Vermont, informally referred to as "the state auditor", is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. Twenty-nine individuals have occupied the office of state auditor si ...

, served as

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

in Highgate Springs * Alexander Christie (1848–1925),

Bishop of Vancouver Island The Diocese of Victoria () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its episcopal see is in Victoria. The diocese encompasses all of Vancouver Island and several n ...

and Archbishop of Oregon City, born in Highgate * John Godfrey Saxe (1816–1887), author, born in Highgate hamlet of Saxe's Mills

References

External links

Town of Highgate official website

HVDC-back-to-back station Highgate
{{authority control Towns in Vermont Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area Towns in Franklin County, Vermont