Island Pond is 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 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 ...

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

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 750 at the 2020 census. It 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

Island Pond is in the center of the town of Brighton, at the north end (outlet) of Island Pond, the lake. 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 ...

pass through the community, joining as Derby Street leading south out of the center of the CDP. Route 114 leaves north from Island Pond as Railroad Street, leading 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; to the south Route 114 leads to Lyndonville. Route 105 leaves east as East Brighton Road, leading to Bloomfield on 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 ...

; to the southwest it follows Derby Street and Route 114 for , then turns northwest and leads through Charleston to Derby Center. 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 Island Pond CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 8.42%, is water. Bluff Mountain overlooks the lake and the island from the north. The Clyde River flows west out of Island Pond after which the community is named. 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 ...

called this water ''Menanbawk'' (literally, "island pond"). It was renamed "Knowlton Pond" in tribute to Luke Knowlton, the

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

who helped lay out the town in the 1780s. The river is a tributary of

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 ...

and part of the

St. 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. Lawren ...

basin.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Island Pond has a

warm-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Island Pond was on July 20, 1991; June 17, 1994, July 22, 1994; June 20, 1995; August 10, 2001; July 4 and September 10, 2002; June 25 and 27, 2003; July 8, 2010; July 5, 2018; and May 28, 2020, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 7, 1993. The weather station Island Pond AP is situated at John H. Boylan State Airport.

Fauna

A 2010 Christmas bird count found 28 species.

History

The railroad

Island Pond became an important

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 ...

center in 1853 when the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

established international connections between

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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, ...

, and

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

. The half-way point in the Portland-Montreal railroad line, this town became a booming railroad center with a roundhouse, shops, and all the facilities associated with train operations. In 1923 the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada was

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

and taken over by the Canadian government and operated as the

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

. With the Canadian government directing the railroad, political considerations soon outweighed the economics of the railroad; commerce was displaced from the port of Portland to the Canadian ports of Halifax and St. John. The importance of the Portland line then began a decline which was never to be reversed. Island Pond's days as a major railroad town were over by the late 1950s due to the elimination of

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s. By 1960

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

service to Portland had ended, and three years later the

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

shop was closed. In 1966 barely a skeleton staff of people worked in Island Pond after the roundhouse closed. Canadian National continued to operate freight service to Portland until 1988; the following year the line was sold to a short line operator, the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad, which provides service to this day.

The Twelve Tribes

Island Pond became the home of the

Twelve Tribes The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( , ) are described in the Hebrew Bible as being the descendants of Jacob, a Hebrew patriarch who was a son of Isaac and thereby a grandson of Abraham. Jacob, later known as Israel, had a total of twelve sons, from ...

when the religious movement relocated to Island Pond from

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in 1977. The group, led by Yoneq Gene Spriggs, sought shelter from the opposition it met elsewhere, although it continually faced opposition which culminated in the Island Pond raid in 1984 where state police and state

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

s seized 112 children due to allegations of

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

. The children were returned the same day upon a determination that the raid was unconstitutional, and no trial was held on the evidence of abuse the state found. Nevertheless, the "Island Pond Raid" retains its notoriety.

Traffic enforcement

In 2007, Brighton Constable Theodore "Ted" Miller's strict enforcement of traffic regulations became the subject of nationwide coverage. In 2006 alone, 1,224 tickets and 1,662 warnings were issued.

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 849 people, 374 households, and 228 families residing in the CDP. 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 203/mi² (78.4/km²). There were 556 housing units at an average density of 132.9/mi² (51.4/km²). There were 374 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% 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, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.88. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $25,547, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $25,577 versus $23,542 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 CDP was $13,207. Nearly 15% of families and 19.4% 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 28.8% of those under age 18 and 18% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Social services

Social services are provided in part by the Northeast Kingdom Community Action located here and in other

Northeast Kingdom The Northeast Kingdom (also, locally, "The Kingdom" and abbreviated NEK) is the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Vermont, approximately comprising Essex, Orleans, and Caledonia counties and with a population of 64,764 at the 2010 census. T ...

sites.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Island Pond is served by Vermont Routes

and

. The

St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad , known as St-Laurent et Atlantique Quebec in Canada, is a short-line railway operating between Portland, Maine, on the Atlantic Ocean, and Montreal, Quebec, on the St. Lawrence River. It crosses the Ca ...

passes through the village. John H. Boylan State Airport is located east of the village on Route 105.

Media

WVTI 106.9 broadcasts from Island Pond. The town was the setting of the memoir ''A Dresser of Sycamore Trees,'' by Garret Keizer. The town was also the subject of two historical non-fiction books by author Sharon Biron "Island Pond Reflections" and "Island Pond Insights".

Notable people

* Harry B. Amey, United States Attorney for Vermont * John H. Boylan,

President pro tempore of the Vermont State Senate The president ''pro tempore'' of the Vermont Senate presides over the Vermont Senate, Senate of the U.S. state of Vermont in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor of Vermont, lieutenant governor. The president ''pro tempore'' also sets the policy ...

* George N. Dale, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont *

Porter H. Dale Porter Hinman Dale (March 1, 1867October 6, 1933) was an American educator, lawyer, and politician who served as a member of both the United States House of Representatives from 1915 to 1923, and the United States Senate from Vermont from 1923 to ...

, U.S. congressman and senator * Zophar M. Mansur, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont *

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, saxophonist, bandleader, actor, and entertainer. He was the first male singer to rise from local radio broadcasts in New York Ci ...

, singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer

Notes

{{authority control Census-designated places in Vermont i Berlin, New Hampshire micropolitan area Census-designated places in Essex County, Vermont Railway towns in Vermont