Johnson 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 Lamoille 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 3,491 at the 2020 census. The town is home to Northern Vermont University-Johnson, a part 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. The

Vermont Studio Center The Vermont Studio Center (VSC) is a non-profit arts organization located in the town of Johnson, Vermont. It conducts the largest fine arts and writing residency program in the United States, with a significant population of international artis ...

is located in the village of Johnson. Since 1842, the town has been the home to Johnson Woolen Mills.

Geography

Johnson is in the center of Lamoille County, in the valley of the

Lamoille River The Lamoille River is a river which runs through northern Vermont and drains into Lake Champlain. It is about in length, and has a drainage area of around . The river generally flows southwest, and then northwest, from the water divide of the ...

, with the

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont and are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Que ...

rising to the north and the south of the river. The village of Johnson is in the center of the town, where the Gihon River joins the Lamoille from the northeast. Vermont Route 15 crosses the center of the town, following the Lamoille River; the highway leads southeast to Hyde Park, the Lamoille County

shire town A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...

, and west to Jeffersonville in the town of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Vermont Route 100C leads northeast from Johnson village to

Vermont Route 100 Vermont Route 100 (VT 100) is a north–south state highway in Vermont in the United States. Running through the center of the state, it travels nearly the entire length of Vermont and is long. VT 100 is the state's longest numbe ...

in North Hyde Park. 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 Johnson has a total area of , of which , or 0.84%, are water.

Climate

Town name

The town is named for the American jurist, statesman and educator

William Samuel Johnson William Samuel Johnson (October 7, 1727 – November 14, 1819) was an American Founding Father and statesman. He attended all of the four founding American Congresses: the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, the Congress of the Confederation in 1785–1 ...

.Swift, Esther Monroe. ''Vermont Place Names: Footprints of History.'' The Stephen Greene Press: 1996 The town and a part of neighboring Cambridge were together known as the

King's College Tract The King's College Tract was a area of forested land in the vicinity of the present towns of Cambridge and Johnson in the U.S. state of Vermont. The tract was granted in 1764 by Lieutenant Governor Cadwallader Colden of the New York crown colony, ...

, having been created by a royal charter of British King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

in 1774. The King's College Tract was reserved for the eventual expansion of Kings College in New York, today's

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. After the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Vermont's Council of Censors granted the town to Johnson in 1785.

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 3,274 people, 1,170 households, and 669 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 72.6 people per square mile (28.0/km²). There were 1,263 housing units at an average density of 28.0 per square mile (10.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.58%

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 ...

, 0.61%

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 ...

, 0.43% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 1.41% 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 0.73% of the population. There were 1,170 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% 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 ...

, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.99. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 26.4% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,343, and the median income for a family was $38,224. Males had a median income of $28,257 versus $20,610 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 $15,014. About 13.8% of families and 18.9% 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 21.6% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Amalia Post (1836–1897), suffragist * Victor Swenson (1936–2019), educator

References

* Rodgers, Steve. ''Country Towns of Vermont.'' McGraw-Hill: 1998. . * Strickland, Ron. ''Vermonters: Oral Histories from Down Country to the Northeast Kingdom.'' University Press of New England: 1986. .

External links

*
Northern Vermont University
{{authority control Towns in Vermont Towns in Lamoille County, Vermont