Orleans County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the northeastern part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,393. Its shire town (

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

) is the city of Newport. The county was created in 1792 and organized in 1799. As in the rest of New England, few governmental powers have been granted to the county. The county is an expedient way of grouping and distributing state-controlled governmental services.

History

The county shares the same pre-Columbian history with the

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 ...

. In 1753, 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 ...

s brought the ransomed

John Stark Major-General John Stark (August 28, 1728 – May 8, 1822) was an American military officer who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. He became known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Ba ...

down Lake Memphremagog and came ashore where Newport is now. They then traveled southeast to his home in New Hampshire. Rogers' Rangers were forced to retreat through the county following their attack on Saint-Francis, Quebec in 1759. To confound their avenging pursuers, they split up on the east shore 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 ...

. One group followed the Clyde River. Another followed the Barton River south to the falls at the outlet of Crystal Lake where they were able to catch fish. From there, they continued south over the summit into the Passumpsic River Valley. The British Crown sent out surveyors to mark the border between its two colonies of Canada and America in accordance with the

Quebec Act The Quebec Act 1774 ( 14 Geo. 3. c. 83) () was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which set procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec. One of the principal components of the act was the expansion of the province's territory t ...

of 1774. This was supposed to be on 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 ...

. The result, however was a crooked line up to north of this intended border. This was resolved in favor of the crooked line by the

Webster–Ashburton Treaty The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty that resolved several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies (the region that later became the Dominion of Canada). Negotiated in the U ...

of 1842. This affected Orleans County, particularly Derby Line, which would have otherwise reverted to Canada. In 1779 or 1780, General Moses Hazen constructed the Bayley-Hazen Military Road from Newbury, Vermont through Hardwick, Greensboro, Craftsbury, and Albany to Hazen's Notch in northern Vermont. This purpose of this road was to invade Canada. It was never used for that purpose, but was instrumental in the settlement of this area. However, it was five or more years before the wilderness was inhabited by other than a few Abenaki Indians, and that during the summer. Vermont was divided into two counties in March 1778. In 1781 the legislature divided the northernmost county, Cumberland, into three counties: Windham and Windsor, located about where they are now. The northern remainder was called Orange county. This latter tract nearly corresponded with the old New York county of Gloucester, organized by that province March 16, 1770, with Newbury as the shire town. The state granted a town to Ebenezer Crafts, and sixty-three associates, on November 6, 1780. The town name was changed to Craftsbury, in honor of Ebenezer Crafts on October 27, 1790. Crafts was the first settler in the county.Gazetteer of Lamoille and Orleans Counties, VT.; 1883-1884, Compiled and Published by Hamilton Child; May 1887 On September 3, 1783, as a result of the signing of the Treaty of Paris the Revolutionary War ended with Great Britain recognizing the independence of the United States. Vermont's border with Quebec was established at 45 degrees north latitude. From 1791 to 1793, Timothy Hinman built what is now called the " Hinman Settler Road" linking Greensboro north to Derby and Canada. On November 5, 1792, the legislature divided Chittenden and Orange counties into six separate counties, as follows: Chittenden, Orange, Franklin, Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans. No reason is given for the county being named after

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Orleans lost territory when the new Jefferson county was created in 1797. In 1810, Runaway Pond suddenly flooded the Barton River Valley with of water in the greatest natural catastrophe in Orleans County post-Columbian history. Incredibly, there were no deaths. On December 27, 1813, the county was invaded by British militia from nearby

Stanstead, Quebec Stanstead is a city (Quebec), town in the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, located on the Canada–United States border across from Derby Line, Vermont, Derby Line, Vermont. The Town of Stanstead was c ...

, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

in order to destroy an undefended barracks at Derby and to forage for supplies. No one was injured. Until the invasion, local inhabitants, like most New Englanders, opposed the war. A number had smuggled supplies to the British. After the invasion, their enthusiasm for their neighbors diminished substantially. June 1816 brought of snow to the county followed by agricultural devastation. 1816 became known as the

Year without a summer The year 1816 is known as the Year Without a Summer because of severe climate abnormalities that caused average global temperatures to decrease by . Summer temperatures in Europe were the coldest of any on record between 1766 and 2000, resultin ...

. When Lamoille county was formed in October 1835, Orleans lost the towns of Eden, Hyde Park, Morristown, and Wolcott. In 1858, Barton (and Orleans County) obtained a triangular piece of land from Sheffield (and Caledonia County) which included all of May Pond, the entire area south of Crystal Lake, and the village of South Barton. By 1860, the state was a leading producer of

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

in the nation. Orleans and Windsor Counties led the state. This crop conveniently arrived as a replacement for the disappearance of the Merino sheep trade. Hops, too, disappeared. A number of factors were involved: plant disease in 1909, migration of planting to California from 1853 to 1910, where growing was performed more efficiently, and Prohibition both at the state and national level. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Company D, 4th Vermont Infantry was recruited largely from Orleans County. Volunteers from the county joined the Union Army in response to a call from the government. In September 1861, they joined the Vermont 6th Vermont Infantry, and helped fill out Company D. The regiment ultimately became part of the First Vermont Brigade. In 1864, 267 men from the 11th Vermont Infantry were captured at the Battle of the Weldon Railroad in the Overland campaign. today better known as the Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road. It was a considerable source of local concern when it was learned that these prisoners had been taken to

Andersonville prison The Andersonville National Historic Site, located near Andersonville, Georgia, preserves the former Andersonville Prison (also known as Camp Sumter), a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp during the final fourteen months of the American Civil Wa ...

, a place known, even then, for its poor living conditions. 54 of these prisoners were from Orleans County. Many of them died in prison. French immigration into the county started before the Civil War. It continued afterwards. Like the rest of the state, Orleans County sent up to one-quarter of its eligible men to the Civil War. Ten percent of these died. Others came back too maimed to continue working their farms, which most volunteers had left. The sudden offering of many farms for sale in the mid-1860s resulted in a precipitous drop in farm prices. Nearby French-Canadians took advantage of this. As a result of this and loss of native farm labor to other states, Vermont, particularly the northern part, saw many immigrants then and through the turn of the twentieth century. After increasing in population since its founding, the county began losing population starting in 1900. It reached a twentieth-century low in population in 1960 at 20,143. The population has risen ever since. In 1903, the county purchased a jail,

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

. It housed about 350 people annually. It once held 140 people at one time, a fallout from a widely attended 1973 rock concert. The jail closed in 1995. It is 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 1903, a state law allowed each town to decide whether to permit the sale of liquor within their boundaries. By 1905, no town in the county allowed the sale of alcoholic beverages. The change was not that dramatic since state law had theoretically forbidden alcohol prior to 1903, but this law was unevenly enforced. Currently in 2017, the towns of Derby, Jay, and Westmore, the village of Orleans, and the city of Newport permit liquor sales through retail outlets supervised by the Vermont Department of Liquor Control. In 1910, there were 2,800 farms in the county, containing 27,000 cows. They produced of milk annually. In 1967, researcher and scientist

Gerald Bull Gerald Vincent Bull (March 9, 1928 – March 22, 1990) was a Canadian engineer who developed long-range artillery. He moved from project to project in his quest to economically launch a satellite using a space gun, huge artillery piece, to which ...

constructed a laboratory for his Space Research Corporation in Highwater, just north of the adjacent Canada–US border. The property overlapped into the county in North Troy. His intent was to fire research packages into orbit using heavy artillery. In 2004, what was then billed as the final concert of the band

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

was held in Coventry on August 14–15. The concert was the single largest gathering of people in the town's history. With 70,000 tickets sold, Coventry's augmented population was one of the largest in the state's history. The county has twenty-three places on the

. In 2008, the state notified residents of Albany, Craftsbury, Irasburg, Lowell, Newport Town, Troy, Westfield and six towns in the adjacent counties of Lamoille and Franklin, that a review of health records from 1995 to 2006 had revealed that residents within of the former asbestos mine on Belvidere Mountain had higher than normal rates of contracting

asbestosis Asbestosis is long-term inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis, scarring of the human lung, lungs due to asbestos fibers. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, cough, wheezing, and chest pain, chest tightness. Complications may include lung canc ...

. The state and federal government continues to study this problem. A critic replied that the entire basis of the study were three unidentified people who died from asbestosis 1995-2005 out of a total population of 16,700. In April 2009 the Vermont Department of health released a revised study which found that all of deaths related to the asbestos mine were caused by occupational exposure. The report also concluded that people living near the mines had no increased risk of asbestos related illness than people living anywhere else in Vermont. However, the site will still need to be cleaned. In 2009, the expected cost of cleanup was $300 million.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has an area of , of which is land and (3.9%) is water. It has the largest area of the three counties comprising the

. The county lies between the eastern and western ranges of 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 ...

. The highest point in the county is Jay Peak in the town of Jay, at . The lowest is the surface of

at . The county is mainly drained by four river systems: the Barton, the

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 ...

, the Clyde, and the

Missisquoi River The Missisquoi River is a transboundary river of the east shore of Lake Champlain (via Missisquoi Bay), approximately long, in northern Vermont in the United States and southern Quebec in Canada. It drains a rural area of the northern Green Moun ...

. The first three run north. The last meanders west through Canada and the U.S. An exception is found at the southern end of the county: Greensboro, Craftsbury, and southern Glover are largely drained south and west by 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 ...

. The county is unique in eastern Vermont for mostly draining north as a 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. All Vermont counties directly to the south (and east of the Green Mountains) drain into the Connecticut River, as does much of Essex county, to the east. The

Barton River The Barton River is a tributary of Lake Memphremagog, over long, in northern Vermont in the United States. It runs north from Glover through Barton, Brownington, Coventry and drains through Newport into Lake Memphremagog's South Bay. C ...

drains Crystal Lake, runs north through Barton, Brownington, Coventry and drains through Newport into

. The Barton River watershed also includes the towns of Derby, Irasburg, Westmore, and the water bodies of Lake Willoughby, Crystal Lake, and Shadow and Parker ponds. The Black River is about in length. It rises in some ponds in Craftsbury, and passes through Albany, Irasburg, and Coventry. It reaches Lake Memphremagog at Salem. The watershed also includes Albany, Lake Eligo and the Hosmer Ponds. The Clyde River has four hydroelectric dams before reaching Lake Memphremagog. The watershed includes Brighton (Essex County), Charleston, Morgan, Derby, Seymour Pond, Echo Lakes, and Island, Clyde and Pensioner ponds. Additionally, the Canadian rivers of Coaticook and Tomifobia watersheds include Derby, Holland, and Norton Pond, Holland Pond, and Great and Little Averill Ponds. The county contains more ponds than any other in the state. The county contains three state forests: Hazen's Notch, Jay, and Willoughby.

Fauna

The area is conducive to songbirds because of its northern location,

boreal forests Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North Ame ...

, mountain peaks, bodies of water and marshes. One inventory in June 2012 found the following species:

ovenbird The ovenbird (''Seiurus aurocapilla'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family (biology), family (Parulidae). This bird migration, migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and winters in Central America, many List of Caribbean ...

eastern whip-poor-will The eastern whip-poor-will (''Antrostomus vociferus''; also called "whip-o-will", "whip o' will", etc.) is a medium-sized () bird within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, from North America. The whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its ran ...

Wilson's snipe Wilson's snipe (''Gallinago delicata'') is a small, stocky shorebird. The generic name ''Gallinago'' is Neo-Latin for a woodcock or snipe from Latin ''gallina'', "hen" and the suffix ''-ago'', "resembling". The specific name ''delicata'' is ...

, alder flycatcher, warbling vireo, red-eyed vireo, winter wren, wood thrush,

American robin The American robin (''Turdus migratorius'') is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not clos ...

, veery, gray catbird, common yellowthroat, chestnut-sided warbler, northern waterthrush, black-throated green warbler,

northern parula The northern parula (''Setophaga americana'') is a small New World warbler. It is migratory and breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida. Taxonomy The northern parula was Species description, formally described in 1758 by ...

, American redstart,

white-throated sparrow The white-throated sparrow (''Zonotrichia albicollis'') is a passerine bird of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae. It breeds in northern North America and winters in the southern United States. Taxonomy In 1760 the English naturalist ...

indigo bunting The indigo bunting (''Passerina cyanea'') is a small seed-eating bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. It is bird migration, migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to ...

, red-winged blackbird,

American goldfinch The American goldfinch (''Spinus tristis'') is a small North American bird in the finch Family (biology), family. It is Bird migration, migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of th ...

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

ring-necked duck The ring-necked duck (''Aythya collaris'') is a diving duck from North America commonly found in freshwater ponds and lakes. The scientific name is derived from Greek , an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Arist ...

, hooded merganser, pied-billed grebe, double-crested cormorant,

great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbea ...

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

, Virginia rail,

American herring gull The American herring gull or Smithsonian gull (''Larus smithsonianus'' or ''Larus argentatus smithsonianus'') is a large gull that breeds in North America, where it is treated by the American Ornithological Society as a subspecies of herring gu ...

, ring-billed gull, chimney swift,

belted kingfisher The belted kingfisher (''Megaceryle alcyon'') is a large, conspicuous water kingfisher, native to North America. Taxonomy The first Species description, formal description of the belted kingfisher was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1 ...

marsh wren The marsh wren (''Cistothorus palustris'') is a small North American songbird of the wren Family (biology), family. It was formerly called the long-billed marsh wren to distinguish it from the sedge wren, then known as the short-billed marsh wren ...

, house wren, eastern bluebird, pine warbler, black-and-white warbler, Savannah sparrow,

northern cardinal The northern cardinal (''Cardinalis cardinalis''), also commonly known as the common cardinal, red cardinal, or simply cardinal, is a bird in the genus ''Cardinalis''. It can be found in southeastern Canada, through the eastern United States fro ...

eastern meadowlark The eastern meadowlark (''Sturnella magna'') is a medium-sized icterid bird, very similar in appearance to its sister species, the western meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to northern South America, where it is also most widespr ...

bobolink The bobolink (''Dolichonyx oryzivorus'') is a small New World blackbird and the only member of the genus ''Dolichonyx''. An old name for this species is the "rice bird", from its tendency to feed on cultivated grains during winter and migration. ...

, bank swallow, cliff swallow,

barn swallow The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world, occurring on all continents, with vagrants reported even in Antarctica. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply f ...

, white-breasted nuthatch,

ruffed grouse The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only spe ...

, ruby-throated hummingbird, blue-headed vireo, red-breasted nuthatch, Lincoln's sparrow, rose-breasted grosbeak,

pine siskin The pine siskin (''Spinus pinus'') is a North American bird in the finch family. It is a migratory bird with an extremely sporadic winter range. Taxonomy The pine siskin was formally described in 1810 by the American ornithologist Alexander W ...

, purple finch, Canada warbler, magnolia warbler, Nashville warbler, golden-crowned kinglet, mourning warbler, dark-eyed junco, and northern rough-winged swallow. Also known to be in the area were:

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

, American bittern, broad-winged hawk,

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

, pileated woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, scarlet tanager, American woodcock, Bicknell's thrush, blackpoll warbler, yellow-bellied flycatcher, broad-winged hawk, and Swainson's thrush. Also, the

American crow The American crow (''Corvus brachyrhynchos'') is a large passerine bird species of the family (biology), family Corvidae. It is a common bird found throughout much of North America. American crows are the New World counterpart to the carrion cro ...

, and

kestrel The term kestrel (from , derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover ...

. In 2013, a separate inventory added the

common loon The common loon or great northern diver (''Gavia immer'') is a large member of the loon, or diver, family (biology), family of birds. Reproduction, Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purpli ...

chickadee The chickadees are a group of North American birds in the family Paridae included in the genus '' Poecile''. Species found in North America are referred to as chickadees; species found elsewhere in the world are called tits. They are small-si ...

, blue jay, Barrow's goldeneye, Lapland longspur,

white-winged scoter The white-winged scoter (''Melanitta deglandi'') is a large Merginae, sea duck. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ''melas'' "black" and ''netta'' "duck". The species name commemorates French ornithologist Côme-Damien Degland. Descri ...

, olive-sided flycatcher,

red crossbill The red crossbill or common crossbill (''Loxia curvirostra'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Crossbills have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tips, which enable them to extract seeds from conifer cones and other ...

, Bonaparte's gull, and

rough-legged hawk The rough-legged buzzard (Europe) or rough-legged hawk (North America) (''Buteo lagopus'') is a medium-large bird of prey. It is found in arctic and subarctic regions of North America, Europe, and Asia during the breeding season, and migrates s ...

Climate

The average growing season is about 130 frost-free days in the Newport area. As this is the lowest point in the county, the growing season for other places in the county which are more elevated, is typically shorter. Tornadoes have struck the county four times from 1950 to 1995, all rated F1, with one causing an injury. This level is 2.7 times below the national average. On February 5, 1995, Jay Peak received of snow, the greatest daily snowfall recorded for any location in Vermont.

Climate change

In the 20th century, the county was designated in hardiness as a Zone Three. Most plants that would normally be tolerant up to Zone Four, do well there in 2014; even some that are Zone Five. Growing seasons have been increasing by 3.7 days a decade since 1974.

Adjacent counties and municipalities

* Essex County - east * Caledonia County - south * Lamoille County - southwest * Franklin County - west * Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality, Quebec - northwest * Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality, Quebec - north * Coaticook Regional County Municipality, Quebec - northeast

Demographics

An estimated 2,500 military veterans reside in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 27,231 people, 11,320 households, and 7,298 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 16,162 housing units at an average density of . Of the 11,320 households, 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.5% were non-families, and 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.81. The median age was 43.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $40,202 and the median income for a family was $48,845. Males had a median income of $33,979 versus $29,559 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,652. About 9.8% of families and 14.3% 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 15.6% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

As in all Vermont counties, there is a small executive function that is mostly consolidated at the state level. Remaining county government is judicial. There are no "county taxes." In 2007, median property taxes in the county were $1,940, placing it 265 out of 1,817 counties in the nation with populations over 20,000. The budget for 2006 was $428,612.51. Town taxes accounted for over 65% of this money. The budget was all fulfilled by the state. Almost 32% of the money was spent on courthouse personnel. Over 22% of the money was spent on the Sheriff Department's expenses.

Executive

The Assistant, or "Side," Judges, Superior Court, approve the budget for county expenses. * Assistant Judge (elected) - Robert Goodby * Assistant Judge (elected) - Benjamin M. Batchelder * Road commissioners (appointed for one-year terms by the Superior Court) Citizens may appeal to this commission when they believe that a town has failed to properly maintain a road or a bridge. ** Shawn Austin ** Thomas Berrier ** Dale Carpenter, Jr.

Judicial

The Superior, Family and Probate courts are all located at 247 Main Street, Newport Vermont. The court system is part of the Northern Division. The judge of the District Court is rotated to another county periodically. The state Supreme Court must approve assignments. With one judge, the District Court can hear up to three jury-empaneled trials per month. In 2017, there were 40 people, pleading innocent, and awaiting trial.

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

presiding judge (appointed by the state) - Howard E. VanBenthuysen * Superior Court clerk - Gaye Paquette * Court Operations Manager - Julie Bronson * Case Manager- Sally Carruthers

Family court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

presiding judge - Robert R. Bent *

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

- Barbara Zander * Assistant Judges - Benjamin M. Batchelder and Curt Hardy *

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

(appointed) - Susan Pion *

Probate Judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...

(elected) - Angela Ross The District Court is located at 217 Main Street, Newport, Vermont, as is the State Attorney. The

District court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

presiding judge is Howard E. VanBenthuysen. The Court Manager is Gaye Paquette. The State's Attorney (elected) is Farzana Leyva. The sheriff's office is located at 5578 US Rte 5, Newport, Vermont. The

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

(elected) is Jennifer Harlow. She was appointed originally by governor Phil Scott to fill the remaining vacancy from Kirk Martin, who retired. The sheriff's department made national news in 2012, when a driver of a large tractor deliberately drove over and wrecked at least six cruisers, out of a fleet of 11. The driver was apparently annoyed at having been previously arrested by the city of Newport police, and not the sheriff.

Legislators

The Orleans Senate district includes most of Orleans County, as well as parts of Caledonia County and Franklin County. It is represented in the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...

by Samuel A. Douglass ( R). The Essex Senate district includes the Towns of Derby, Holland, and Morgan, the City of Newport, all in Orleans County, as well as parts of Caledonia County and Essex County. It is represented in the

by Russ Ingalls ( R).

Elections

1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organiz ...

, Orleans County was won by

National Republican Party The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States which evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John ...

candidate

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

. In

1832 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white pla ...

, the county was won by

Anti-Masonic Party The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest Third party (United States), third party in the United States. Formally a Single-issue politics, single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry in the United States. It was active from the late 1820s, ...

candidate William Wirt. From

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

1836 Events January–March * January 1 — Hill Street Academy is named Colombo Academy and acquired by the Government, establishing the first public school in Sri Lanka. * January 1 – Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand ...

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...

in 1852, the county voted for the Whig Party candidates. From

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – The American sidewheel steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatl ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

(barring

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

, where the county was won by Progressive Party candidate and former president

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

), the Republican Party had a 104-year winning streak in the county. In

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, Orleans County was won by Democratic Party incumbent President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

, who became not only the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Orleans County, but to win the state of Vermont overall. Following Johnson's victory in 1964, the county returned to voting for Republican candidates for another 20 years, starting with Richard Nixon in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

and ending with

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

in 1988.

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

won Orleans County in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, the only time the county would back a Republican between

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

narrowly lost the county by a margin of 26 votes in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. Trump would finally flip the county back to Republicans in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. Normally voting among the most conservative counties in Vermont, the county overwhelmingly supported the Democratic presidential candidate in 2008 with nearly 63% of the vote. No town supported the Republican opponent. Nevertheless, the county elected only Republicans to the state senate and legislature and voted overwhelmingly for a Republican governor and lieutenant governor, yet Democratic for all other state offices. With one exception in the legislature for one district, the vote was not close for any office. A record seventy-three percent of the voters turned out for the general election in 2000.

Economy

Households and housing

In 2008, one-third of residential housing were used as second homes.

Personal income

The poverty rate for Orleans County was highest in Vermont for 2003. Median wages were the second lowest in the state. In 2011, 23.1% of residents received food stamps. This compares with 15.2% for Vermont, and 14.8% nationally.

Unemployment

In March 2008, the unemployment rate was 9.1% seasonally uncorrected, the highest in the state, which averaged 5.3%.

Business and industry

There were 838 private non-farm establishments, employing 7,392 people. In 2002, there was $238 million manufacturer's shipments. That year, the county had $240 million in retail sales. Retail sales per capita were $9,000. 24% of firms were owned by women. In 2003, there were 194 dairy farms in the county. This was the third largest number in the state. In March 2010, the number of dairy farms had declined to 139. In March 2007 county farms produced of milk. The total number of farms increased between 1992 and 2007. Total area farmed decreased from in 1992 to in 2007. For forest products, from 1988 to 2004, Orleans County showed the greatest employment increase in the state.

Retail

Many of the county's retail shops are concentrated both in downtown Newport and along the Newport-Derby Road (

U.S. Route 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Conn ...

and

Vermont Route 105 Vermont Route 105 (VT 105) is a state highway located in northern Vermont in the United States. The route runs from U.S. Route 7 in Vermont, U.S. Route 7 (US 7) in St. Albans (city), Vermont, St. Albans in the west to the New Ham ...

), one of the two state-maintained roads connecting Newport city to Interstate 91. The villages of Barton and Orleans also have a smaller concentration of stores. There are seven pharmacies in the county, all but one of which is a regional or national chain. There are two regional chain supermarkets in the county and there are locally owned grocery stores in several other towns as well. Many of the smaller towns still feature a general store in the center of town.

Tourism

The county is tied for first place in Vermont with the highest percentage of second home ownership.

Education

78.2% of residents had at least a high school education. 16.1% had at least an undergraduate degree. There are three public high schools in the county: North Country Union High School (1063 students), Lake Region Union High School (396), and Craftsbury Academy (59). Wheeler Mountain Academy, grades 7–12, aids students who have emotional, behavioral or learning challenges. 15 are enrolled. United Christian Academy is a private religious school K-12, enrolling 108 students. In 2007, the juniors in three public secondary schools in three different schools districts, North Country, Lake Region, and Craftsbury, scored lower than the state averages on standardized tests with one exception. North Country scored better than average in reading. Areas tested were math, reading and writing. In 2008, there was no correlation between the performance of students on the standardized New England Common Assessment Program tests and poverty (free lunch). The five wealthiest schools were among the ten worst performers; of the five poorest schools, three were among the top ten performers in the county. Schools in the Orleans Central Supervisory Union(the top four) appeared to outperform the North Country Supervisory Union (eight out of ten worst performing). There are about 85 home schooled students in the county, grades 1–12. The Northeast Kingdom Learning Services is a non-profit agency that provides a central clearing house for learning services. It is located in the village of Orleans. The Central Orleans Family Education Center was establishined in 2002 to offer childcare, pre-K programs, after-school programs, and migrant education classes in the village of Orleans.

Higher education

Craftsbury Common is home to Sterling College, an accredited four-year institution with nearly 100 students. The city of Newport is home to a branch of the Community College of Vermont which enrolls nearly 300 students. It awards an

Associate's Degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

for these undergraduate studies.

Culture

There are thirteen libraries in the county, all of them

501(c) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some federal income taxes. Sections 503 through 505 set o ...

corporations. This includes two full-time libraries the famous Haskell Free Library in Derby Line and the one in the city of Newport. The rest often have one part-time paid librarian. Much of the staff are volunteers. One is endowed. The rest depend upon fundraising and municipal contributions. With the French immigrants came their religion, Catholicism, which is the plurality religion in the county today.The Association of Religion Data Archives , Maps & Reports
Thearda.com. Retrieved on April 12, 2014. Formal dance included the

galop In dance, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse (see Gallop), a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popu ...

Health and public safety

About 75% of local adults in the county and nearby areas, are overweight or obese. Orleans is next-to-last in health in the state, the result of obesity, alcohol abuse, and smoking. There is a smaller opportunity to find a dentist or primary physician.

Organizations

* Orleans-Essex Visiting Nurses Association and Hospice - non-profit palliative care

Media

Newspapers

* The Orleans County Record - published Monday through Saturday * '' the Chronicle'' - published weekly in Barton * ''The Newport Daily Express'' - published weekdays in Newport
Newport Dispatch
online-only news updated daily

Radio

* W243AE - 96.5 FM; Orleans ''(repeats WGLY-FM Burlington)'' * WIKE - 1490 AM; 1 kW; Newport * WMOO - 92.1 FM; Derby Center

Television

* W14CK - Channel 14; Newport. Former repeater of WWBI-LP

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The population of the sur ...

; current programming unknown. * NEK-TV - Channels 14 and 15; Northeast Kingdom Television, Newport.

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

is the cable franchise serving Newport and most of Orleans County. Residents are also in the range of

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

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, ...

, Canada television stations CKSH-DT and CHLT-DT; however, Comcast does not offer these stations, though they carry

CBFT-DT CBFT-DT (channel 2) is a television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the French-language service of Ici Radio-Canada Télé. It is owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known in Fren ...

, CBMT-DT and

CFCF-DT CFCF-DT (channel 12) is an English-language television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Noovo flagship (broadcasting), flagship CFJP-DT (cha ...

from

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 ...

Utilities and communication

Communication

Fairpoint Communications supplies hard line telephone coverage for the entire county.

Cell phones

In 2007,

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

bought out Unicel in Orleans County, and in the next year replaced Unicel.

Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the div ...

covers Newport city and the south Derby-I-91 area. Mount Owls Head in Canada may provide "

roaming Roaming is a wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or oth ...

" service of Canadian carriers in the North part of the county.

Broadband

* Broadband coverage ** Total Coverage = 86% ** Cable = 52% ** DSL = 44% ** Wireless Internet Service Provider = 69%

Transportation

Major routes

The opening of

Interstate 91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, Connecticut, at I-95, whi ...

north from Barton on November 9, 1972, and opening south from the county in 1978 affected the county in a similar way to the opening of the railway a century earlier. In 1980, the county registered its first population gain in a century. The interstate has its northernmost five exits in the county. Two of them are in the town of Barton, servicing the villages of Barton (exit 25) and Orleans (26). The other three are in the town of Derby: the southernmost of those (exit 27) actually leads to Newport city a mile away, while exit 28 services the village of Derby Center and the shopping areas along Derby Road. The last exit, 29, which is located less than ¼ mile from the Canada–US border, leads to the village of Derby Line and the town of Holland. The county has of state highway and class 1, 2 and 3 roads. of these are dirt roads (class 3). are unmaintained roads (Class 4). As in most of New England, the county government does not build nor maintain any roads. Derby has the most road mileage, 102; Westfield the least with 31. The county has ten traffic lights, six of which are in the city of Newport with the remaining four in Derby. All but one of them are along the concurrency of US Route 5 and Vermont Route 105. * I-91

- Barton to Derby * US 5

- Barton to Derby * Vermont 5A

VT 5A - Westmore to Derby * Vermont 14

VT Route 14 - Irasburg to Coventry and Newport * Vermont 16

Vermont Route 16 - Greensboro to Westmore * Vermont 58

Vermont Route 58 - Lowell to Westmore * Vermont 100

VT Route 100 - Newport through Eden. One of the few good roads west/southwest from the county. * Vermont 101

Vermont Route 101 - Connects North Troy and Route 105 with Troy Village * Vermont 105

VT Route 105 - Troy to Charleston. Road east of Charleston was closed for a while due to flood damage from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 * Vermont 111

Vermont Route 111 - Derby to Morgan * Vermont 114

VT Route 114 - Goes through Morgan * Vermont 122

VT 122 - Glover southeast to Sheffield * Vermont 191

Vermont Route 191 - "Access Road", connects I-91, Exit 27, to the city of Newport * Vermont 242

Vermont Route 242 - connects route 101 in Jay, with Jay Peak Village * Vermont 243

Vermont Route 243 - Connects North Troy to Mansonville, numbered after Quebec Route 243 on the Canadian side of the border

Local community public and private transportation

The RCT ( Rural Community Transportation), a non-profit organization, runs out of Saint Johnsbury and services Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille and Orleans Counties. For general use, there are four buses north and south during the week from west Newport city to Derby Center, and two buses each way on Saturday. The fare is US 25 cents.

Railroads

Washington County Railroad (The

Vermont Railway The Vermont Railway is a shortline railroad in Vermont and eastern New York (state), New York, operating much of the former Rutland Railway. It is the main part of the Vermont Rail System, which also owns the Green Mountain Railroad, the Rutland' ...

System) - WACR has just recently been awarded a 30-year contract to operate the track running from White River Junction North through St. Johnsbury and Newport. Users ship freight on this route. There are no stops in the county. A line once ran up the east side of Lake Memphremagog, but this line has been abandoned and in some cases, torn up for use as hiking trails. This crossed the line near Beebe. The line still in operation goes northwest to Canada through North Troy.

Airport

The county is served by the Newport State Airport. It contains two runways of each 05–23, and 18–36.

Ecological concerns

The

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

has acted to protect areas against development. Specific areas in the county include: May Pond, Barton, Wheeler Mountain, the north beach at Willoughby Lake, the Westmore Town Forest, the Willoughby Falls Wildlife Management Area, and the South Bay Wildlife Management Area (Memphremagog).

Communities

City

* Newport (city) (shire town)

Towns

Most towns contract with the County Sheriff for policing. * Albany * Barton * Brownington * Charleston *

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

* Craftsbury *

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

* Glover *

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

* Irasburg * Jay * Lowell * Morgan * Newport (town) *

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

* Westfield * Westmore

Villages

While incorporated villages may be separate census divisions, they are still part of the surrounding towns * Albany - village of Albany * Barton - village of Barton * Beebe Plain - unincorporated village of Derby * Derby Center - village of Derby * Derby Line - village of Derby * North Troy - village of Troy * Orleans - village of Barton

Census-designated places

* Glover *

* Greensboro Bend * Irasburg * Lowell * Newport Center *

Other

* Lindsay Beach * North Derby

Notable people

John Gunther John Gunther (August 30, 1901 – May 29, 1970) was an Americans, American journalist and writer. His success came primarily by a series of popular sociopolitical works, known as the "Inside" books (1936–1972), including the best-sell ...

, author and part-time resident of Greensboro * Henry M. Leland, machinist, inventor, engineer and automotive entrepreneur. Created and named both the original Cadillac and the original Lincoln. At one time he was president or Chief Executive of both divisions or companies. Born in Barton. * Gilbert C. Lucier - last surviving Civil War veteran in Vermont. Died 1944 in Jay. *

Howard Frank Mosher Howard Frank Mosher (June 2, 1942 – January 29, 2017) was an American author of thirteen books: eleven fiction and two non-fiction. Much of his fiction takes place in the mid-20th century and all of it is set in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermon ...

, author of many books set in the Northeast Kingdom. Lived in Irasburg. * William Hubbs Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and part-time resident of Greensboro * Theodore Robinson, impressionist landscape painter. Born in Irasburg. * Wallace Stegner,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning author (part-time resident of Greensboro) * William Barstow Strong, president of the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

. Born in Brownington. *

Alexander Twilight Alexander Lucius Twilight (September 23, 1795 – June 19, 1857) was an American educator, minister and politician. He was recognized as the first African American to have earned a bachelor's degree from an American college or university, gra ...

, first African American to serve on a state legislature, and first African American to receive a degree from an American University. Lived in Brownington.

Footnotes

External links

National Register of Historic Places listing for Orleans Co., Vermont

!--can be deleted when necessary history has been extracted and footnoted--->
Nulhegan Tribe - Abenaki Nation
* * , historical excerpt
Government Agencies and non-profits

1914 Industrial snapshot of the area
{{Authority control 1799 establishments in Vermont Northeast Kingdom, Vermont Populated places established in 1799

History

Geography

Fauna

Climate

Climate change

Adjacent counties and municipalities

Demographics

2010 census

Government

Executive

Judicial

Legislators

Elections

Economy

Households and housing

Personal income

Unemployment

Business and industry

Retail

Tourism

Education

Higher education

Culture

Health and public safety

Organizations

Media

Newspapers

Radio

Television

Utilities and communication

Communication

Cell phones

Broadband

Transportation

Major routes

Local community public and private transportation

Railroads

Airport

Ecological concerns

Communities

City

Towns

Villages

Census-designated places

Other

Notable people

See also

Footnotes

External links