Pawlet 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 ...

Rutland County, Vermont Rutland County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 60,572, making it the second-most populous county in Vermont. Its county seat and mos ...

, United States. The population was 1,424 at the 2020 census.

History

Pawlet was one of the

New Hampshire Grants The New Hampshire Grants or Benning Wentworth Grants were land grants made between 1749 and 1764 by the colonial governor of the Province of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. The land grants, totaling about 135 (including 131 towns), were made ...

, chartered from

Benning Wentworth Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant, landowner and colonial administrator who served as the List of colonial governors of New Hampshire, governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. He is best known ...

, Governor of colonial

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. The charter was granted on August 26, 1761, to Jonathan Willard and 61 other shareholders. The town was named for the

Mettawee River The Mettawee River (sometimes spelled "Mettowee River") is a tributary of Lake Champlain in western Vermont and eastern New York in the United States. From its source at the southern slopes of Dorset Mountain, Vermont, the river flows southwards f ...

, which was called "Paulet" or "Paulette" on the earliest maps of the area that later became Vermont. Nine families lived there at the time of its organization in 1769. It was part of Bennington County until Rutland County was created in 1781. The first town meeting on record took place on December 22, 1775. Since this meeting was called by town clerk Simeon Burton, it is apparent that Pawlet was already settled by then.

Geography

Pawlet is located in the

Taconic Mountains The Taconic Mountains () are a 150-mile-long sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains lying on the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England. The range, which played a role in the history of geological science, is separated from th ...

. The town is located on Vermont's western boundary with

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and adjacent towns include Wells to the north, Danby to the east, Rupert to the south, and Granville and

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

, New York to the west. The town contains two unincorporated villages: Pawlet in the center of town, and West Pawlet along the western border. 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 0.02% is water. Pawlet is a rural farming town. The local school (Mettawee Community School) is about five minutes from downtown Pawlet and downtown West Pawlet.

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 1,394 people, 575 households, and 396 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 32.5 people per square mile (12.5/km²). There were 707 housing units at an average density of 16.5 per square mile (6.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.85%

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 ...

, 0.29%

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 ...

, 0.65% Native American, and 0.22% 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 0.79% of the population. There were 575 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% 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, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.92. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $36,429, and the median income for a family was $42,750. Males had a median income of $27,847 versus $22,262 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 $20,726. About 8.3% of families and 9.5% 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 14.0% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Frederick W. Adams (1786–1858), noted physician, born in Pawlet * Aaron Clark, Mayor of New York City, 1837–1839, raised in Pawlet from the age of 2 * William Fairfield, businessman and politician in Upper Canada *

Claude Fredericks Claude Fredericks (October 14, 1923 – January 11, 2013) was an American poet, playwright, printer, writer, and teacher. He was a professor of literature at Bennington College in Vermont for more than 30 years, from 1961 to 1992. In the la ...

(1923–2013), resident 1948–2013, Bennington professor, ran the Banyan Press * Lemuel Chipman, judge and politician * James Campbell Hopkins, federal judge * Kirby Flower Smith, classicist and translator * Joshua C. Stoddard, inventor, born in Pawlet

References

External links

Town of Pawlet official websiteVintage Images of Pawlet, VT and area ~ Richard Clayton Photography
{{authority control Towns in Vermont Towns in Rutland County, Vermont