Poultney 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 Rutland County in the southwestern 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 ...

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 * ...

state is on its western border.

Castleton, Vermont Castleton is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. Castleton is about to the west of Rutland, the county's seat and most populous city, and about east of the New York/Vermont state border. The town had a population of 4,458 at the ...

, is on its northern border. Poultney was home to

Green Mountain College Green Mountain College was a Private college, private liberal arts college in Poultney, Vermont, at the foot of the Taconic Mountains between the Green Mountains and Adirondacks. The college was affiliated with the United Methodist Church and of ...

, a private

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

that closed in 2019. The Village of Poultney is entirely within the town. The town population was 3,020 at the 2020 census.

History

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 ...

, Poultney was charted on September 21, 1761, by

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 ...

, Royal Governor of

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 ...

, and named for

William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, (22 March 16847 July 1764) was an English Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and peer who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain, British House of Commons from 1707 to 1742 when he was r ...

, a British politician and orator. Poultney was first settled by Thomas Ashley and Ebenezer Allen. Ashley married Zeruiah Richards, and Allen married Lydia Richards, both daughters of Zebulon Richards of Windham County,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. Ashley and Allen established themselves in a cabin near the Poultney River on February 15, 1771. Allen brought his family with him, and a son born to his wife Lydia in 1772 was the first white child born in Poultney. Ashley built a shanty and planted

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

before bringing his family to Poultney—he returned with his family in the fall of 1771. Six of Ashley’s brothers followed him to Poultney during the next two years, and several members of the Richards family were also early settlers. The town grew slowly at first because of the unresolved conflict between

and New Hampshire over land ownership in Vermont. The Great List of Freemen in Poultney in 1781 contains the names of only 88 men. Most of the early settlers of the town came from Connecticut and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. All but one of the males in Poultney were supporters of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, and most served in the army at various times during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. In 1777, Poultney was threatened with invasion by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, and the men of Poultney left to answer the call to arms. The women and children of Poultney fled the town on July 8, 1777, in the face of Gen.

John Burgoyne General (United Kingdom), General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British Army officer, playwright and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1792. He first saw acti ...

’s army which was advancing from the north. Most families returned to their former Massachusetts and Connecticut houses during this period of unrest. After Burgoyne’s defeat, the villagers returned to Poultney during spring of the following year. Ebenezer Allen left Poultney in March 1783 for South Hero where he once again was the first settler in wilderness. Thomas Ashley remained in the house he built in Poultney until his death in 1810. He was a justice of the peace and a representative to the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

six times between 1787 and 1801. A

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

was built in 1777, and the village grew up around this mill. There are many buildings of historic interest in East Poultney. Among these are the Eagle Tavern dating to 1780, the

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of And ...

Baptist church built in 1805 by master builder Elisha Scott, and the 1823

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congres ...

House. East Poultney was the original home of Heman Allen, brother of Ebenezer Allen and cousin of Revolutionary War hero

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

, founder of the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...

'', and

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

, co-founder of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', both lived in East Poultney in the late 1820s. Greeley served an apprenticeship at the ''Northern Spectator'' newspaper owned by Amos Bliss from 1826 to 1830. The green and nearby streets look very similar to the way they were in the 1800s. In the last half of the 19th century slate became a major export from the region. This attracted immigrants from many countries including Wales. Lack of social mobility, experience in processing slate, and a depressed economy in Wales encouraged many Welsh slate workers to come to the Poultney region. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many of the Welsh last name in the area are pronounced using the original Welsh pronunciation. The choir at Green Mountain College was said to have the only fully Welsh repertoire in the United States. The East Poultney Historic District and the Poultney Village Historic District are both listed in 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 ...

. Among historical buildings located there are the Union Academy dating to 1791, the Melodeon Factory built in 1840, and the 1896 Victorian school house. Poultney shares Lake St. Catherine (about ) with the town of Wells. Poultney lies in a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

belt, where slate roofing, tiles, and building blocks are mined and milled.Collins, Edward Day, ''A history of Vermont, with the state constitution, geological and geographical notes, bibliography, chronology, statistical tables, maps, and illustrations'', Boston: Ginn and company, 1916
/ref>

Geography

According to the

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

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.94%, is water. Situated to the west of 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 ...

, Poultney is drained by the Poultney River, a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

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

. The town is crossed by

Vermont Route 30 Vermont Route 30 (VT 30) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. VT 30 runs from U.S. Route 5 in Vermont, U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and Vermont Route 9, VT 9 in Brattleboro, Vermont, Brattleboro to U.S. Rout ...

, Vermont Route 31, and Vermont Route 140. The village of Poultney is located entirely within the town.

Neighboring cities and towns

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 3,633 people, 1,287 households, and 845 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 82.7 people per square mile (31.9/km²). There were 1,673 housing units at an average density of 38.1 per square mile (14.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.16%

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 ...

, 0.69%

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 ...

, 0.47% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 0.55% 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 0.58% of the population. There were 1,287 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% 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, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.92. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 17.6% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,711, and the median income for a family was $40,556. Males had a median income of $31,148 versus $25,303 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 $14,963. About 6.3% of families and 9.3% 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 7.7% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Amsale Aberra, Ethiopian-born American fashion designer and entrepreneur * Ebenezer Allen (1743–1806), soldier, pioneer, and member of the Vermont General Assembly; founder of Poultney * Heman Allen (1779–1852), US congressman * Jeffrey Brace (1742–1827), American Revolutionary War, Black Patriot soldier, farmer, author, and first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

citizen of Poultney, Vermont *

Oliver Cowdery Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American religious leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first bapt ...

(1806–1850), leader in the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

William Duell Darwin William Duell (born George William Duell; August 30, 1923 – December 22, 2011) was an American actor and singer. He was known for his roles as Andrew McNair in the musical ''1776 (musical), 1776'', Jim Sefelt in the 1975 film ''One Fl ...

, actor and singer * Richie Grant, soccer coach *

(1811–1872), newspaper editor, reformer, presidential candidate and US congressman * Oreola Williams Haskell (1875–1953), suffrage activist, philanthropist, author, and poet * David G. Hooker (1830–1888), mayor of

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Wisconsin *

(1811–1891), co-founder of ''

'' * Marcellus Jones (1830–1900), Civil War soldier * William Miller (1782–1849), American Baptist preacher (Millerite movement) * Edward H. Ripley, American businessman and Union Army officer in the Civil War * William Y. W. Ripley, Union Army officer in the Civil War and recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

George E. Royce George Edmund Royce (January 1, 1829 – March 5, 1903) was an American businessman from Rutland (city), Vermont, Rutland, Vermont who was prominent in the quarrying and building stone industry. He was also a banker, jointly founding the Baxter ...

, American businessman and banker * Ethan Smith (1762–1849), Congregationalist clergyman and author of '' View of the Hebrews'' * Terry Williams (b. 1952), member of 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 ...

* John E. Woodward (1870–1944), U.S. Army brigadier general

References

External links

Town of Poultney official website

Poultney Chamber of Commerce

Poultney Public Library

Green Mountain College

Horace Greeley Foundation

Poultney Snow Devils Snowmobile Club
{{authority control Towns in Vermont Towns in Rutland County, Vermont