Rutland 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. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,924. Rutland Town completely surrounds Rutland City, which is a separate municipality. The villages of the town effectively comprise the inner suburbs of Rutland City.

History

The town was originally granted in 1761 by Governor

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 ...

as 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 ...

. He named it after

John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland KG PC (21 October 1696 – 29 May 1779) was an English nobleman, the eldest son of John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland and Catherine Russell. Styled Marquess of Granby from 1711, he succeeded to the title in 17 ...

. It is also recorded that John Murray who was the first named proprietor and from

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

named it. It was one of the most successful of those grants because of the excellent farmland and gentle topography. In the early 19th century, small high-quality

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

deposits were discovered in Rutland, and in the 1830s a large deposit of nearly solid marble of high quality was found in what is now West Rutland. By the 1840s small firms had begun operations, but marble

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

only became profitable when the railroad came to Rutland in 1851. As fate would have it, the famous quarries of

Carrara Carrara ( ; ; , ) is a town and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey Carrara marble, marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some Boxing the compass, ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, became largely unworkable because of their extreme depth at the same time, and Rutland quickly became one of the leading producers of marble in the world. This fueled enough growth and investment that in 1886 the marble companies saw to it that the present Rutland City was incorporated as a village, and most of the town was split off as West Rutland and

Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...

, which between them contained the bulk of the marble quarries. Proctor was named for and almost completely owned by

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Redfield Proctor Redfield Proctor (June 1, 1831March 4, 1908) was a U.S. politician of the Republican Party. He served as the 37th governor of Vermont from 1878 to 1880, as Secretary of War from 1889 to 1891, and as a United States Senator for Vermont from 189 ...

. In 1892 Rutland City was incorporated, and the remaining town of Rutland that encircled it was primarily rural.

Geography

Rutland is located at , elevation 164.6 m (540 ft). 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 is water. Rutland is drained by Otter Creek, Moon Brook, Tenney Brook, East Creek and Mussey Brook. The town is crossed by

U.S. Route 4 U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs from East Greenbush, New York, in the west to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the east, traversing Vermont. In New York, US 4 is signed north–south to reflect ...

U.S. Route 7 U.S. Route 7 (US 7) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in western New England that runs for through the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I-95) e ...

and Vermont Route 4A. The town of Rutland is home to the former

Diamond Run Mall Diamond Run Mall is an abandoned enclosed shopping mall in Rutland, Vermont, United States. Opened in 1995, it was the second mall in the community after the Rutland Mall. Despite initial success, the mall was hampered by financial issues thro ...

and

Castleton University Castleton University was a public university in Castleton, Vermont. In July 2023, Castleton University merged with Northern Vermont University and Vermont Technical College to form Vermont State University, of which it now serves as a branc ...

's Spartan Arena.

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 2010, there were 4,054 people, 1,691 households, and 1,166 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 209.7 people per square mile (81.0/km²). There were 1,761 housing units at an average density of 91.5 per square mile (35.3/km²). There were 1,691 households, out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% 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, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.85. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 32.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...

for a household in the town was $44,420, and the median income for a family was $55,134. Males had a median income of $37,005 versus $25,053 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 $24,400. About 4.9% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 8.8% of those under the age of 18 and 7.7% of those ages 65 or older.

Notable people

* Benjamin Alvord, Civil War general, mathematician, and botanist * Horace Henry Baxter, businessman and Adjutant General of the Vermont Militia during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

John Deere Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, Transmission (mechanical device), transmi ...

, blacksmith and industrialist who founded

Deere & Company Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment an ...

* Julia Caroline Dorr, author of prose and poetry * Merritt A. Edson, general in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

* Russell de Gree Flagg, luthier * Walter E. Flanders, industrialist * Martin Henry Freeman, first black president of a US college *

William Henry Jackson William Henry Jackson (April 4, 1843 – June 30, 1942) was an American photographer, American Civil War, Civil War veteran, painter, and an explorer famous for his images of the American West. He was a great-great nephew of Samuel Wilson, t ...

, painter, photographer and explorer * Carlene King Johnson, Miss Vermont USA 1955, Miss USA 1955 *

Aaron Lewis Aaron Francis Lewis (born April 13, 1972) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and founding member of the alternative metal band Staind, with whom he released eight studio albums. Since 2010, he has p ...

, vocalist and guitarist of Nu Metal/rock group

Staind Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and ...

and solo musician * William Marks, early figure in the

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Community of Christ, known legally and from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement ...

James McNeil James McNeil (born July 24, 1958) is an American businessman and politician who served as a Republican Party member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 2008 to 2013 and the Vermont Senate from 2019 to 2021. Early life and education Jam ...

, member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

and

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 ...

* James Meacham, US congressman * Zerah Mead, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly * Kevin J. Mullin, member of the

and

* Cephas Washburn, Christian missionary and educator

References

External links