Sheldon 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 Franklin County,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, United States. The population was 2,136 at the 2020 census. It contains the unincorporated community of Sheldon Springs.

Geography

Sheldon, named for Revolutionary War colonel Elisha Sheldon,Colonel Elisha Sheldon - Sheldon
at Waymarking.com. was initially called Hungerford, because of the charter, Samuel Hungerford.Samuel Hungerford - Sheldon
at https://sheldonvthistorical.org. The town is located in central Franklin County on both sides of 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 ...

, a west-flowing tributary of

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 ...

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 ...

follows the river for most of its way through the town, leading east into Enosburg Falls and southwest to St. Albans, the

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 ...

. Vermont Route 78 leads northwest from Sheldon Junction down the Missisquoi to Highgate Center and Swanton. Vermont Route 120 leads north from North Sheldon to Franklin, and Vermont Route 236 leads north from South Franklin (in the eastern part of Sheldon) to East Franklin. Sheldon Springs is in the west part of Sheldon along Route 105 south of the Missisquoi. 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 1.85%, is water.

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 1,990 people, 672 households, and 544 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 51.5 people per square mile (19.9/km²). There were 691 housing units at an average density of 17.9 per square mile (6.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.38%

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 ...

, 0.15% Black or African American, 2.31% Native American, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 2.06% 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 0.45% of the population. 39% were of French and French Canadian ancestry, 14% Irish, and 10% English. There were 672 households, out of which 42.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.9% 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, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.0% were non-families. 12.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.15. In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $42,179, and the median income for a family was $45,833. Males had a median income of $30,870 versus $23,833 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 $17,134. About 8.2% of families and 10.5% 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 10.5% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Lorenzo A. Babcock, first Attorney General of Minnesota Territory * Elihu Goodsell, Wisconsin legislator and businessman was born in Sheldon * Heber C. Kimball, nineteenth-century Mormon apostle, born in Sheldon Andrew Jenson,
Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia
' (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1901), 1:34. * Bob Laraba, professional and collegiate football player

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Vermont Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area Towns in Franklin County, Vermont