Swanton 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 6,701 at the 2020 census. The town includes the village of Swanton.

History

The town of Swanton was chartered in 1763 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 ...

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 ...

, the governor of the

Province of New Hampshire The Province of New Hampshire was an English colony and later a British province in New England. It corresponds to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America. It was named after the Englis ...

. It was named for Captain William Swanton, an officer in the British Army who had traveled through the area during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. There were French land grants in the area beginning in 1734, and small French settlements including a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

mission in what is now Swanton from as early as 1740, when settlers in

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, ...

used a water route from

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

and

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 ...

to reach the banks 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 ...

near what are now known as Swanton Falls. None of the original grantees who received the charter from Governor Wentworth settled or resided in Swanton, opting instead to sell or trade their shares. Because of its proximity to the border with

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

, and later the Province of Quebec, it was not populated by anyone from the British colonies in the 1760s and 1770s, the newly independent United States in the 1770s and 1780s, or the

Vermont Republic The Vermont Republic, officially known at the time as the State of Vermont, was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The state was founded in January 1777, when delegates from 28 towns met ...

in the early 1780s. As late as 1786,

Ira Allen Ira Allen (April 21, 1751 – January 7, 1814) was one of the founders of the U.S. state of Vermont and a leader of the Green Mountain Boys during the American colonial period. He was the younger brother of Ethan Allen. Biography Ira Allen was ...

owned 59 of the original 64 shares. In 2013, human artifacts dating from 7,000 years ago were found near the Missisquoi River, including a Neville-type stone object that might have been attached to a spear.

Geography

Swanton is located in western Franklin County, bordered on the west by

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 ...

and Grand Isle County. The town limits extend northwest to the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

within

Missisquoi Bay Missisquoi Bay is a large extension in the northern part of Lake Champlain, at the East of the output of the latter in Richelieu River. It takes the form of a violin head, with the neck extending from the head of the lake and is about in diameter. ...

, west of

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

. St. Albans, the Franklin County seat, is to the south. Interstate 89 and U.S. Route 7 run more or less parallel in a north-south direction through the town, with US 7 passing through the village of Swanton and I-89 providing access from Exit 21 just east of the village. Vermont Route 78 crosses US 7 in the center of Swanton village, leading east to Enosburg Falls and west across Lake Champlain to Alburg. Vermont Route 36 leads west from Swanton village to Lake Champlain, then turns south along the shore to St. Albans Bay. Vermont Route 207 runs north-south across the town east of I-89, connecting Highgate Center to the north with St. Albans to the south.

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 ...

crosses the east end of the town, leading northeast to Enosburg Falls and southwest to St. Albans. 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 22.11%, is water. The village of Swanton is in the north-central part of the town, and the community of Fonda is in the south-central part. Both communities are along US 7. A large portion of the

Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. state of Vermont located on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain and the southern side of Missisquoi Bay. The refuge is in Franklin County, Vermont, Franklin County in ...

, where the Missisquoi River enters Lake Champlain, is in the northwestern part of the town.

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 6,203 people, 2,329 households, and 1,700 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 128.1 people per square mile (49.5/km²). There were 2,689 housing units at an average density of 55.6/sq mi (21.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.10%

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 ...

, 0.42%

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 ...

, 3.40% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.18% from other races, and 2.43% 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 0.44% of the population. There were 2,329 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% 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, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.05. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $41,086, and the median income for a family was $45,810. Males had a median income of $32,789 versus $25,579 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 $18,228. About 7.2% of families and 9.2% 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 12.8% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Local organizations

The Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, also known as the Mississquoi Abenaki Tribe, a

state-recognized tribe State-recognized tribes in the United States are Native American tribes or heritage groups that do not meet the criteria for federally recognized Indian tribes but have been recognized by state government through laws, governor's executive orders ...

that claims descent from Missisquoi people, is based in Swanton. This organization is not

federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.

as a

Native American tribe In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, Indigenous tribe, or Tribal nation may be any current or historical Tribe (Native American)#Other uses, tribe, band, or nation of Native Americans in ...

Swans

In 1961,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

gifted a pair of her Royal Swans to the Town of Swanton at their annual Summer Festival. Swanton Chamber of Commerce members named the swans Sam (for Uncle Sam) and Betty (for Queen Elizabeth). The idea for the swans came from a summer visitor to the area, Harry Gibbons, who worked in public relations for the International Air Transport Authority of Montreal. He presented his idea to the Chamber and a letter of request was sent to Buckingham Palace. The request was granted and the swans were sent from Hickling Broad, Norfolk, England through the Smallburgh Rural District Council which includes the village of Swanton Abbott. "The swans were caught during the annual "swan-upping" outing held by members of England's ancient guilds, who mark the Queen's swans with a nick on the beak to separate them from their less exalted brethren."St. Albans Messenger The swans were presented to Vermont Governor F. Ray Keyser by a representative of the Canadian Government at a ceremony attended by dignitaries from both sides of the border. Before summer 2016, the swans died of old age. After a gap of two years, a new set of swans (still named Sam and Betty) were secured and placed in their home in Village Green Park, surrounded by a black fence. The new swans are not related to, or descended from, the originals, but they are still called the Royal Swans.

Notable people

* Stephen F. Brown, Union Army officer in 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 ...

* Lucien B. Caswell, US congressman from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

* James Fisk, member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

* Oscar Clark Hathaway, Wisconsin state senator * Albert B. Jewett, commander of the 10th Vermont Infantry Regiment during the

* William B. La Selle, Wisconsin state assemblyman * Albert Whittemore Sanborn, Wisconsin state senator * M. Emmet Walsh, actor

References

External links

Town of Swanton official website

Swanton Historical Society

Swanton Chamber of Commerce
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swanton (Town), Vermont Towns in Vermont Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area Towns in Franklin County, Vermont 1763 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Populated places established in 1763