Westminster 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 Windham 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 3,016 at the 2020 census. It was also the first capital of the

Republic of Vermont 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 ...

. It borders the state 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 ...

History

Westminster is Vermont's oldest existing town and was chartered in 1735 by the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

and was called New Taunton or Township Number One. The town did not have any permanent settlers in the area until 1751. New Hampshire settlers came in and the town was later incorporated in 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 ...

on November 9, 1752, becoming the third chartered town for New Hampshire west of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

. When the British government recognized the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

's claims to what is now Vermont, New York moved its Court of Common Pleas for

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

to Westminster in 1772. It was the site of the Westminster massacre in March 1775, in which two men were killed attempting to prevent New York provincial officials from exerting their authority over the area in the long-running dispute over 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 ...

. On January 15, 1777, a group of Vermonters met in the Westminster courthouse to declare the independence of the Republic of New Connecticut (later renamed the

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 (0.06%) is water.

Transportation

Westminster is crossed by

Interstate 91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, Connecticut, at I-95, whi ...

(Exit 5 serves the town),

U.S. Route 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Conn ...

Vermont Route 121 Vermont Route 121 (VT 121) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. The highway runs from VT 11 in Londonderry east to U.S. Route 5 (US 5) in the incorporated village of Bellows Falls in the town of Rockingham. VT 12 ...

and

Vermont Route 123 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 ...

. The

New England Central Railroad The New England Central Railroad is a regional railroad in the New England region of the United States. It began operations in 1995, as the successor of the Central Vermont Railway (CV). The company was originally a subsidiary of holding comp ...

has track rights through the town.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's '' Vermonter'' passenger rail line runs through Westminster but does not stop in town. The closest stations are Bellows Falls to the north and

Brattleboro Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located about north of the Massachusetts state line at the confluence of Vermont's West River and the Connecticut River. With a 2022 Census populat ...

to the south.

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 3,210 people, 1,246 households, and 843 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 . There were 1,412 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.73%

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 ...

, 0.40%

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 ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.03% 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 0.69% of the population. There were 1,246 households, out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% 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, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $44,263, and the median income for a family was $49,615. Males had a median income of $32,365 versus $26,303 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 $20,019. About 7.1% of families and 10.0% 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 10.8% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over. File:Viewing of Westminster, Vermont.jpg, Westminster is mostly rural in nature File:I-91 in Westminster, VT at sunset.JPG,

I-91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, ...

in Westminster

Notable people

Fanny Allen Frances Margaret "Fanny" Allen, RHSJ (November 13, 1784 – September 10, 1819) was the first New England woman to become a Catholic nun. The daughter of Revolutionary War officer Ethan Allen, she converted to Catholicism and entered the Montrea ...

, daughter of

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 ...

, who converted to Catholicism and became a nun after a religious experience while living in Westminster * Jerome Allen, educator and author *

Stephen R. Bradley Stephen Row Bradley (February 20, 1754 – December 9, 1830) was an American lawyer, judge and politician. He served as a United States Senator from the state of Vermont and as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate during the ...

, US Senator from Vermont *

William Czar Bradley William Czar Bradley (March 23, 1782March 3, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician. He served three terms as U.S. Representative from Vermont from 1813 to 1815, then again from 1823 to 1827. Biography Born in Westminster in the Vermont Rep ...

. US Representative from Vermont *

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

, US Representative from New Hampshire * Joseph Dorr Clapp, Wisconsin State Senator, farmer, and businessman, was born in Westminster *

Lot Hall Lot Hall (April 2, 1757 – May 17, 1809) was a Vermont attorney, politician, and judge. A veteran of the American Revolution, Hall served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1794 to 1800. His name sometimes appears in written record ...

, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court * Hiram Pratt, mayor of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

* Mark Richards, US Congressman and seventh Lieutenant Governor of Vermont

References

External links

Town of Westminster official website

ePodunk
{{authority control Towns in Vermont Vermont populated places on the Connecticut River Towns in Windham County, Vermont Capitals of former nations 1735 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies