Plymouth, Vermont

Plymouth is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 619 at the 2010 census.[3]Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States, was born and reared in Plymouth and is buried there as well. The State of Vermont Division for Historic Preservation owns and maintains the Coolidge Homestead and the village of Plymouth Notch.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 48.7 square miles (126.1 km2), of which 48.1 square miles (124.6 km2) is land and 0.54 square miles (1.4 km2), or 1.15%, is water.[4]

The old Coolidge store, run by John Calvin Coolidge, Sr., the President's father, housed the post office in the 1920s. John Coolidge's wife, Carrie, served as postmaster 1903–17.[5] Coolidge's father also founded Plymouth Cheese Factory, which continues to produce artisan cheese today.

South Burlington, Vermont

South Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census the population of the city was 17,904.[1] It is home to the headquarters of Ben & Jerry's and Vermont's largest mall, the University Mall. It is also one in the principal municipalities of the Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area.

The town of Burlington was organized around 1785. In 1865, the unincorporated village of Burlington was chartered as a city. The remaining area of the town came to be organized as a separate town with the name South Burlington in the same year, 1865.[5] The town of South Burlington was later incorporated as a city in 1971.

The City Center Initiative is a proposal to create a walkable downtown for the City of South Burlington. The public is investing in infrastructure to support gathering spaces, mobility and economic vitality. public infrastructure.[6] The over 300 acre area targeted to be developed and redeveloped is zoned for mixed-use including residential, commercial, and cultural spaces. The main components under design or construction by the City are a city hall, senior center and public library, streets and parks. Two main streets, Market Street and Garden Street, will be constructed and/or reconstructed to form the central routes through "City Center". These streets will be outfitted with bicycle and walking facilities, lined with trees, and include stormwater infiltration surfaces. Along these streets will be mixed-use buildings primarily for use by lower-level retail and upper-level residential units. In addition, a 7+ acre plot has been redeveloped as a public park, with walking paths through a forest, a children's discovery area, and natural art landmarks.[7]

Wardsboro, Vermont

The town was settled circa 1779 by Samuel Davis and his wife from Milford, Massachusetts.[3] It was granted and chartered on November 7, 1780 to William Ward of Newfane, for whom the town was named Wardsborough, together with 62 others. In 1788, it was divided into north and south districts, the latter set off and incorporated in 1810 as Dover. Although the terrain is very uneven and in parts rocky, farmers worked the soil into productivity.[4]

Mills were built along the brook, a tributary of the West River. In 1859, industries included three gristmills, six sawmills, one tannery, and a rawhide whip factory.[5] During the Civil War, Wardsborough Center was called Unionville because of its strong Federal sentiment. In the 1880s, Jebediah Estabrook's tub, bucket and pail factory at Wardsborough Center was the area's principal employer.[6] In 1894, the U.S. Post Office dropped the "ugh" from town names ending in "borough," so Wardsborough was thereafter known as Wardsboro.

In April 2016, the Vermont State Legislature voted to make the Gilfeather Turnip the Official Vermont State Vegetable. This unusual hybrid, dating back to the early 1900s, is credited to Farmer John Gilfeather of the Gilfeather Farm in Wardsboro.

Wilder, Vermont

Wilder is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont. It is the location of the Wilder Dam on the Connecticut River. The population of the CDP was 1,690 at the 2010 census.[4] The village center is an early example of a planned mill community, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Wilder Village Historic District in 1999.[3]

The village, originally known as Olcott Falls, is unique as an early planned community developed in part by Charles Wilder, owner of a local paper mill in the 1880s.[5][6] One feature of Wilder's plan was an orderly street plan in which streets were laid out at right angles,[6] with several of the streets named after trees. The village was renamed in honor of Charles Wilder in 1897.[7]

As of the earliest years of the 20th century, the local paper mill was operated by International Paper and Wilder boasted a railroad station, a post office, several retail stores, and electric street lighting. An iron bridge contributed by Charles Wilder spanned the Connecticut River at Wilder.[6] The bridge, the paper mill, and the dam that supplied power to the mill were all demolished in 1950 for the construction of Wilder Dam.[7]

Poultney (town), Vermont

Poultney is a town in Rutland County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. New York state is on its western border. Castleton, Vermont, is on its northern border. Poultney was home to Green Mountain College, a private liberal arts college that closed in 2019. The Village of Poultney is entirely within the town. The town population was 3,432 at the 2010 census.[1]

One of the New Hampshire Grants, Poultney was charted on September 21, 1761, by Benning Wentworth, Royal Governor of New Hampshire, and named for William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, a British politician and orator.[2]

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. 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 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.[3]

Vermont Route 11

Vermont Route 11 (abbreviated VT 11) is an east–west state highway in Vermont, United States. The western end of the highway is at Vermont Route 7A in Manchester. The eastern end is at the New Hampshire border at the Cheshire Bridge over the Connecticut River, connecting Springfield, Vermont and Charlestown, New Hampshire. The route continues into New Hampshire as New Hampshire Route 11, and then following that into Maine as Maine State Route 11. The three Routes 11, totaling 551.7 miles (887.9 km) in length, were once part of the New England Interstate system.

VT 11 begins as Depot Street at an intersection with VT 7A and VT 30 in Manchester Center within the Batten Kill river valley at the edge of the Green Mountains. It proceeds eastward across railroad tracks and the US 7 expressway, intersecting it at Exit 4. VT 11 and VT 30 then proceed northeast and east following along the path of Bromley Brook for another five miles (8 km) into the northern edge of the town of Winhall, where VT 30 then separates to the southeast. VT 11 continues on its eastward track, passing through the Big Bromley Ski Area and town center of Peru, on its way to the town center of Londonderry. In Londonderry center, VT 11 is known as North Main Street and has a junction and short overlap with VT 100.

VT 11 continues past Londonderry center, passing by the Magic Mountain Ski Area, towards the village of North Windham. From here, VT 11 turns northward, entering the town of Andover, following the path of the Middle Branch Williams River. VT 11 follows the river for about eight miles (13 km), as it turns eastward again in the village of Simonsville and continues towards the town center of Chester. In Chester center, VT 11 runs along Main Street, South Main Street, and Pleasant Street, overlapping with VT 103. After crossing the main Williams River, VT 11 heads east for three miles (5 km) then enters the town of Springfield. Within the urban compact of Springfield, VT 11 uses Chester Road, River Street, Main Street, and Clinton Street. VT 11 continues past the urban area following the Black River towards the Connecticut River as a 4 lane, undivided surface arterial. About a mile before reaching the Connecticut River, VT 11 is joined by U.S. Route 5 for about 0.8 miles (1.3 km), with an interchange with I-91. After US 5 separates, VT 11 continues east for another 0.2 miles (0.32 km), reverting to 2 lanes, one each way, before ending at the Cheshire Bridge at the New Hampshire state line. The road continues into New Hampshire as New Hampshire Route 11.

VT

Williamstown, Vermont

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.3 square miles (104.5 km2), of which 40.2 square miles (104.1 km2) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.4 km2) (0.40%) is water.

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 3,225 people, 1,248 households, and 889 families residing in the town. The population density was 80.3 people per square mile (31.0/km2). There were 1,318 housing units at an average density of 32.8 per square mile (12.7/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.33% White, 0.06% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.78% of the population.

There were 1,248 households out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% 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 3.01.

Pownal, Vermont

Pownal is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 3,527.[3] The town of Pownal includes the villages of Pownal, North Pownal, and Pownal Center.

During the Woodland period, the area was settled by the Mahican people, with others, such as the Mohawks, traveling across it. By the late 17th century, Europeans may have entered the area as a result of the establishment of the Dutch patroonship owned by Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, which extended west and east out of Albany and the fur trading community of Beverwyck. The southwestern corner of Pownal was part of the patroonship.[citation needed] Rensselaerswyck passed into English control in 1664. The first European settlers may have entered the area in the 1730s.[4] Those settlers may have been Dutch or other Europeans who leased land within Rensselaerwyck. On January 28, 1760, New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth chartered Pownal, which he named after his fellow royal governor, Thomas Pownall of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.[5]

Thereafter, settlers, primarily of English descent, began to arrive from Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. In 1766, 185 male heads of households in Pownal sent a petition to George III, asking that their land claims be recognized and that the fees required to do so be waived. Since Wentworth had granted to settlers land that the Province of New York also claimed, legal and physical conflicts broke out between "Yorkers" and settlers in the New Hampshire Grants (or "The Grants"). As a result, a number of Pownal residents joined the Green Mountain Boys under Ethan Allen.

Dawn Powell

Powell was born in Mount Gilead, Ohio, a village 45 miles north of Columbus and the county seat of Morrow County. Powell regularly gave her birth year as 1897 but primary documents support the earlier date.[1] After her mother died when Powell was seven, she lived with a series of relatives around the state. Her father remarried, but his second wife was harsh and abusive toward the children; when her stepmother destroyed her notebooks and diaries, she ran away to live with an aunt, who encouraged her creative work. Powell later gave her childhood fictional form in the novel My Home Is Far Away (1944).

At Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, she wrote stories and plays, acted in college productions, and edited the college newspaper. After graduation, she moved to Manhattan. Most of her subsequent writing would deal either with life in small Midwestern towns, or with the lives of people transplanted to New York City from such towns.

On November 20, 1920, she married Joseph Gousha, an aspiring poet and advertising copy-writer. In 1921, the couple had their only child, Joseph R. Gousha Jr. ("Jojo"), who would today likely be diagnosed with autism. Her husband abandoned poetry for the steady work of advertising, and the family moved to Greenwich Village, which remained her home base for the rest of her life. The Village served as both inspiration and backdrop for most of her writing; some of the key locations in her fiction remain standing today.[2]