Eden is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an o ...
in
Lamoille County
Lamoille County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,945, and it is the third-least populous county in Vermont. Its shire town ( county seat) is the town of Hyde Park, while Morrist ...
,
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
, United States. The population was 1,338 at the
2020 census.
Geography
Eden is one of the largest towns in Vermont by area. According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.54%, are water;
are conserved land. The villages of Eden and Eden Mills, each of which has its own
ZIP Code, are in the center of the town, Eden to the west and Eden Mills to the east.
The center of the town is drained by the Gihon River, a southwest-flowing tributary of the
Lamoille River. The eastern portion of the town drains southward via Boomhour Branch and Wiley Brook to the Green River, another tributary of the Lamoille. The westernmost part of town drains to the North Branch of the Lamoille. The
Long Trail passes through the town on the crest of the
Green Mountains
The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Quebec, Canada. The part of the same range that is i ...
, separating the North Branch watershed from the Gihon River watershed.
Vermont Route 100 crosses the center of town, passing through the villages of Eden and Eden Mills. Route 100 leads northeast to
Route 105 in the western part of
Newport and southwest to
Hyde Park.
Route 118 leaves Route 100 in Eden village and leads northwest to
Montgomery.
The
Babcock Nature Preserve The Babcock Nature Preserve is located in Eden, Vermont. The preserve comprises a 1,000-acre (1.4 km²) tract of boreal forest land. The tract was donated to Vermont State Colleges by Robert and Anne Hanchett Babcock. Mr. Babcock was a Lieute ...
, a geologically significant tract of land used by
Johnson State College and students of other
Vermont state colleges
The Vermont State Colleges System (VSCS) is the system of public colleges in the U.S. state of Vermont. It was created by act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1961. There are presently four colleges in the VSCS consortium, they are: Castleton ...
, is located in the northwest part of Eden. The preserve is used for teaching courses in geology, field biology, and field ornithology.
Lake Eden is located in Eden and is a popular summer destination; a lottery is held each fall to reserve RV sites for the following summer.
Eden Notch is located at the northern edge of Eden on Route 100.
School
The single public school in Eden serves slightly more than 100 students. The ECS mascot is Eddie the Eagle. Eden Central School is located at 140 Knowles Flat Road just off route 100. The school serves Pre-K through 6th-grade students. In 2018, ECS was the recipient of a Year of the Book Grant from the Children's Literacy Foundation.
Middle and high school students attend
Lamoille Union High School in Hyde Park, as Eden is part of the Lamoille North Unified School District. The school boasts an outdoor classroom area, a large garden, sports fields, and a very vibrant after school program. ECS receives tremendous support from the community. Open houses, concerts, celebration events and graduations are all widely attended.
Government
Legislators
The two-member at-large
Essex-Orleans Senate district includes the town of Eden, as well as parts or all of
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
,
Orleans,
Franklin and
Lamoille counties.
History
Eden was chartered in 1781 to 72
Green Mountain Boys who fought in the
Revolutionary War. However, town history shows that Eden was not settled until after 1800, and none of the veterans to whom the town was originally chartered ever settled there.
Belvidere Mountain
An
asbestos mine on Belvidere Mountain which operated from 1936 to 1993 left an estimated of mill tailings. In 2008, the state warned residents of Eden and nearby towns that there was a "health risk" for people living within a radius of the mine. The aboveground mill tailings had seeped into the ground water systems and were estimated at .
In April 2009, the Vermont Department of Health released a revised study which found that all of the deaths related to the asbestos mine were caused by exposure, residing with in the ten-mile radius, and consuming ground waters. The report also concluded that people living near the mines had higher increased risk of asbestos-related illness vis-a-vis people living anywhere else in Vermont.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
of 2000, there were 1,152 people, 409 households, and 312 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was 18.1 people per square mile (7.0/km
2). There were 582 housing units at an average density of 9.2 per square mile (3.5/km
2). 151 (26%) of those housing units were seasonal homes. The racial makeup of the town was 95.57%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 0.17%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 1.30%
Native American, 0.09%
Asian, 0.43%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, and 2.43% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.22% of the population.
There were 409 households, out of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were couples living together and joined in either
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
or
civil union, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.1% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,417, and the median income for a family was $35,380. Males had a median income of $27,717 versus $21,705 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $13,391. About 10.3% of families and 10.7% 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 14.1% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Philip Cummings, news analyst and lecturer; had a summer home in
Eden Mills
*
Frank Plumley, U.S. congressman; born in Eden
*
Harold C. Sylvester, Judge of the Vermont Superior Court and Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court; born in Eden
*
George W. Weightman
Major General George William Weightman (born June 15, 1951) was a U.S. Army Family Medicine physician who was commander of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC). He was relieved of his WRAMC c ...
, U.S. Army major general; born in Eden Mills
References
External links
*
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Towns in Vermont
Towns in Lamoille County, Vermont