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Manchester 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, and one of two shire towns (
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
s) of,
Bennington County, Vermont Bennington County is a county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,347. The shire towns ( county seats) are jointly Bennington ("The Southshire") and Manchester ("The Northshire"), and the largest municip ...
. The population was 4,484 at the 2020 census. Manchester Village, an incorporated village, and Manchester Center are settlement centers within the town. Manchester has become a tourist destination, especially for those from
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
and
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
, offering visitors factory outlet stores of national chain retailers such as
Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers, founded in Manhattan, New York, in 1818, is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in America. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. B ...
, Kate Spade and
Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his c ...
, as well as many locally owned businesses, including the Northshire Bookstore, an
independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, c ...
.


History

The town was one of several chartered in 1761 by
Benning Wentworth Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant and colonial administrator who served as the List of colonial governors of New Hampshire, governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. While serving as governor, W ...
, colonial governor of
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. It was his custom to name new towns after prominent
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
aristocrats of the day, hoping they might adopt a patronly interest in their namesakes. Wentworth named Manchester for Robert Montagu, 3rd Duke of Manchester. First settled in 1764, the town was laid out in 1784. The land was better suited for
grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and ot ...
than
tillage Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shoveling, picking, mattock work, hoein ...
, so by 1839 about 6,000
sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...
roamed the
pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...
s and hillsides. Other industries came to include iron mines,
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
quarries and mills, and
lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...
companies. The arrival of the
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
from industrialized centers like
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
brought tourists, drawn by Manchester's historic architecture and beautiful setting among mountains. Following the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
, the town developed into an affluent resort area, which it remains today. Between 1812 and 1819, Manchester was made famous by the Boorn–Colvin case, called "America's first wrongful conviction murder case", the subject of several books and still studied today. Orvis is a family-owned retail and mail-order business specializing in high-end
fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight fishing lure, lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is Casting (fishing), cast using a fly rod, Fishing reel#Fly reel, reel, and specialized Fly line, weighted line. T ...
, hunting and sporting goods. Founded in Manchester in 1856 by Charles F. Orvis to sell fishing tackle, it is the oldest mail-order retailer in the United States. Jake Burton Carpenter, founder of Burton Snowboards, perfected
snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...
design in his garage in Manchester. The company operated out of Manchester until 1992, when it relocated to
Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
. Stratton Mountain was among the first ski resorts to allow snowboarding. The town has three distinct state-recognized historic districts—the Depot district located on Highland Avenue and Elm Street, Bonnet Street, just north of Main Street, and Main Street itself.


Geography

Manchester is located in north-central Bennington County, lying between 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 ...
to the east and the
Taconic Range The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range () are a range of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western Vermont. ...
to the west. Equinox Mountain, the highest summit in the Taconics, with an elevation of , is in the western part of the town. Manchester is drained by the Batten Kill, Lye Brook, Munson Brook, Bromley Brook, and Bourn Brook. The Lye Brook Falls Hiking Trail which leads to one of the highest waterfalls in Vermont is a popular local attraction. According to the
U.S. 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 the ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.29%, is water.


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 4,180 people, 1,819 households, and 1,156 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 99.0 people per square mile (38.2/km2). There were 2,456 housing units at an average density of 58.2 per square mile (22.5/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.87%
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 ...
, 0.38%
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or
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 ...
, 0.17% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.43% from other races, and 0.84% 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 1.75% of the population. There were 1,819 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were
married couples 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 ...
who were living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. Of all households 30.5% were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.81. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $47,196, and the median income for a family was $59,191. Males had a median income of $36,453 versus $26,017 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 $30,499. About 2.2% of families and 4.6% 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 1.9% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.


Transportation

Manchester is crossed by four highways, including one Super-2 freeway. They are: * U.S. Route 7 (Exit 4 serves the town) * Historic VT Route 7A * Vermont Route 30 *
Vermont Route 11 Vermont Route 11 (VT 11) is a east–west state highway in Vermont, United States. The western end of the highway is at VT 7A in Manchester. The eastern end is at the New Hampshire border at the Cheshire Bridge over the Connecticut River, conne ...
Green Mountain Community Network Green Mountain Community Network (GMCN) is a private, nonprofit organization, that owns and operates the public transit system by local bus in Bennington County in southwestern Vermont called the Green Mountain Express. Their bus service current ...
's Orange Line bus and MVRTD "The Bus" Manchester-Rutland Connector serve the town with public transit commuter connections to Bennington and
Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...
, respectively. The closest major airport is
Albany International Airport Albany International Airport is six miles (9 km) northwest of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority. ALB covers of land. It is an air port of entry in the town of Coloni ...
in New York, although three daily round trip flights from Rutland to
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
are available via
Cape Air Hyannis Air Service Inc., operating as Cape Air, is an airline headquartered at Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States. It operates scheduled passenger services in the Northeast, the Caribbean, Midwest, and Eas ...
from Rutland – Southern Vermont Regional Airport. Greyhound, the national intercity bus system, also serves Manchester through Premier Coach's
Vermont Translines Vermont Translines is an intercity bus company founded by its parent company, charter bus company Premier Coach, in 2013. The bus company mainly serves the US Route 7 and US Route 4 corridors in the New England state of Vermont. Aided by $400,0 ...
with an intercity bus connection between
Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
and
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...
.


Rail

Manchester has several
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self p ...
connections within a one-hour drive. * Rutland station to the north, the closest, served by the ''
Ethan Allen Express The ''Ethan Allen Express'' is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a north-south route with a 7 hour 35 minu ...
'' * Bellows Falls station to the east, served by the '' Vermonter'' *
Fort Edward station Fort Edward station (also known as the Fort Edward–Glens Falls) is an intercity train station in Fort Edward, New York. It was originally built as a Delaware and Hudson Railroad depot in 1900, as a replacement for two earlier stations. The fir ...
to the west, served by the '' Adirondack'' and ''Ethan Allen Express''
VTrans The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is a government agency of the state of Vermont that is responsible for planning, constructing, and maintaining a variety of transportation infrastructure in the state. This includes roads, bridges, sta ...
and NYSDOT have shown interest in restoring passenger train service to Manchester on a new
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
route between Albany and Burlington via Rutland, also linking up nearby Mechanicville, New York and
North Bennington, Vermont North Bennington is an incorporated village in the town of Bennington in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,716 at the 2020 census. The North Bennington Historic District was added to the National Register of Histori ...
. The new train would share much of its route with the ''Ethan Allen Express'', likely running beyond Albany to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. As of 2021, the idea is listed simply as a "potential initiative" in the Vermont Rail Plan.


Media

Like the rest of Bennington County, Manchester lies in the Albany–Schenectady–Troy television and radio media market. Manchester is home to
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...
radio station WEQX's studios. Their broadcast tower is on the summit of Equinox Mountain, from which their callsign derives, enabling their signal to reach the northern and eastern Capital Region of New York's radio market area, while also being able to reach the remainder of southern
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 ...
, western
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
and southwestern
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. In November and December 2020, John Gray's novel, ''Manchester Christmas'', became a local and regional bestseller. WVNK 91.1 FM, a VPR partner station, is also licensed to Manchester. Print news is carried in the ''
Manchester Journal The Manchester Journal is a weekly newspaper in Manchester, Vermont. The paper, founded by Charles A. Pierce, published its first issue on May 28, 1861. According to the American Newspapers Representative database, the Manchester Journal has a week ...
'' and ''
Bennington Banner ''The Bennington Banner'' is a daily newspaper published in Bennington, Vermont. The paper covers local, national, and world news. It is distributed throughout Southwestern Vermont and eastern New York (Rensselaer and Washington Counties). The pa ...
''.


Notable people

*
Elfriede Abbe Elfriede Martha Abbe (1919–2012) was an American sculptor, wood engraver and botanical illustrator, often displaying nature and simple country living inspired by her Upstate New York home. A self-publisher, Abbe created numerous hand-printed ...
, sculptor * Charles Augustus Aiken, clergyman; president of
Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
; professor at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
* Joseph Sweetman Ames, physicist; president of
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
* Frank C. Archibald,
Vermont Attorney General The Vermont Attorney General is a statewide elected executive official in the U.S. state of Vermont who is elected every two years. It was created by an act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1790, repealed in 1797, and revived in 1904. The office ...
* Edmund Bennett, judge and educator *
Myra Bradwell Myra Colby Bradwell (February 12, 1831 – February 14, 1894) was an American publisher and political activist. She attempted in 1869 to become the first woman to be admitted to the Illinois bar to practice law, but was denied admission by the ...
, first American woman to become an attorney *
James M. Clarke James "Jamie" McClure Clarke (June 12, 1917 – April 13, 1999) was a North Carolina politician and farmer. He is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives. Born in Manchester, Vermont, Clarke grew up in Ashevil ...
, US congressman * Sarah Norcliffe Cleghorn, poet and social activist * Jeremiah French, soldier, judge and political figure in Upper Canada * Jonathan Goldsmith, actor ("The Most Interesting Man in the World" from
Dos Equis DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicatio ...
advertising) * John Irving, novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter * Edward Swift Isham, Chicago attorney and law partner of Robert Todd Lincoln *
Pierpoint Isham Pierpoint Isham (sometimes spelled Pierpont, Pierrepont, or Pierrepoint; August 5, 1802 – May 8, 1872) was a Vermont attorney and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1851 to 1856. Biography Isham was born ...
, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court * Robert Todd Lincoln, first son of Abraham Lincoln *
Richard Wall Lyman Richard Wall Lyman (October 18, 1923 – May 27, 2012), the seventh president of Stanford University, was an American educator, historian, and professor. Biography An historian of the British Labour Party, Lyman spent two years at the London ...
, president of
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
; president of the
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropy, philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, aft ...
* Ahiman Louis Miner, US congressman * Elizabeth Page, author *
Benjamin S. Roberts Benjamin Stone Roberts (November 18, 1810 – January 29, 1875) was an American lawyer, civil engineer, and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Early life Roberts was born in Manchester, Vermont. He graduated from the Un ...
, Civil War general * Robert Roberts, mayor of
Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
* The Samples, alternative rock band * Clara Sipprell, photographer * Richard Skinner, jurist, US congressman, Governor of Vermont * Joseph Dresser Wickham, headmaster of Burr and Burton Academy * Treat Williams, movie and television actor


See also

* Manchester, Dorset and Granville Railroad


References


External links


Town website

Manchester Historical Society & Museum

Manchester and the Mountains Vermont
Regional Chamber of Commerce
History of Manchester, Vermont
(1839) {{DEFAULTSORT:Manchester (Town), Vermont Towns in Vermont County seats in Vermont Towns in Bennington County, Vermont