Panton is a town in
Addison County, Vermont
Addison County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,363. Its shire town (county seat) is the town of Middlebury (town), Vermont, Middle ...
, United States. The population was 646 at the
2020 census.
Geography
Panton is located in northwestern Addison County, along the
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
* ...
–Vermont border. The western side of the town extends into
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
, and Dead Creek is a broad water body that crosses the entire town south to north near the town center.
Otter Creek forms much of the eastern border of the town. Neighboring towns and cities are
Ferrisburgh to the north,
Vergennes to the northeast,
Waltham to the east, and
Addison to the south. Bordering across Lake Champlain, which is approximately wide in this area, is the town of
Westport, New York.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, Panton has a total area of , of which is land and , or 29.70%, is water.
As is common in the
Champlain Valley
The Champlain Valley is a region of the United States around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York extending north slightly into Quebec, Canada. It is part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin, drained northward by the Richelieu River ...
, much of the land in Panton is flat and suitable for agriculture. For centuries, locals have quarried and used a native stone, known as Panton Stone, for building foundations and walls. The stone collected in Panton is from the Ordovician
Crown Point Formation, therefore it is common to find fossils of invertebrates preserved in objects made from Panton Stone.
Demographics
As of the census
of 2000, there were 682 people, 248 households, and 192 families residing in the town. The population density was 44.1 people per square mile (17.0/km
2). There were 276 housing units at an average density of 17.8 per square mile (6.9/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.92%
White, 0.73%
Native American, 0.15%
Asian, and 2.20% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.15% of the population.
There were 248 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.1% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.2% were non-families. 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 25.2% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $46,184, and the median income for a family was $49,375. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $24,375 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $20,586. About 4.7% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.
History
Retreating from the
Battle of Valcour Island
The Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, was a naval engagement that took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the New York mainland and Va ...
, one of the first
naval battles
Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large lan ...
of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, American General
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecti ...
ordered his men to run their five vessels aground in Ferris Bay (now called Arnold's Bay) in Panton, where the waters were too shallow for the larger British vessels to follow. These boats were stripped, and set on fire, with their flags still flying.
Arnold, the last to land, personally torched his flagship Congress.
In popular culture
The station agent who advises the protagonist about visiting a secretive coastal town in
H.P. Lovecraft's horror novella ''
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
''The Shadow over Innsmouth'' is a horror novella by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written in November–December 1931. It forms part of the Cthulhu Mythos, using
its motif of a malign undersea civilization, and references several shared el ...
'' says that he originally came from Panton.
References
External links
Town of Panton official websitePanton Community Baptist Church
{{authority control
Towns in Vermont
Towns in Addison County, Vermont