Rutland is a town in

Rutland County Rutland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,572, making it the second-most populous county in Vermont. Its county seat and most populous municipality is the city of Rutland ...

, Vermont, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,924. The Town of Rutland completely surrounds the City of Rutland, which is incorporated separately from the town. The villages of the town effectively comprise the inner suburbs of the City of Rutland.

History

The town was originally granted in 1761 by Governor

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 ...

as one of the New Hampshire Grants. He named it after John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland. It is also recorded that John Murray who was the first named proprietor and from Rutland named it. It was one of the most successful of those grants because of the excellent farmland and gentle topography. In the early 19th century, small high-quality

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 ...

deposits were discovered in Rutland, and in the 1830s a large deposit of nearly solid marble of high quality was found in what is now West Rutland. By the 1840s small firms had begun operations, but marble quarries only became profitable when the railroad came to Rutland in 1851. As fate would have it, the famous quarries of Carrara in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, became largely unworkable because of their extreme depth at the same time, and Rutland quickly became one of the leading producers of marble in the world. This fueled enough growth and investment that in 1886 the marble companies saw to it that the present Rutland City was incorporated as a village, and most of the town was split off as West Rutland and Proctor, which between them contained the bulk of the marble quarries. Proctor was named for and almost completely owned by

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Redfield Proctor. In 1892 Rutland City was incorporated, and the remaining town of Rutland that encircled it was primarily rural.

Geography

Rutland is located at , elevation 164.6 m (540 ft). 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 is land and is water. Rutland is drained by Otter Creek, Moon Brook, Tenney Brook, East Creek and Mussey Brook. The town is crossed by

U.S. Route 4 U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a long United States highway that runs from East Greenbush, New York, in the west to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the east, traversing Vermont. In New York, US 4 is signed North-South to reflect its alignment in the sta ...

, U.S. Route 7 and Vermont Route 4A. The town of Rutland is home to the Diamond Run Mall and Castleton University's Spartan Arena.

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 2010, there were 4,054 people, 1,691 households, and 1,166 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 209.7 people per square mile (81.0/km²). There were 1,761 housing units at an average density of 91.5 per square mile (35.3/km²). There were 1,691 households, out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.85. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 32.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $44,420, and the median income for a family was $55,134. Males had a median income of $37,005 versus $25,053 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 $24,400. About 4.9% of families and 6.4% 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 8.8% of those under the age of 18 and 7.7% of those ages 65 or older.

Notable people

* Benjamin Alvord, Civil War general, mathematician, and botanist *

Horace Henry Baxter Horace Henry Baxter (January 8, 1818 – February 17, 1884) was a Vermont businessman who served as Adjutant General of Vermont at the start of the American Civil War. He became President of the New York Central Railroad and was one of the major ...

, businessman and Adjutant General of the Vermont Militia during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

* John Deere, blacksmith and industrialist who founded

Deere & Company Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipmen ...

* Julia Caroline Dorr, author of prose and poetry * Merritt A. Edson, general in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

Russell de Gree Flagg Russell de Gree Flagg (1892-ca.1980, fl. 1905-ca.1975) was an American luthier. Grandson of Essex County, New York, violin maker Henry Lewis Flagg, Russell de Gree Flag studied violin making with Charles Eastbrook. Flagg's violins and violas were ...

, luthier * Walter E. Flanders, industrialist *

Martin Henry Freeman Martin Henry Freeman (1826–1889) was the first black people, Black president of an American college. He also later served as president of Liberia College. Biography Freeman was born in Rutland (town), Vermont, Rutland, Vermont in 1826. After r ...

, first black president of a US college *

William Henry Jackson William Henry Jackson (April 4, 1843 – June 30, 1942) was an American photographer, Civil War veteran, painter, and an explorer famous for his images of the American West. He was a great-great nephew of Samuel Wilson, the progenitor of Am ...

, painter, photographer and explorer *

Carlene King Johnson Carlene King Johnson Drake (May 31, 1933 – April 15, 1969) was an American model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 1955. She attended Middlebury College, where she was a member of the Nu chapter Sigma Kappa sorority.Sigma Ka ...

, Miss Vermont USA 1955, Miss USA 1955 * Aaron Lewis, vocalist and guitarist of Nu Metal/rock group Staind and solo musician * William Marks, early figure in the

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

James McNeil James McNeil (born July 24, 1958) is an American businessman and politician who served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 2008 to 2013 and the Vermont Senate from 2019 to 2021. Early life and education James L. McNeil was b ...

, member of the Vermont House of Representatives and Vermont Senate * James Meacham, US congressman * Zerah Mead, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly * Kevin J. Mullin, member of the Vermont House of Representatives and Vermont Senate * Cephas Washburn, Christian missionary and educator

References

External links