Essex Junction, Vermont

Essex Junction is a village located within the town of Essex in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States.[5] The population is projected to be 11,597 after the 2020 Census. [6] It was incorporated on November 15, 1892.

Essex Junction, Vermont
Village
Downtown Essex Junction
Location in Chittenden County and the state of Vermont.
Coordinates: 44°29′34″N 73°6′31″W
CountryUnited States
StateVermont
CountyChittenden
TownEssex
Area
 • Total4.74 sq mi (12.28 km2)
 • Land4.57 sq mi (11.82 km2)
 • Water0.18 sq mi (0.46 km2)
Elevation
344 ft (105 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total9,271
 • Estimate 
(2019)[2]
10,852
 • Density2,377.22/sq mi (917.75/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
05451-05453
Area code(s)802
FIPS code50-24400[3]
GNIS feature ID1457378[4]
Websitewww.essexjunction.org

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides daily service via its station in Essex Junction, the only rail station in the Burlington metropolitan area and the state of Vermont's busiest Amtrak station. The Vermonter train runs daily from the Franklin County seat of St. Albans to Union Station in Washington, D.C. It was formerly called the Montrealer; its terminus being at Central Station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The Village of Essex Junction is one of three voting districts (District 8-2) in the town of Essex, with Districts 8-1 and 8-3 together comprising the remainder of the town outside the village. The village and town each operate separate fire departments, libraries, parks departments, and municipal services, and contain separate school districts for grades K–8. Both governments collectively operate a unified police department and the unified Essex High School.

Essex Junction is home to GlobalFoundries' Burlington Design Center and 200 mm wafer fabrication plant. GlobalFoundries is the largest private employer in the state of Vermont, with approximately 3,000 employees.[7]

History

IBM and GlobalFoundries

The village history was affected in a major way by the presence of IBM (now GlobalFoundries), which chose Essex Junction as the site for its facility in 1958.

In 1958, IBM leased a 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) facility in the southeast part of the village for its new Data Processing Division. By the end of the year, there were 500 workers. In 1969, the plant expanded to 820,000 square feet (7.6 ha).

In 1982, employment reached an all-time high of 8,000. In 2007, the town listers dropped the value of the plant from a high of $147.5 million to $104 million.[8] The plant's workforce was a little over 5,000 in 2011. As a GlobalFoundries operation since July 2015, the plant retains about 3,000 employees.

Cyberbullying

In 2003, as a result of the nationally publicized suicide of an Essex Junction teenager, Vermont and other states passed legislation against cyberbullying.[9][10]

Geography

Essex Junction is located in the southwest part of the town of Essex and is bordered on the south by the Winooski River. The village is 6 miles (10 km) east of downtown Burlington via Vermont Route 15. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.7 square miles (12.3 km2), of which 4.6 square miles (11.8 km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km2), or 3.72%, is water.[11]

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Essex Junction has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.[12]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
19001,141—
19101,2459.1%
19201,41013.3%
19301,62115.0%
19401,90117.3%
19502,74144.2%
19605,34094.8%
19706,51121.9%
19807,0338.0%
19908,39619.4%
20008,5912.3%
20109,2717.9%
2019 (est.)10,852[2]17.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[13]

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 8,591 people, 3,409 households, and 2,253 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,804.1 people per square mile (696.8/km2). There were 3,501 housing units at an average density of 735.2/sq mi (284.0/km2). There were 3,409 households, out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.4% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.

Economy

Personal income

The median income for a household in the village was $53,444, and the median income for a family was $61,985. Males had a median income of $40,287 versus $26,910 for females. The per capita income for the village was $24,142. About 1.8% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.[3]

Industry

The largest industrial facility in Vermont is GlobalFoundries' semiconductor plant in Essex Junction. In 2007, the then-IBM plant had the largest assessment in the town, $104 million.[14]

Champlain Valley Expo

Essex Junction is home to the Champlain Valley Expo, a former dirt racetrack that has evolved into a large event field, with stadium seating for concerts, and multiple halls that can host a variety of indoor events.

Champlain Valley Fair

The 10-day Champlain Valley Fair is the most notable event held at the Expo. The state's largest fair consists of five components blended together at the same time:

  • A large agricultural exhibit with a dairy cows, other farm animals, and 4-H-style events for both livestock and agriculture.
  • A commercial exhibit for a variety of local and regional vendors, including Rocky's Pizza and Halvorson's Roadhouse to showcase their products to the public.
  • A large area dedicated to a mix of local foods like real maple syrup, and conventional fair foods such as fried dough and cotton candy.
  • A midway provided by Strates Shows with rides typical of a large traveling carnival.
  • Nightly concerts, which in 2010 included Lyle Lovett, Keith Urban, and Justin Bieber.[15]

The Fair was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions. The headliner for the Fair Darius Rucker will return to the Fair in 2021.

Over the last decade, total fair attendance has been almost 300,000 per year. In 2010, the fair had 46 carnival rides and almost 200 vendors.[15]

Other Expo events

Other events held at the Champlain Valley Expo include an Antique Car Show, WOKO Giant Flea Market, Nightmare Vermont, Vermont International Festival, and the Champlain Valley Balloon Festival.

Government
Town vote to mergeRevote
District 2006-11-07 2007-01-23
YesNo YesNo
6-1 (outside village) 1,2832,319 690 2,528
6-3 (outside village) 365822
6-2 (within village) 2,7281,026 2,009362
Townwide totals 4,3764,167 2,6992,890
Village vote to accept No revote
required,
result was
uncontested.
  2,922 1,085

The Village of Essex Junction was formed within the town of Essex on November 15, 1892. The village was formed to provide services (such as sidewalks, water, and sewers) to the villagers that the rest of the mostly rural town did not want, and did not want to pay for.

As the town outside the village developed, it added similar services. By 1958, the first hints of merger showed up in a voter petition. Since then a series of votes (often contentious) had defeated or passed merger in each community, but never at the same time in both. The state legislature required a positive vote in both.

This temporarily changed on 2006-11-07 when merger passed in the town as a whole, and in the village. Everyone in the town voted on the merger; the villagers voted in a second ballot on the merger if it passed the townwide vote. The large regional paper initially misreported the results as a defeat of the merger, based solely on the vote results outside the village.[16] The next day the correct results were reported in both the town's paper,[17] and as a correction in the regional paper.[18]

On December 6, 2006, a petition to reconsider the merger was submitted to the town. The petition contained signatures totaling more than 5 percent of registered voters, which is the threshold required to force a re-vote.[19] The revote was held on 2007-01-23 with a result that overturned merger by 191 votes, rejecting the current merger proposal.[20]

If the results had stood, a multi-year merger process would have resulted in a new town of Essex Junction replacing the current governments of Essex and Essex Junction.

Education

The Essex Westford School District was consolidated in 2017. The district includes and funds schools in Essex Junction, Essex Town, and Westford. The schools in Essex Junction include Essex High School, Summit Street School (K-3), Thomas Fleming School (4-5), Albert D. Lawton School (6-9), the Hiawatha School(K-3), and the Center for Technology Essex.[21]

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  4. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  5. Official map by the United States Census Bureau; Chittenden County listed on page 3. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
  6. "Essex Junction, Vermont Population 2020 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  7. by VTDigger.org. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  8. McLean, Dan; Matt Ryan (January 28, 2009). "Layoffs: Long-feared job losses hit IBM". Burlington Free Press.
  9. "Teen suicide: Greater IBMer John Halligan says there IS something we can do". Connections eMagazine. IBM. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  10. Norton, Justin M. (February 21, 2007). "States Pushing for Laws to Curb Cyberbullying". Fox News. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  11. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Essex Junction village, Chittenden County, Vermont". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  12. "Essex Junction, Vermont Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  13. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  14. Ryan, Matt (July 28, 2007). Value drops at IBM plant. Burlington Free Press.
  15. Briggs, John (September 6, 2010). "Champlain Valley Fair hits end of the ride". Burlington Free Press.
  16. Welch, Victoria (2006-11-08). "Essex Defeats Merger 2-1". Burlington Free Press.
  17. Tyler, George (2006-11-09). "Merger Wins: Confusion over vote count". Essex Reporter.
  18. Welch, Victoria (2006-11-09). "Essex merger moves forward: An apology to our Essex readers". Burlington Free Press.
  19. Welch, Victoria (2006-12-07). "New rift emerges in Essex merger". Burlington Free Press.
  20. Welch, Victoria (2007-01-24). "This time, Essex rejects merger". Burlington Free Press..
  21. "Education & Schools - Town of Essex, Vermont". Essex.org. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  22. "Biography, Guy W. Bailey (1920-1940)". Former presidents. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  23. "Residential Listings". The Essex Guide. Essex Jct., VT. 2014. p. 46 – via Issuu.
  24. "Exclusive Interviews: Season Hubley". The Escape from New York and L.A. Page. 2002. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  25. "Dewey Perry, Long-time Area Police Officer, Dies". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. October 22, 1970. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. Lindholm, Jane; Smith, Matthew F. (July 22, 2019). "'Vermont Edition' Revisits Interview With Loung Ung, Author And Cambodian Genocide Survivor". Vermont Public Radio. Colchester, VT.
  27. "Brian Wood - Class of 1990". EHS Alumni. Essex Jct., VT: Essex Westford School District. Retrieved December 25, 2020.

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