Village (Vermont)

In the U.S. state of Vermont, villages are named communities located within the boundaries of a town. Villages may be incorporated or unincorporated.

An incorporated village is a defined area within a town that was either granted a village charter by a special act of the legislature, or organized under the general law. Village governments are subordinate to the government of the town they belong to. A village is a clearly defined municipality and provides a variety of municipal services, such as potable water, sewage, police and fire services, garbage collection, street lighting and maintenance, management of cemeteries, and building code enforcement. Other municipal services not provided by the village are provided by the parent town. Incorporated villages in Vermont are administratively similar to villages in New York. Vermont is the only state in New England that has incorporated villages.

Village government

Village officers include a clerk, five bailiffs/trustees, a treasurer, and a tax collector. The trustees have duties and powers similar to the selectmen of towns.

List of incorporated villages

As of 2011, there were 35 incorporated villages with active governments in Vermont. Historically, there were more but most have since disincorporated, while a few were chartered as cities. Below is a list of incorporated villages that have existed, ordered by date of incorporation. Currently existing villages are indicated in boldface.

Village Parent town Date incorporated Current status
Middlebury Middlebury 1816/1832 disincorporated 1955/1966
Montpelier Montpelier 1818 chartered as city in 1894
Brattleboro Brattleboro 1832 disincorporated 1927
Windsor Windsor 1832 disincorporated 1967
Bellows Falls Rockingham 1833 incorporated village
Springfield Center Springfield 1835 disincorporated ?
Woodstock Woodstock 1836 incorporated village
Rutland Rutland 1847 chartered as city in 1892
Castleton Castleton 1849 Incorporation rejected by voters
Bennington Bennington 1849 disincorporated 1967/1970
St. Johnsbury St. Johnsbury 1852 disincorporated 1965
West Poultney Poultney 1852 Incorporation rejected by voters
Northfield Northfield 1855 incorporated village
Wilmington Wilmington 1855 disincorporated 1959/1965
St. Albans St. Albans 1859 chartered as city in 1896
Newport Newport 1862 chartered as city in 1917
Fair Haven Fair Haven 1865 disincorporated 1955
Cabot Cabot 1866 disincorporated 2010
North Bennington Bennington 1866 incorporated village
Winooski Colchester 1866 chartered as city in 1921
Ludlow Ludlow 1866 incorporated village
Springfield Springfield 1866 disincorporated 1947
Plainfield Plainfield 1867 disincorporated 1984
Benson Benson 1869 Incorporation rejected by voters
Danby Danby 1874 Incorporation rejected by voters
Barton Barton 1874 incorporated village
North Troy Troy 1876 incorporated village
Richford Richford 1878 disincorporated 1998
Orleans Barton 1878 incorporated village
Randolph Randolph 1880 disincorporated 1984
Lyndonville Lyndon 1880 incorporated village
Waterbury Waterbury 1882 incorporated village
Proctor Proctor 1884 disincorporated 1967
Barre Barre 1886 chartered as city in 1894
Enosburg Falls Enosburgh 1886 incorporated village
Bristol Bristol 1886/1903 disincorporated 1994
Brandon Brandon 1888 disincorporated ?
Wells River Newbury 1888 incorporated village
Swanton Swanton 1888 incorporated village
Bradford Bradford 1890 disincorporated 2004
Morrisville Morristown 1890 incorporated village
Hardwick Hardwick 1890 disincorporated 1988
Readsboro Readsboro 1892 disincorporated 1986
Essex Junction Essex 1892 incorporated village
Johnson Johnson 1894 incorporated village
West Derby Derby 1894 consolidated with Newport 1917
Hyde Park Hyde Park 1895 incorporated village
Stowe Stowe 1895 disincorporated 1996
Lyndon Center Lyndon 1896 disincorporated ?
Jeffersonville Cambridge 1896 incorporated village
Newbury Newbury 1896/1904 incorporated village
Derby Center Derby 1898 incorporated village
Derby Line Derby 1898 incorporated village
Hinesburg Hinesburg 1898 Incorporation rejected by voters
Lyndon Corner Lyndon 1899/1917 disincorporated 1951
Island Pond Brighton 1900 Incorporation rejected by voters
Milton Milton 1900 disincorporated 2003
Manchester Manchester 1900 incorporated village
Old Bennington Bennington 1900 incorporated village
Richmond Richmond 1903 disincorporated 1989
West Concord Concord 1902 Incorporation rejected by voters
West Burke Burke 1902 incorporated village
Chester Chester 1900/1906 disincorporated 1967
Concord Concord 1904 disincorporated 1969
Cambridge Cambridge 1904 incorporated village
Glover Glover 1905 disincorporated 1973
Jacksonville Whitingham 1904 incorporated village
Poultney Poultney 1904 incorporated village
Saxtons River Rockingham 1905 incorporated village
Groton Groton 1907 inactive since 1965
Newfane Newfane 1906 incorporated village
Proctorsville Cavendish 1907 disincorporated 1987
Westminster Westminster 1907 incorporated village
South Royalton Royalton 1908 disincorporated ?
Halifax Halifax 1908 Incorporation rejected by voters
Newport Center Newport 1908 disincorporated 1931
South Ryegate Ryegate 1908 disincorporated ?
West Glover Glover 1910 disincorporated 1973
Marshfield Marshfield 1910 incorporated village
Pittsford Pittsford 1912 disincorporated 1988
Albany Albany 1915 incorporated village
South Shaftsbury Shaftsbury 1915 Incorporation rejected by voters
Alburgh Alburgh 1916 incorporated village
Townshend Townshend 1916 inactive since 1961
West Barnet Barnet 1922 disincorporated 1961
North Westminster Westminster 1925 disincorporated 2010
Perkinsville Weathersfield 1928 incorporated village
Jericho Jericho 1933 incorporated village
Essex Center Essex 1949 disincorporated 1977

References

  • E.T. Howe, "Vermont Incorporated Villages: A Vanishing Institution", Vermont History 73, 16 (2005).
  • "Continuing Issues:Villages and cities". Vermont State Archives. Vermont Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2007-09-25. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  • D.G. Sanford, Vermont Municipalities: an index to their charters and special acts, (Vermont Office of Secretary of State, 1986).
  • J.S. Garland, New England town law: a digest of statutes and decisions concerning towns and town officers, (Boston Book Co., Boston, 1906).
  • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Vermont" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 1027. "Any community containing thirty or more houses may, with the approval of the selectmen of the town, receive a separate village organization. Their officials are a clerk, five trustees, a collector of taxes and a treasurer".
  • Vermont Statutes Online, Title 24 and 24 Appendix
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Census of population, data for 1930–2000.
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