Montpelier, Vermont
—  City  —
Official seal of Montpelier, Vermont Seal
Location of Montpelier in Washington County, Vermont
Coordinates: 44°15′N 72°34′W / 44.25°N 72.567°W / 44.25; -72.567Coordinates: 44°15′N 72°34′W / 44.25°N 72.567°W / 44.25; -72.567
Country	United States
State	Vermont
County	Washington
Settled	1787
Incorporated (village)	1818
Incorporated (city)	1895
Government
• Mayor	Mary Hooper
Area
• Total	10.3 sq mi (26.6 km2)
• Land	10.2 sq mi (26.5 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	600 ft (182 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	7,855 (city proper)
• Density	739.9/sq mi (302.7/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	05601-05604, 05609, 05620, 05633
Area code(s)	802
FIPS code	50-46000[1]
GNIS feature ID	1461834[2]
Website	www.montpelier-vt.org

Montpelier /mɒntˈpiːliər/^[3] is a city in the U.S. state of Vermont that serves as the state capital and the shire town^[4] (county seat)^[5] of Washington County. As the capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the site of the Vermont State House, seat of the legislative branch of Vermont government. The population was 7,855 at the 2010 census. By population, it is the smallest state capital in the United States.^[6] The Vermont History Museum and Vermont College of Fine Arts are located in Montpelier.

History[link]

Bird's-eye view, c. 1912

Chartered by the Vermont General Assembly on August 14, 1781, the town was granted to Timothy Bigelow and 58 others.^[7] The first permanent settlement began in May 1787, when Colonel Jacob Davis and General Parley Davis arrived from Charlton, Massachusetts. General Davis surveyed the land, while Colonel Davis cleared forest and erected a large log house on the west side of the North Branch of the Winooski River. His family moved in the following winter.

It was Colonel Davis who selected the name Montpelier after the French city Montpellier.^[8] There was a general enthusiasm for things French as a result of the country's aid during the American Revolution.^[9] The settlement grew quickly, and by 1791 the population reached 117.

In 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette visited Montpelier on a triumphal tour of America, 50 years after the Revolutionary War.

The town developed into a center for manufacturing, especially after the Vermont Central Railroad opened in Montpelier on June 20, 1849—the same year East Montpelier was set off as a separate town. Falls on the Winooski River provided water power for mills. There was an iron foundry.

Today, government, higher education, insurance and tourism are principal businesses.^[10] The Vermont History Museum, operated in The Pavilion by the Vermont Historical Society, is an attraction.

The town had the first municipal water driven hydro system in Vermont in 1884. Water pressure generated sufficient electricity for streetlights.^[11]

The state proclaimed October 12, 1899, as "Dewey Day" to honor native son George Dewey, the hero of Battle of Manila Bay and the Spanish-American War. Thousands turned out from the state to his hometown of Montpelier for the celebration.^[12]

In 2008, the City's wastewater treatment plant, operating pursuant to its Clean Water Act permit, discharged 3,192 pounds (1,448 kg) of phosphorus into the Winooski River, and ultimately into Lake Champlain. As part of the City's discharge permit, it is allowed to discharge up to 7,253 pounds (3,290 kg).^[13][14]

Geography[link]

Winooski River at Montpelier

Montpelier is located at 44°15′N 72°34′W / 44.25°N 72.567°W / 44.25; -72.567 (44.2500, -72.5667).^[15] The city center is a flat clay zone (elevation ~520 ft/158 m), surrounded by hills and granite ledges. Towne Hill runs in a 2-mile (3.2 km) ridge (~900 ft/275 m) along the northern edge of the city. Montpelier is situated among foothills just to the east of the Green Mountains.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.3 square miles (27 km²), of which 10.2 square miles (26 km²) is land and 0.10% is water. The Winooski River flows west along the south edge of downtown village and is fed by several smaller tributaries that cut through residential districts. Montpelier is subject to periodic flooding in the flat city center, with two major floods occurring in 1927 and 1992.

On its borders are the towns of Middlesex to the west, Berlin to the south, and East Montpelier to the north and east. Montpelier lies nearly in the geographic center of the state.

Climate[link]

Montpelier features a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), with long, cold, and snowy winters, short springs and autumns, and warm summers. From January to July, daily means range from 16.4 to 67.3 °F (-8.7 to 19.6 °C). In winter, lows fall below 0 °F (−18 °C) on 24 nights and daytime highs stay below freezing for the majority of days from December to February. Snow is also frequent and remains on the ground for long stretches throughout the winter, though thaws are by no means infrequent. Average annual snowfall is 94.2 inches (2,390 mm).^[16] Summers are warm and often humid, with 2 or 3 days above 90 °F (32 °C), but rarely reaching 95 °F (35 °C).

Extremes have ranged from −34 °F (−37 °C) in January 1981 to 97 °F (36 °C), most recently recorded in July 1977.

Demographics[link]

Along with Barre, the city forms a small micropolitan area in the center of the state; together they are known as the twin cities.

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 8,035 people, 3,739 households, and 1,940 families residing in the city. The population density was 784.0 people per square mile (302.7/km²). There were 3,899 housing units at an average density of 380.4 per square mile (146.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.55% White, 0.65% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.41% of the population.

There were 3,739 households out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 years living with them, 38.5% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.1% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.0 males.

Government[link]

Montpelier's government follows the council/manager plan. The city council consists of a mayor and six members each elected from districts with each district electing two members for two year terms. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote to a two year term. The council appoints the city manager who is the chief administrative officer of the city.

The City provides municipal services for its residents and businesses. These include local law enforcement, firefighting, planning and zoning regulation, and provision for potable drinking water and wastewater.

Economy[link]

Downtown shops

Personal income[link]

The median income for a household in the city was $37,513, and the median income for a family was $51,818. Males had a median income of $35,957 versus $29,442 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,599. About 7.2% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Industry[link]

Since the city's establishment as capital in 1805 the primary business in Montpelier has been government, and by the mid-nineteenth century government and life and fire insurance.

Located in Montpelier are the New England Culinary Institute, the annual Green Mountain Film Festival and the headquarters of several insurance companies. The majority of businesses in the downtown area, mostly retail, are locally owned.

Education[link]

• A campus of the Community College of Vermont
• Montpelier High School is the city's only high school.
• Main Street Middle School is the city's only middle school.
• Union Elementary School is Montpelier's only elementary school.^[19]
• River Rock School is a private school serving kindergarten through 8th grade students.^[20]
• Vermont College of Fine Arts is a low-residency graduate school offering Masters of Fine Arts degrees in visual arts, writing, and writing for children and young adults.^[21]
• New England Culinary Institute, named one of the top three culinary schools in the nation.
• The Union Institute and University of Vermont Center Master of Education program offers education students a low-residency program that combines independent study with academic classes and workshops.^[22]

Transportation[link]

Main Street in downtown Montpelier

Because Vermont's founders deliberately placed the capital near the geographic center of the state,^[23][24] Montpelier is one of Vermont's most readily accessible cities and towns. The city is located along Interstate 89, while east-west U.S. Route 2 and north-south Vermont Route 12 are two other principal routes that intersect in Montpelier. Both I-89 and U.S. 2 provide a direct link to Burlington and the populous Lake Champlain Valley in the northwestern corner of the state. In addition, U.S. Route 302 has its western terminus in Montpelier, connecting it with the nearby city of Barre and points east.

Amtrak, the national rail passenger system, provides daily service from Montpelier, operating the Vermonter between St. Albans, Vermont and Washington, D.C. Greyhound Bus Lines operates buses that serve Montpelier. The Green Mountain Transit Authority (GMTA) operates a local bus network throughout the micropolitan area, with stops in Montpelier and Barre, including nearby Waterbury, the Vermont State House, Ben & Jerry's factory, and the local Berlin Mall. GMTA and its sister bus company in Burlington, the Chittenden Country Transit Authority, operate a series of LINK commuter buses with stops in Montpelier, Burlington and Waterbury. A few small taxi companies serve the area.

Air travelers in private planes can use the Edward F. Knapp State Airport in Berlin to access Montpelier. The closest commercial air service is located 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Montpelier, at the Burlington International Airport.

Two shared-use paths for walking and bicycling connect to Montpelier: the Cross Vermont Trail and the Central Vermont Regional Path. Montpelier's downtown is relatively compact and pedestrian-friendly, with sidewalks and crosswalks throughout the downtown area.

Sports[link]

The Vermont Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League play at the Montpelier Recreation Field.

Notable people[link]

Cultural[link]

• Kellogg-Hubbard Library—with a copy of the Parthenon Frieze^[25]
• Lost Nation Theater^[26]
• Montpelier Theatre Guild^[27]
• Vermont History Museum—in The Pavilion^[28]
• Vermont State House
• T. W. Wood Gallery & Arts Center^[29]
• Capital City Concerts^[30]

An annual local vernacular culture phenomenon, the Valentine Phantom, a tradition of covering downtown storefronts and public buildings with red hearts each February 14, began in Montpelier in the 1990s.

See also[link]

Vermont portal

• Athenwood and the Thomas W. Wood Studio
• Christ Episcopal Church
• Montpelier City Hall
• Montpelier Recreation Field
• Saint Augustine's Church

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Coolidge, A. J. & Mansfield, J. B. (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts. http://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Montpelier, Vermont

• City of Montpelier, Vermont
• Kellogg-Hubbard Library
• Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce
• State of Vermont

v t e Municipalities and communities of Washington County, Vermont, United States Shire town: Montpelier Cities Barre Montpelier Towns Barre Berlin Cabot Calais Duxbury East Montpelier Fayston Marshfield Middlesex Moretown Northfield Plainfield Roxbury Waitsfield Warren Waterbury Woodbury Worcester Villages Cabot Marshfield Northfield Waterbury CDPs East Barre Graniteville South Barre Websterville Other communities Adamant Tangletown

v t e  State of Vermont Montpelier (capital) Regions Champlain Valley Green Mountains Mount Mansfield Northeast Kingdom Counties Addison Bennington Caledonia Chittenden Essex Franklin Grand Isle Lamoille Orange Orleans Rutland Washington Windham Windsor Metropolitan areas Burlington-South Burlington metropolitan area Cities Barre Burlington Montpelier Newport Rutland St. Albans South Burlington Vergennes Winooski Festivals Vermont State Fair Green Mountain Film Festival Topics Delegations Constitution Culture Geography Government History Images People Politics Towns Villages Visitor Attractions

State of Vermont
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Green Mountain State
Motto(s): Freedom and Unity
Official language(s)	English
Demonym	Vermonter
Capital	Montpelier
Largest city	Burlington
Area	Ranked 45th in the U.S.
- Total	9,620 sq mi (24,923 km2)
- Width	80 miles (130 km)
- Length	160 miles (260 km)
- % water	4.1
- Latitude	42° 44′ N to 45° 1′ N
- Longitude	71° 28′ W to 73° 26′ W
Population	Ranked 49th in the U.S.
- Total	626,431 (2011 est)[1]
- Density	67.7/sq mi  (26.1/km2) Ranked 30th in the U.S.
- Median household income	$52,104 (20th)
Elevation
- Highest point	Mount Mansfield[2][3][4] 4,395 ft (1339.69 m)
- Mean	1,000 ft  (300 m)
- Lowest point	Lake Champlain[3][4] 95 to 100 ft (29 to 30 m)
Before statehood	Vermont Republic
Admission to Union	March 4, 1791 (14th)
Governor	Peter Shumlin (D)
Lieutenant Governor	Phillip Scott (R)
Legislature	General Assembly
- Upper house	Senate
- Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. Senators	Patrick Leahy (D) Bernie Sanders (I)
U.S. House delegation	Peter Welch (D) (list)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC–5/−4
Abbreviations	US-VT
Website	www.vermont.gov

Much of the business of local government in Vermont towns takes place each March at a town meeting held at a meetinghouse, such as this one in Marlboro, Vermont.

Vermont ⁱ/vɜrˈmɒnt/^[5] is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Vermont is the 6th least extensive and the 2nd least populous of the 50 United States. It is the only New England state not bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Champlain forms half of Vermont's western border, which it shares with the state of New York. The Green Mountains are within the state. Vermont is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north.

Originally inhabited by two major Native American tribes (the Algonquian-speaking Abenaki and the Iroquois), much of the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by France during its early colonial period. France ceded the territory to the Kingdom of Great Britain after being defeated in 1763 in the Seven Years' War (also called the French and Indian War). For many years, the nearby colonies, especially New Hampshire and New York, disputed control of the area (then called the New Hampshire Grants). Settlers who held land titles granted by these colonies were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, which eventually prevailed in creating an independent state, the Vermont Republic. Founded in 1777 during the Revolutionary War, the republic lasted for fourteen years. Vermont is one of seventeen U.S. states (along with Texas, Hawaii, the brief California Republic, and each of the original Thirteen Colonies) to have had a sovereign government in the past. In 1791, Vermont joined the United States as the 14th state, the first outside the original 13 Colonies. It abolished slavery while still independent, and upon joining the Union became the first state to have done so.

Vermont is the leading producer of maple syrup in the United States.^[6] The state capital is Montpelier, which has a population of 7,855 and is the least populated state capital in the country.^[7] Vermont's most populous city is Burlington, with a 2010 population of 42,417^[8] within its metropolitan area of 211,261.^[9]

Geography[link]

Vermont is located in the New England region in the eastern United States and comprises 9,614 square miles (24,900 km²), making it the 45th-largest state. It is the only state that doesn't have any buildings taller than 150 feet (46 m). Land comprises 9,250 square miles (24,000 km²) and water comprises 365 square miles (950 km²), making it the 43rd-largest in land area and the 47th in water area. In total area, it is larger than El Salvador and smaller than Haiti. Vermont is the smallest landlocked U.S. state.

Map of Vermont, showing cities, roads, and rivers

The west bank of the Connecticut River marks the eastern (New Hampshire) border of the state (the river is part of New Hampshire).^[10] Lake Champlain, the major lake in Vermont, is the sixth-largest body of fresh water in the United States and separates Vermont from New York in the northwest portion of the state. From north to south, Vermont is 159 miles (256 km) long. Its greatest width, from east to west, is 89 miles (143 km) at the Canadian border; the narrowest width is 37 miles (60 km) at the Massachusetts line. The width averages 60.5 miles (97.4 km). The state's geographic center is Washington, three miles (5 km) east of Roxbury. There are fifteen US federal border crossings between Vermont and Canada.

The origin of the name "Vermont" is uncertain, but likely comes from the French les Verts Monts, meaning "the Green Mountains".^[11] Thomas Young introduced it in 1777.^[12] Some authorities say that the mountains were called green because they were more forested than the higher White Mountains of New Hampshire and Adirondacks of New York; others say that the predominance of mica-quartz-chlorite schist, a green-hued metamorphosed shale, is the reason. The Green Mountain range forms a north–south spine running most of the length of the state, slightly west of its center. In the southwest portion of the state are the Taconic Mountains; the Granitic Mountains are in the northeast.^[13] In the northwest, near Lake Champlain, is the fertile Champlain Valley. In the south of the valley is Lake Bomoseen.

Vermont has 14 counties. Only two—Lamoille and Washington—are entirely surrounded by Vermont territory.

Several mountains have timberlines with delicate year-round alpine ecosystems, including Mount Mansfield, the highest mountain in the state; Killington Peak, the second-highest; Camel's Hump, the state's third-highest; and Mount Abraham, the fifth-highest peak. About 77% of the state is covered by forest; the rest is covered in meadow, uplands, lakes, ponds, and swampy wetlands.

Areas in Vermont administered by the National Park Service include the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (in Woodstock) and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.^[14]

Cities[link]

Vermont has nine incorporated cities.

Burlington, Vermont's largest city

Rutland

Montpelier, Vermont's capital city

Largest towns[link]

Although these towns are large enough to be considered cities, they are not incorporated as such.

Climate[link]

A covered bridge, set against the fall foliage, 2009

Vermont has a humid continental climate, with warm, humid summers and cold winters that are colder at higher elevations.^[15] It has a Köppen climate classification of Dfb, similar to Minsk, Stockholm, and Fargo.^[16]

Vermont is known for its mud season in spring, followed by a generally mild early summer, hot Augusts, a colorful autumn, and its particularly cold winters; the rural northeastern section (dubbed the "Northeast Kingdom") often averages 10 °F (5.56 °C) colder than the southern areas of the state during winter. The annual snowfall averages between 60 to 100 inches (1,500 to 2,500 mm) depending on elevation. The annual mean temperature for the state is 43 °F (6 °C).^[17] Vermont is the seventh coldest state in the country.^[18]

The El Nino meteorology tends to affect winters in the state with a condition known colloquially as "too cold to snow," during which time the air is too cool to contain sufficient moisture to precipitate.^[19]

In the autumn, Vermont's hills display red, orange, and gold foliage displayed on the sugar maple as cold weather approaches. This display of color is not due so much to the presence of a particular variant of the sugar maple; rather, it is caused by a number of soil and climate conditions unique to the area.

The highest recorded temperature was 105 °F (41 °C), at Vernon, on July 4, 1911; the lowest recorded temperature was −50 °F (−46 °C), at Bloomfield, on December 30, 1933; this is the lowest temperature recorded in New England (Big Black River, Maine, also recorded a verified −50 °F (−46 °C) in 2009).^[20][21] The agricultural growing season ranges from 120 to 180 days.^[22]

The USDA Plant hardiness zones for the state range between zone 3b (no colder than −35 °F (−37 °C) ) in the Northeast Kingdom and northern part of the state, to zone 5b (no colder than −15 °F (−26 °C) ) in the southern part of the state.^[23]

The state receives between 2,000 and 2,400 hours of sunshine annually.^[24]

Geology[link]