Middlebury (town), Vermont
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Middlebury is a town located in Addison County, Vermont. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 8,183.
Middlebury is the home of Middlebury College, founded in 1800.
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Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 101.4 km² (39.2 mi²). 101.1 km² (39.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.36% water.
The Middlebury village is centered in the northwest corner of the town boundaries, at the Otter Creek falls. To the east Middlebury is bordered by the foothills of the Green Mountains and the towns of Ripton and Lincoln there-in. The northern boundary of Middlebury heads east from the Belden Falls of the Otter Creek, near the confluence of the Otter Creek and the New Haven River, with the towns of New Haven and Bristol to the north. To the west Middlebury is bordered by the towns of Weybridge and Cornwall, Vermont in the center of the Champlain Valley. To the south of Middlebury is the town of Salisbury, also at the base of the foothills.
Major geographical features within the town are: The Otter Creek which runs from south to north along the western edge of the town, with the falls at the center of the Middlebury village; the East Middlebury River which flows west to the Otter Creek out of the mountains from Ripton along the southern edge of the town; and Chipman Hill, a hill of glacial till rising 450 ft (140m) above the village just to the northeast of the village.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 8,183 people, 2,657 households, and 1,533 families residing in the town. The population density is 80.9/km² (209.7/mi²). There are 2,805 housing units at an average density of 27.7/km² (71.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 94.27% White, 1.09% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.87% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.81% from two or more races. 2.13% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 2,657 households out of which 27.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% are married couples living together, 10.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% are non-families. 35.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 14.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.24 and the average family size is 2.90.
In the town the population is spread out with 17.5% under the age of 18, 31.4% from 18 to 24, 18.6% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 27 years. For every 100 females there are 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $37,723, and the median income for a family is $46,691. Males have a median income of $32,645 versus $25,994 for females. The per capita income for the town is $17,926. 9.6% of the population and 5.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 8.2% of those under the age of 18 and 6.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
The town of Middlebury was chartered on November 2, 1761. In the following decades early settlers including the Foote, Painter, (* add a more full list) families cleared fields from the forests in the valley, ran their farms, and vied for the lucrative honor of having the village located on their properties. A survey dispute with the town of Salisbury in (* the 1890's?) lead to the forfeiture of Gamaliel Painter's farm to Salisbury and Painter's transition from farming to the development of the village near his(*?) and the other mills that surrounded the Otter Creek falls that run underneath what is now Main Street.
Middlebury College is the host of the annual Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the oldest surviving such conference in the United states.
(* edits needed, resouces)
External links
- Middlebury town website (http://www.middlebury.govoffice.com/)
- Henry Sheldon Museum (http://henrysheldonmuseum.org/) - Vermont and community history
- Early Vermont Maps and Atlases (http://maozi.middlebury.edu/SharingVTHistory/MapsAtlases/) - Maps of Middlebury and the region from the 18th and 19th centuries. (hosted by Middlebury College).
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