Barton Vermont VT Warrant Search

Barton, Vermont Barton is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,780 at the 2000 census. The town includes two incorporated villages, Barton and Orleans. Approximately 30% of the town's population lived in the village of Orleans, 27% in the village of Barton, and 43% outside of the villages. There are only four other towns in the state containing two incorporated villages. Town Moderator - William May Selectman- Rupert Chamberlin Selectman - Robert Croteau Selectmen - Daniel McMaster Town Clerk- Grace Mason The Selectman's Budget was $310,100 in 2008, the Highway Budget was $441,900. Legislature The Essex-Orleans Senate district includes the town of Barton, as well as parts or all of Essex County, Orleans County, Franklin County and Lamoille County. It is represented in the Vermont Senate by Vincent Illuzzi (R) and Robert A. Starr (D).In the Vermont House of Representatives, Barton forms part of the Orleans-Caledonia-1 district. Its representatives are John Morley (R) and John S. Rodgers (D). Education The town is a key member of the Orleans Central Supervisory Union. Spending per pupil in 2007 was $10,364, slightly below the state average of $11,095. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 44.9 square miles (116.3 km2), of which, 43.7 square miles (113.1 km2) of it is land and 1.3 square miles (3.3 km2) of it (2.81%) is water. Barton averages 931 feet (284 m) above sea level (ASL).The principal rock is calciferous mica schist. About two miles (3 km) from the Irasburg line, and parallel with it, there is a narrow vein of hornblende schist the whole length of the town. In the eastern corner, covering an area of several square miles, the rocks are a mixture of granite, syenite, and protogine. Iron has been found in small quantities, and some traces of gold.The highest peak in Barton is Barton Mountain - 2,235 feet (681 m) ASL. May Hill is 2,007 feet (612 m) high.Barton rivers include the Barton, and Willoughby Rivers; Hogtrough Brook, Lord Brook, Annis Brook, May Pond Brook, Willoughby Brook, and Roaring Brook.Each spring the rainbow trout swim up the Willoughby River to Lake Willoughby.Crystal Lake State Park is located in Barton. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 2,780 people, 1,153 households, and 748 families residing in the town. The population density was 63.7/sq mi(24.6/km2). There were 1,438 housing units at an average density of 32.9 per square mile (12.7/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.37% White, 0.32% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.29% of the population.There were 1,153 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.86.In the town the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males. Personal income The median income for a household in the town was $28,797, and the median income for a family was $33,872. Males had a median income of $25,922 versus $20,938 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,636. About 12.2% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over. Tourism Prior to 2010, a study was taken which showed that that second home ownership in town was 30%, not an uncommonly high percentage in the county. Industry Ethan Allen Manufacturing, in the village of Orleans, employs about 400 workers locally.A nursing home with 71 beds employs 70 people. Cellphone Barton receives Unicel (TDMA and GSM) Electricity The Barton side of Barton town is serviced by Barton Electric which generates some of its power hydroelectrically. It services 2100 customers.The Orleans side of Barton town is serviced by The Village of Orleans Electric with 665 customers. Major routes The opening of the Interstate north on November 9, 1972 and opening south in 1978 had an impact on the town comparable to the opening of the railway a century earlier. In 1980, Barton registered its first population gain in a century.Barton has 78.37 miles (126.12 km) of state road and class 1, 2 and 3 roads. 44.38 miles (71.42 km) are class 3 (dirt) roads. 21.43 miles (34.49 km) are state roads.Interstate 91- Barton to Derby U.S. Route 5- Barton to Derby Vermont Route 16- Barton to Westmore east and north, to Glover south Vermont Route 58- Barton to Lowell west and Barton to Westmore east Local community public and private transportation Vermont Transit bus company services Barton. Railroads While the Washington County Railroad (The Vermont Railway System) runs through Barton, it does not service the town. History Rogers' Rangers were forced to retreat through the area following their attack on Saint-Francis, Quebec in 1759. The fleeing rangers split up before getting to Barton. One group followed the Barton River south to the falls at the outlet of Crystal Lake where they were able to catch fish. From there, they continued south over the summit into the Passumpsic River Valley.Barton was chartered on October 20, 1789. The grant was to sixty Revolutionary War soldiers, mainly from Rhode Island and including Admiral John Paul Jones, General William Barton, and Ira Allen.From 1791 to 1793 Timothy Hinman built what is now called the 'Hinman Settler Road' linking Barton south to Greensboro and north through Brownington to Derby and Canada.The early settlers of Barton found Indian wigwams, in a decayed condition, quite numerous in the vicinity of the outlet of Barton pond (sic), from which it was inferred that it was a favorite camping ground. It is stated that an Indian, Foosah, claimed he killed twenty-seven moose, beside large numbers of beaver and otter near this pond in the winter of 1783-84.On June 6, 1810, the body of water known today as Runaway Pond flooded the Barton River Valley resulting in destruction, the results of which can still be seen today.In 1824, voters decided to fund education for all children.An academy started operating in 1852 with 107 students. This was the forerunner of Barton Academy.Railroad construction reached Barton in 1858. The first train arrived in 1863.As each new railroad terminus was built, the stagecoaches used them as terminuses as well. The stage ran north from Barton from what is now the junction of State Road 58 and US 5, north to unite with the Hinman Settler Road which came out of Glover and ran up Barton Hill over what is now Maple Hill Road then straight over to what is now the Orleans Country Club and from there to Brownington.Around 1900, a granite quarry was located on the east side of Crystal Lake. Steamboats barged stone across the lake.An Indian burial ground was discovered during the excavation for the new Barton Academy in 1907. There is no record of what happened to those artifacts.Increasing steadily, Barton's population reached a peak of 3,506 people in 1920.In 1921, the town put on a large pageant celebrating its 125th anniversary. A professional choreographer and playwright was hired. Three hundred townspeople performed, watched by 4,500 paying spectators, a record audience for the county at the time. The investment of $1,000 was recouped. The area was afterwards known as Pageant Park, now owned by the Barton village.The Portland Pipeline company built a crude oil pipeline to Montreal from Portland, Maine in 1941 to avoid U-Boat attacks when shipping by sea during WWII. In 2005, the portion of the line that passes through Barton town was evaluated and taxed at $2,277,000.The last one-room schools stopped operation in the late 1950s.In 1964, a candlepin bowling alley was opened. Up to ten leagues used the facility. It closed in 2000.In 1967, the school districts turned over their inadequately sized high schools, Barton Academy and Orleans High School to elementary school use and replaced them with Lake Region Union High School. South Barton The unincorporated village of South Barton, sometimes called Kimball Station no longer exists today. It was located near the Wheeler Mountain Road south of Crystal Lake on what is today, Route 5.In 1858, Barton (and Orleans County) obtained a triangular piece of land from Sheffield which included all of May Pond, the entire area south of Crystal Lake, and the village of South Barton.In 1861, the village of South Barton had its own post office, and, in 1874, its own railroad depot.In the early 1930s, there were 30 students in the one-room schoolhouse there.Its main industry was logging. The village foundered on lack of electric power which the other two villages in town had aggressively pursued. It tried to make up for this with steam power, but by the early 1940s the village was no longer viable. Its post office closed in 1947.Three businesses operating serially with much of the same plant were the Orleans and Caledonia Steam Mill Company, Willoughby Wood and Lumber Company and US Bobbin and Shuttle Company. Eventually the location of the latter company to New York state finalized the village's demise. Media The Chronicle- published weekly in Barton TheOrleans County Monitorwas published here from January 8, 1872 to 1953 as a weekly newspaper. Radio station WJPK - 101.3 FM, 100 watts Culture Barton village contains three areas on the National Register of Historic Places.Barton is home to the Orleans County Fair held each August at the Fairgrounds since 1868. One year Lowell Thomas was the master of ceremonies. Past fairs featured harness racing. In 2009, a state record for the mile was broken at 1:56.2.Barton has two libraries, one in Barton village, one in Orleans. Notable people Frederick W. Baldwin, practiced law with William Grout; president pro temporare, state senate (1900). Colonel William Barton, Revolutionary War officer, founder of the town. Lee E. Emerson, 69th Governor of Vermont. Josiah Grout, 46th Governor of Vermont. William W. Grout, congressman. Emory Hebard, Vermont State Treasurer (1976–1988). Henry M. Leland, engineer and automotive entrepreneur, created both the Cadillac and Lincoln brands. Orrin Wiley Locke, state senator from Orleans County. Willard Westbery Miles, Associate Judge of the Supreme Court (1905). Major General Francis W. Nye, commander of the Defense Atomic Support Agency,Sandia. Henry Alexander Stafford, professional baseball player for theNew York Giants.