Brownington is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,042 as of the 2020 census.

Geography

thumb|left|Brownington Center from the northwest

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.4&nbsp;square miles (73.6&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 28.3&nbsp;square miles (73.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.1&nbsp;square mile (0.4&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) (0.49%) is water.

Brownington has three unincorporated villages: Brownington, Brownington Center, and Evansville.

The lie of the town is moderate but uneven. The central part of town is somewhat elevated. The Willoughby River flows through the southern part of town. Small streams are found throughout. Brownington Pond is in the north, partly in Derby.

The northeast part of town is delimited from its neighbor, the town of Charleston, by Chilafoux Road, which runs northwest–southeast, for about one-third of its length.

Geology

Rocks are mostly of the calciferous mica schist, except in the southeastern part, where they are granite. A narrow vein of hornblende schist extends through the central part, from north to south.

History

thumb|left|The Old Stone House Museum

The town was named after the family Brown. Two chief grantees of Brownington were Daniel and Timothy Brown. There were six other male Browns and one woman, Sarah.

Until 1816, court convened here, alternating with Craftsbury, both shire towns of the county. After that year, the legislature changed the county seat to Irasburg.

Alexander Twilight built Athenian Hall, now called the Old Stone House as a dormitory for a boarding academy in 1836. It is a museum today.

Part of the museum complex is the Samuel Read Hall House, located on the Hinman Settler Road. This Federal-style building was completed in 1831. For about twenty years it was the home of Hall, a pioneer in the field of American education.

The Orleans County Grammar School was moved back to its original location on August 8, 2016, by a team of 46 oxen. The school was built in 1823.

  • Town Clerk – Cheryl Galipeau
  • Tax Collector – Valerie Faust
  • Auditors – Barbara Thompson, Kim Hastings, Brandy Robillard
  • Member, Planning Board – Roger Samuel
  • Second Constable – Renee Falconer
  • General Fund Budget – $227,683
  • Highway Budget – $571,270

In 2008, the town received its fire department services from the adjacent village of Orleans in the town of Barton.

School District

The local school is part of the OSCU (Orleans Central Supervisory Union). The local school educates students K–8. Brownington pays the OCSU to educate grades 9–12 out of its budget at Lake Region Union High School (#24).

  • School Director – Larry Chase
  • Principal – Elaine Collins
  • Student:Teacher ratio – 12:1 (State average 10:1)
  • Budget – $1,915,545

Demographics

As of the census

  • Annual Native American Crafts Fair since 1998.
  • Annual International Pow Wow. Has been held since 1991.
  • One of forty 'places to visit' on Vermont's Northeast Kingdom Geotourism MapGuide

Notable people

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  • Portus Baxter, US congressman
  • Stephen Perry Jocelyn, US Army brigadier general, born in Brownington
  • James Woodward Strong college president; brother of William Strong
  • William Barstow Strong, president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway; brother of James Strong
  • Dave Templeman, Vermont state legislator
  • Alexander Twilight, first African American to serve in a state legislature and to receive a degree from an American University

References

  • Official website
  • Old Stone House Museum A notable building in the Brownington Village Historic District.