Craftsbury is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,343 at the 2020 census. The town includes the unincorporated villages of Craftsbury, Craftsbury Common, Mill Village, and East Craftsbury.

History

thumb|left|Craftsbury Town Hall

The state granted the town to Ebenezer Crafts, Timothy Newell, and sixty-two associates, on November 6, 1780. They named it Minden. It was changed to Craftsbury, in honor of Ebenezer Crafts, on October 27, 1790. Crafts was the first settler in the county.

North Craftsbury, later known as Craftsbury Common, was the first significant settlement in the town, and was for many years the center of culture and commerce, not only for Craftsbury, but for the greater region as well serving many of the neighboring towns.

Geography

thumb|left|Craftsbury, VT, from the southeast

As tabulated by the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.7 square miles (102.9&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 39.3 square miles (101.7&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.4 square mile (1.1&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) (1.11%) is water.

thumb|right|245px|A view across Craftsbury Common showing the United Church of Craftsbury, and bandstand.

Craftsbury is on a plateau on the Catamount Trail.

There are many hills and valleys. The soil varies from alluvial meadows to clay and gravel. There are more numerous grades and varieties of soil than is usual.

The rocks on the west side of the Black River also vary. These are older rocks from the Cambrian Period, Moretown Formation. State Route 14 runs along a seam where these east and west rock formation converge.

As the last glacial period ended, part of the town became submerged under the transient Lake Winooski which drained when its ice dam melted 14,000 years ago.

Demographics

As of the census

  • Selectboard – Bruce Urie, Jim Jones, Alison Blaney
  • Town Clerk – Michelle Warren
  • Treasurer – Michelle Warren
  • Collector of Taxes – Nicole Jones
  • Auditors – Ann Ingersol, Craig Taylor, Cheryl Bailey
  • Listers – Jeremiah McCann, Harry Miller & Thomas Boyle
  • Grand Juror – Carol Maroni
  • Cemetery Commissioner – Bob Davis
  • Tree Warden – Steve Moffatt
  • Trustees of Public Funds – Rudy Chase, Carolyn Ryan & Michelle Warren
  • Supervisor, Lamoille Solid Waste District – Penelope Doherty
  • Budget – $1,116,584

State representatives

Craftsbury is represented in the Vermont General Assembly by two senators and two representatives, all elected for two-year terms.

For the purposes of representation in the House Craftsbury is part of the Orleans-Caledonia 1 district, which includes the towns of Barton, Glover, Sheffield, Wheelock, Albany Greensboro and Craftsbury. For 2009 and 2010 the representatives from this district were John Morley (a Republican) and John Rogers (a Democrat)

Education

Craftsbury is home to some uniquely small and historic educational institutions. Craftsbury Academy, located on Craftsbury Common is among the oldest and smallest public high schools in Vermont, and is part of the town's K–12 school system. Sterling College is nearby on Craftsbury Common and is a college of ecological thinking and action and is recognized as a Work College by the U.S. Department of Education.

Sterling College

Expand this section on Sterling College.

Public schools

Craftsbury runs the Craftsbury Schools System, which includes the historic Craftsbury Academy (grades 5–12), and Craftsbury Elementary (grades K–4). Craftsbury Schools is part of the Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union, which also operates five other public schools; Hardwick Elementary, Hazen Union High School, Lakeview Elementary, Wolcott Elementary, and Woodbury Elementary.

  • Superintendent – Dr. David Baker
  • FY 2020 Approved Budget – $3,951,349

Culture

The Craftsbury Chamber Players have offered summer performances since 1966.

Notable people

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  • Edwin Eugene Bagley, composer
  • William A. Conant (1816–1909), member of the New York State Assembly; born in Craftsbury
  • Samuel C. Crafts, US congressman and senator; 12th governor of Vermont; one of town's founders
  • Roger L. Easton, principal inventor and designer of the Global Positioning System (GPS)
  • Horace F. Graham, 56th governor of Vermont
  • Joseph W. Hoyt, Wisconsin legislator
  • Caroline Burnham Kilgore, first woman admitted to the Pennsylvania bar (1883)
  • Bill "The Spaceman" Lee, pitcher with the Boston Red Sox (1969–1978) and Montreal Expos (1979–1982)
  • Willard W. Miles, Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
  • Leona May Smith (1914–1999), musician, co-founded and directed a summer music camp at Craftsbury, 1949–1957
  • Burleigh F. Spalding (1853–1934), North Dakota lawyer, U.S. Representative, and Supreme Court Justice
  • William Weston, politician who served in the Vermont Senate, lived and worked in Craftsbury

Craftsbury in film

Alfred Hitchcock shot the scenery for his 1955 movie The Trouble with Harry in Craftsbury. Ostensibly, the movie takes place entirely in town. Exteriors of the parsonage beside the East Craftsbury Presbyterian Church are used as well as exterior shots of Craftsbury Common. Assuming that the town would be in full foliage, the company showed up for outdoor shots on September 27, 1954. To the filmmakers' shock, there was hardly any foliage left; to achieve a full effect, leaves were glued to the trees.

The 1976 IMAX film To Fly!, a history of human flight, directed by Jim Freeman and Greg MacGillivray and produced for the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum opens with a hot air balloon passing over the Wee House and the United Church of Craftsbury on the Common.

Economy

Tourist industry

The Craftsbury Outdoor Center has of Nordic skiing trails, used for running in the summer months. The center is also home to the Green Racing Project, an Olympic development team with both rowing and skiing components.

In 1981, the first annual Craftsbury (winter) Marathon was held. In 2008, 646 skiers from 20 states and 3 provinces attended along with 295 tourists.

The Craftsbury Sculling Center is one of the oldest sculling programs in the United States, based on Little and Big Hosmer lake.

Agritourism is an important part of Craftsbury's economy. There are several farms, orchards, greenhouses and farmstands in Craftsbury, and there is a seasonal farmer's market at the Craftsbury Common every Saturday from 10am–1pm.

Transportation

Vermont Route 14 passes through town near the villages of Craftsbury and Craftsbury Common.

References

Further reading

Metraux, Daniel A. Craftsbury: A Brief Social History. Writers Club Press: 2001. .

  • Virtual Vermont Craftsbury web page
  • Sterling College
  • Craftsbury Outdoor Center
  • History of Craftsbury from the Orleans County Historical Society