Guildhall ( ) is a town in and the shire town (county seat) of Essex County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262. According to a large sign in the town center, it is the only town in the world so named. The name derives from a meeting house on the square called the Guildhall.

Guildhall is part of the Berlin, New Hampshire – Vermont Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

thumb|left|Guildhall Public Library,

Guildhall was chartered by New Hampshire's colonial governor, Benning Wentworth, in 1761. Its grantees and original settlers were from Lancaster and Lunenburg, Massachusetts, and they named towns on opposite sides of the Connecticut River in New Hampshire and Vermont for their Massachusetts hometowns. The district includes Guildhall's village center and encompasses the central common and several nearby buildings.

The highest point is Stone Mountain, in the western part of town, with an elevation of .

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Guildhall has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the census

  • Everett Chamberlin Benton, Massachusetts business executive and politician, born in Guildhall
  • Clem Bissonnette, member of the Vermont House of Representatives and mayor of Winooski, Vermont, resident of Guildhall
  • George N. Dale, Vermont lieutenant governor, lived in Guildhall before moving to Island Pond
  • Henry Willard Denison, diplomatic advisor to the Japanese government, born in Guildhall
  • Samuel Read Hall, educator and clergyman, raised in Guildhall
  • Janice L. Peaslee, member of the Vermont House of Representatives, resident of Guildhall
  • John S. Wells, U.S. Senator from New Hampshire, lived in Guildhall

References

  • Town of Guildhall official website
  • A Flickr album of historic buildings