Hartford is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. It is on the New Hampshire border, at the intersection of Interstates 89 and 91. It is the site of the confluence of the White and Connecticut rivers; the Ottauquechee River also flows through the town. The town is composed of five unincorporated villages: Hartford, Quechee, West Hartford, White River Junction and Wilder. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,686.

History

The community was chartered by Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire in 1761,

On February 5, 1887, Hartford became the site of what remains Vermont's worst railway disaster when a Vermont Central Railroad train struck a broken rail on a bridge west of town. The ensuing derailment threw the train into the frozen river below, killing 37 and injuring 50.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.93%, is water. The Appalachian Trail crosses the northwest corner of the town, passing through West Hartford.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 10,367 people in 4,509 households, including 2,800 families, in the town. The population density was 229.6 people per square mile (88.7/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 5,493 housing units at an average density of 121.7 per square mile (47.0/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the town was 97.02% White, 0.55% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.16% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.85%.

  • Marion L. Bugbee, physician, suffragist, hospital administrator
  • Daniel A. Dickinson, Minnesota Supreme Court justice
  • Albert R. Hall, Minnesota and Wisconsin politician
  • Phillips Lord, radio producer and motion picture actor
  • Frank G. Mahady, Vermont attorney and judge who served on the Vermont Supreme Court
  • Samuel E. Pingree, 40th Governor of Vermont
  • Charles W. Porter, Secretary of State of Vermont
  • William Strong, U.S. congressman
  • Andrew Tracy (1797–1868), U.S. congressman
  • Joseph Tracy, leading figure in the American Colonization Society
  • Horace Wells, dentist and pioneering anesthesiologist

References

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  • Town of Hartford official website
  • Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Hartford Historical Society
  • City-Data.com
  • ePodunk: Profile for Hartford, Vermont