Island Pond is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Brighton in Essex County, Vermont, United States. The population was 750 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Berlin, NH–VT Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The railroad
thumb|left|The former [[Grand Trunk Railroad station is now a bank branch and offices.]]
Island Pond became an important railroad center in 1853 when the Grand Trunk Railway established international connections between Montreal, Quebec, and Portland, Maine. The half-way point in the Portland–Montreal railroad line, this town became a booming railroad center with a roundhouse, shops, and all the facilities associated with train operations. In 1923, the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada was bankrupt and taken over by the Canadian government and operated as the Canadian National Railways. From 1931 until after World War II, the United States Border Patrol maintained a station in Island Pond.
With the Canadian government directing the railroad, political considerations soon outweighed the economics of the railroad; commerce was displaced from the port of Portland to the Canadian ports of Halifax and St. John. The importance of the Portland line then began a decline which was never to be reversed. Island Pond's days as a major railroad town were over by the late 1950s due to the elimination of steam locomotives. By 1960 passenger train service to Portland had ended, and three years later the diesel locomotive shop was closed. In 1966, barely a skeleton staff of people worked in Island Pond after the roundhouse closed. Canadian National continued to operate freight service to Portland until 1988; the following year, the line was sold to a short line operator, the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad, which continues to provide service.
thumb|upright|left|Common Sense Cafe at 28 Cross Street next door to Yellow Deli--both owned and operated by the Twelve Tribes.
The Twelve Tribes
Island Pond became the home of the Twelve Tribes when the religious movement relocated to Island Pond from Tennessee in 1977. The group, led by Yoneq Gene Spriggs, sought shelter from the opposition it met elsewhere, although it continually faced opposition which culminated in the Island Pond raid in 1984 where state police and state social workers seized 112 children due to allegations of child abuse. The children were returned the same day upon a determination that the raid was unconstitutional, and no trial was held on the evidence of abuse the state found. Nevertheless, the "Island Pond Raid" retains its notoriety.
Traffic enforcement
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In 2007, Brighton Constable Theodore "Ted" Miller's strict enforcement of traffic regulations became the subject of nationwide coverage. In 2006 alone, 1,224 tickets and 1,662 warnings were issued.
Geography
thumb|The Island in the Pond from which the village takes its name
Island Pond is in the center of the town of Brighton, at the north end (outlet) of Island Pond, the lake. Vermont Routes 114 and 105 pass through the community, joining as Derby Street leading south out of the center of the CDP. Route 114 leaves north from Island Pond as Railroad Street, leading to the Canada–United States border at Norton; to the south Route 114 leads to Lyndonville. Route 105 leaves east as East Brighton Road, leading to Bloomfield on the Connecticut River; to the southwest it follows Derby Street and Route 114 for , then turns northwest and leads through Charleston to Derby Center.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Island Pond CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 8.42%, is water.
Bluff Mountain overlooks the lake and the island from the north.
The Clyde River flows west out of Island Pond after which the community is named. The Abenaki called this water Menanbawk (literally, "island pond"). It was renamed "Knowlton Pond" in tribute to Luke Knowlton, the surveyor who helped lay out the town in the 1780s. The river is a tributary of Lake Memphremagog and part of the St. Lawrence River basin.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Island Pond has a warm-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Island Pond was on July 20, 1991; June 17, 1994, July 22, 1994; June 20, 1995; August 10, 2001; July 4 and September 10, 2002; June 25 and 27, 2003; July 8, 2010; July 5, 2018; and May 28, 2020, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 7, 1993.
|source 2 = National Weather Service
The weather station Island Pond AP is situated at John H. Boylan State Airport.
Fauna
A 2010 Christmas bird count found 28 species.
Demographics
As of the census
The town was the setting of the memoir A Dresser of Sycamore Trees by Garret Keizer. The town was also the subject of two historical non-fiction books by author Sharon Biron, Island Pond Reflections and Island Pond Insights.
Notable people
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- Harry B. Amey, United States Attorney for Vermont
- John H. Boylan, President pro tempore of the Vermont State Senate
- George N. Dale, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
- Porter H. Dale, U.S. congressman and senator
- Zophar M. Mansur, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
- Rudy Vallée, singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer