Lowell is the westernmost town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 887 at the 2020 census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 56.1&nbsp;square miles (145.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 56.0&nbsp;square miles (145.1&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.1&nbsp;square mile (0.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) (0.11%) is water. The unincorporated village of Lowell is in the center of the town.

Geology

Circa 400 million years ago, large and slow moving upheavals formed the serpentine rock and the asbestos fiber which sometimes accompanies serpentine. This serpentine comprises Brown's Ledges at the Lowell-Westfield border. A rare fern species, Adiantum viridimontanum, grows which can tolerate the high nickel content of serpentine. Serpentine also contains iron, so much so that some rocks can be magnetized. This affects where cell towers can be placed in town. The iron oxide gives the color brown to "Brown's Ledges."

The major Baie Verte fault<!---needs to be linked differently when article is available on fault itself---> line runs through Lowell. The Burgess branch of the river follows the fault with serpentine rocks on one side and nonserpentine rocks on the other.

History

Lowell was chartered in 1787 by Governor Thomas Chittenden to John Kelley in 1787, for whom it was named Kellyvale. The first people other than the Native Americans to come to Lowell was in 1778 when the area was surveyed, preparatory to Col. John Hazen constructing a road to Canada for military purposes. This road was abandoned at what is now named Hazen’s Notch on Route 58.

The first settlers were Major Caldwell and family from Barre, Massachusetts in 1806. The town was formally organized in 1812, the same year the first school began with twelve students.

The presence of asbestos was first noted in 1824.

In 1831 the name was changed to Lowell; the origin remains uncertain.

The town grew from 144 people in 1820 with an average age of 17, to 413 in 1840 with an average age of 12.

By 1840 Churches had been built and Methodist, Congregational, Baptist and Roman Catholic services were being held.

During the first half of the nineteenth century, the population inflow was predominantly from other states of the US. In the second half the new arrivals were more often foreign-born - from Ireland and from French-speaking Canada. By 1870 the population was 944 and it reached its peak in 1890 when it stood at 1,178. Farming and lumber were its main economic base. Dairy products and hardwood were both exported to other states. Silsby and Company lumber mill closed in the 1920s. This loss of jobs resulted in a population drop of 40% between 1920 and 1940.

Several tons of asbestos were mined in 1870. By 1910, Lowell produced half the asbestos mined in the United States.

The asbestos mine in Lowell was of economic importance from the 1940s to the mid-1980s. In the mid-1940s, the Belvidere mines produced more than 90% of all U.S. asbestos. In 1967, the mine produced of asbestos fiber [sic] annually.

In 2008, the state warned residents of the town and nearby towns that there was a "health risk" for people living within a radius of the asbestos mine on Belvidere Mountain. Above ground mill tailings were estimated at . In April 2009, the Vermont Department of Health released a revised study which found that all deaths related to the asbestos mine were caused by occupational exposure. The report also concluded that people living near the mines had no increased risk of asbestos-related illness than people living anywhere else in Vermont. However, the site will still need to be cleaned up. In 2009, the expected cost of cleanup was $300 million.

In 2012 Kingdom Community Wind, built by Green Mountain Power in cooperation with Vermont Electric Cooperative, began operation. With a nameplate capacity of over 63 MW, the 21 turbines produce enough power to meet the annual needs of over 24,000 average Vermont residences, and is the largest wind farm in the state of Vermont.

Demographics

As of the census

Notable people

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  • Frederick W. Baldwin, attorney and politician who served as President pro tempore of the Vermont Senate
  • John C. Caldwell, teacher, diplomat, and Civil War general
  • Donald Collins, member of the Vermont Senate
  • Edgar S. Coolidge, farmer and legislator

Footnotes

References

  • Proceedings of the Orleans County (Vermont) Historical Society, 1913 U. S. Census
  • History of the Town of Lowell, Helen Gelo, 1976, Lowell, Vermont
  • Official website