Marlboro is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,722 at the 2020 census. The town is home to the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum and Potash Hill, the campus that was formerly Marlboro College. Potash Hill hosts the Marlboro Music School and Festival each summer, as well as other arts and education programs throughout the year.

History

Named "New Marlborough" for the Duke of Marlborough until 1800, the town was a New Hampshire grant chartered on April 29, 1751, to Timothy Dwight and 64 others from Northampton, Massachusetts and vicinity. The French and Indian War prevented settlement, so the first charter was forfeited and a new one issued the town grew rapidly between 1764 and 1770 with emigrants from Massachusetts and Connecticut. By 1799 there were 313 children registered in the town's schools.

Town Common

thumb|left|upright=0.85|The Town Common in 1908

thumb|left|upright=0.85|The Town House, used for town meetings, was built in 1822, and later moved to its current location

Located on the Town Common are the Town House (1822), used for town meetings, the Town Offices and Post Office building (1969), the Marlboro Meeting House Congregational Church (1931), and the Whetstone Inn ().

The town's first church was organized in 1776, and put up at the top of Town Hill in 1778. In 1820, it was replaced by a newer structure nearby, and timbers and board from the old church were used in 1822 to build the Town House, which was also located in the vicinity. Between 1836 and 1844 both of these buildings—the church and the Town House—were moved down the hill to about their current locations on the Town Common. The church burned down in 1931 was replaced by the current one, which is roughly a reproduction of its predecessor, except slightly smaller.

The Whetstone Inn was built around 1775 by Deacon Jonas Whitney, who arrived in Marlboro in 1773. Over its history, it has been various used as a courthouse, church, tavern, dance hall and post office. by Walter Hendricks, for returning World War II veterans, with poet Robert Frost as its first trustee.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.7&nbsp;square miles (105.3&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 40.3&nbsp;square miles (104.5&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.3&nbsp;square mile (0.8&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) (0.79%) is water. Marlboro is drained by the western branch of the West River, Whetstone Brook and the Green River.

The town is crossed by Vermont Route 9, also known as the "Molly Stark Trail".

Demographics

As of the census