Pawlet is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,424 at the 2020 census.

History

Pawlet was one of the New Hampshire Grants, chartered from Benning Wentworth, Governor of colonial New Hampshire. The charter was granted on August 26, 1761, to Jonathan Willard and 61 other shareholders. The town was named for the Mettawee River, which was called "Paulet" or "Paulette" on the earliest maps of the area that later became Vermont. Nine families lived there at the time of its organization in 1769. It was part of Bennington County until Rutland County was created in 1781.

The first town meeting on record took place on December 22, 1775. Since this meeting was called by town clerk Simeon Burton, it is apparent that Pawlet was already settled by then.

Geography

Pawlet is located in the Taconic Mountains. The town is located on Vermont's western boundary with New York, and adjacent towns include Wells to the north, Danby to the east, Rupert to the south, and Granville and Hebron, New York to the west. The town contains two unincorporated villages: Pawlet in the center of town, and West Pawlet along the western border.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which 0.02% is water.

Pawlet is a rural farming town. The local school (Mettawee Community School) is about five minutes from downtown Pawlet and downtown West Pawlet.

Demographics

As of the census

  • Lemuel Chipman, judge and politician
  • James Campbell Hopkins, federal judge
  • Kirby Flower Smith, classicist and translator
  • Joshua C. Stoddard, inventor, born in Pawlet

References

  • Town of Pawlet official website
  • Vintage Images of Pawlet, VT and area ~ Richard Clayton Photography