Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As the "Birthplace of Vermont", the town is where the Constitution of Vermont was adopted in 1777, thus marking the founding of the Vermont Republic, a sovereign state until 1791, when Vermont joined the United States. Over much of its history, Windsor was home to a variety of manufacturing enterprises. Its population was 3,559 at the 2020 census.

History

One of the New Hampshire grants, Windsor was chartered as a town on July 6, 1761, by colonial governor Benning Wentworth. It was first settled in August 1764 by Captain Steele Smith and his family from Farmington, Connecticut. In 1777, the signers of the Constitution of the Vermont Republic met at Old Constitution House, a tavern at the time, to declare independence from the Great Britain (the Vermont Republic would not become a state until 1791). In 1820, it was the state's largest town, a thriving center for trade and agriculture. In 1835, the first dam was built across Mill Brook to provide water power. Factories made guns, machinery, tinware, furniture and harnesses. The community is named for Windsor, Connecticut.

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File:ConstitutionHouse WindsorVermont.JPG|Old Constitution House, where the Constitution of the Vermont Republic was signed

File:Main Street, Windsor, VT.jpg|Main Street

File:Windsor, Vermont (2675176211).jpg|Print of Windsor from 1886 by L.R. Burleigh with list of landmarks depicted

File:American_Precision_Museum_Windsor_Vermont.jpg|American Precision Museum is the old Robbins and Lawrence factory.

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Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 19.8&nbsp;square miles (51.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 19.5&nbsp;square miles (50.6&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.2&nbsp;square mile (0.5&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) (1.06%) is water. Home to part of Mount Ascutney, Windsor is situated beside the Connecticut River.

The town is crossed by Interstate 91, U.S. Route 5, Vermont Route 12, Vermont Route 44, and Vermont Route 44A. It is bordered by the town of Weathersfield to the south, West Windsor to the west, and Hartland to the north. To the east, across the Connecticut River, is Cornish, New Hampshire, to which Windsor is connected by the Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge, one of the longest covered bridges in the world.

thumb|left|[[Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge, built 1866, rebuilt 1988]]

Demographics

As of the census

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File:Windsor_VT_High_School.jpg|Windsor Jr/Sr High School

File:Windsor_VT_Library.jpg|Windsor Public Library on State St.

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Infrastructure

Health care

The Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is located in Windsor.

Transportation

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides daily service through Windsor, operating its Vermonter between Washington, D.C., and St. Albans, Vermont.

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File:Windsor_VT_Mt_Ascutney_Hospital.jpg|Mt. Ascutney Hospital

File:Windsor Station.jpg|Windsor Amtrak Station

File:Windsor_VT_Post_Office.jpg|US Post Office on US Route 5

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Culture

Music

Moon Dance

Since 1999, Windsor has regularly hosted this Autumn street festival, complete with live bands, magicians, and hypnotists.

Parks

Windsor is home to Paradise Park in the Windsor Town Forest, which borders Runnemede Lake.

Brewery

Windsor is also home to the second location of Harpoon Brewery of Boston.

Notable people

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  • Asa Aikens, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
  • Rollin Amsden, U.S. Marshal for Vermont
  • Asher Benjamin, architect, author, educator
  • Carlos Coolidge, politician and distant relative of Calvin Coolidge
  • Edward Curtis, politician
  • A. E. Douglass, astronomer
  • Marie Dressler, stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star
  • Josiah Dunham, Secretary of State of Vermont
  • Maxwell Evarts, lawyer, president of the Windsor Savings Bank and founded the State Fair Program in Vermont
  • William M. Evarts, United States Attorney General, United States Secretary of State, and U.S. senator for New York
  • Horace Everett, US congressman
  • William Laurel Harris, educator and arts organizer
  • Joseph D. Hatch, Vermont state legislator and mayor of Burlington, Vermont
  • Joab Hoisington, one of Windsor's founders, militia leader on the Patriot side in the American Revolution
  • Valentine B. Horton, US congressman
  • Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, fur trader and developer of Chicago
  • Jonathan Hatch Hubbard, US congressman
  • William Hunter, US congressman
  • Stephen Jacob, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
  • Bob Keeshan, actor and television producer (Captain Kangaroo)
  • Thomas Leverett, Secretary of State of Vermont
  • Maxwell Perkins, editor
  • John Pettes, US Marshal for Vermont
  • Matt Salinger, actor
  • Stephen William Shaw, artist
  • Mark Shepard, state senator
  • Nathaniel Simonds, politician
  • William H.H. Stowell, US congressman, merchant and industrialist
  • John C. Thompson, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
  • Allen Wardner, prominent banker and businessman who served as Vermont State Treasurer
  • Henry D. Washburn, US congressman and general

See also

  • List of capitals in the United States#Vermont Republic
  • Juniper Hill Farm-Maxwell Evarts House

References

Further reading

  • A. J. Coolidge & J. B. Mansfield, A History and Description of New England, Boston, Massachusetts 1859
  • Hayward's New England Gazetteer of 1839
  • English and American Tool Builders. Joseph Wickham Roe, 1916 by Yale University Press and 1987 by Lindsay Publications Inc., Bradley IL 60915. paper

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  • Town of Windsor official website
  • Windsor Public Library
  • American Precision Museum
  • Windsor School District
  • Virtual Vermont Internet Magazine: Windsor, Vermont
  • City-Data.com