Vermont State...
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Vermont Counties
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Grand Isle County, Vermont
Grand Isle County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: North Hero
Year Organized: 1802
Square Miles: 83 |
Court House: P.O. Box 7
County Courthouse
North Hero, VT 05474-0007
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
For the islands of Lake Champlain, which was named for the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. Demographics:
County QuickFacts:
Census Bureau Quick Facts
History
Grand Isle County, Vermont, is one of several Vermont counties created from land ceded by the state of New York on
January 15, 1777 when Vermont declared itself to be a distinct state from New York. The land originally was contested by
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Netherlands, but it remained undelineated until July 20, 1764 when King George III
established the boundary between New Hampshire and New York along the west bank of the Connecticut River, north of
Massachusetts and south of the parallel of 45 degrees north latitude. New York assigned the land gained to Albany
County. On March 12, 1772 Albany County was partitioned to create Charlotte County, and this situation remained until
Vermont's independence from New York and Britain. However, this did not end the contest.
On September 3, 1783, as a result of the signing of the Treaty of Paris the Revolutionary War ended with Great Britain
recognizing the independence of the United States. Vermont's border with Quebec was established at 45 degrees north
latitude, which explains why this county has no dry-land connection to the rest of the United States.
Massachusetts did not formally withdraw its claim to the region, first made in 1629, until December 16, 1786. New York,
still not satisfied with the relinquishment of its land to Vermont, asked the U.S. Congress to arbitrate the matter.
Congress ruled against New York on March 7, 1788
Subsequently, when Vermont petitioned for Statehood, Congress ordered a joint commission to settle the border between
New York and Vermont. This commission ruled prior to Vermont's admission, which took place on March 4, 1791 but a small
change they permitted has never been acted upon
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 195 square miles (504 kmē), of which, 83
square miles (214 kmē) of it is land and 112 square miles (290 kmē) of it (57.56%) is water. By area, Grand Isle
County is the smallest in the state. Four of its five towns (North Hero, South Hero, Grand Isle and Isle La Motte)
are situated entirely on islands in Lake Champlain, while Alburgh is on a peninsula (known as the Alburgh Tongue)
extending south into the lake from Quebec .
Neighboring Counties:
- Franklin County, Vermont - east
- Chittenden County, Vermont - south
- Clinton County, New York - west
- Le Haut-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec - north
Cities and Towns:
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- Alburg |
village |
Incorporated Area |
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- Grand Isle |
town |
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- Isle La Motte |
town |
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- North Hero
(County
Seat) |
town |
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- South Hero |
town |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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Penn Foster High School
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