Windsor County, Vermont

Windsor County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Woodstock
Year Organized: 1781
Square Miles: 971

Court House:

PO Box 458
County Courthouse
Woodstock, VT 05091-0458

Etymology - Origin of County Name

For Windsor, Vermont (which was in turn named after Windsor, Connecticut.) Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,756 at the 2000 census. It is also the birthplace of Vermont, where the state constitution was signed, and acted as the first capital and meetingplace of the Vermont General Assembly until 1805 when Montpelier became the official capital.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Established: February 22, 1781
Parent County: Original County
County Seat: Woodstock

Woodstock is the county town. This county is bounded N. by the county of Orange, E. by Connecticut river, S. by Windham county, and W. by Rutland and a part of Addison counties. It contains an area of about 900 square miles. Population, 1810, 34,877; 1820, 38,233; 1830, 40,625: population to a square mile, 48. Incorporated in 1781.

Windsor county is watered by White, Queechy, Black, West and Williams' rivers, and by other excellent mill streams. The surface of the county is uneven, and in some parts mountainous, but generally it is not too elevated to admit of cultivation. The soil produces fine crops of grain, hay, vegetables and fruits: the lands are peculiarly adapted for grazing, and about 200,000 sheep graze on its varied surface of hills and valleys.

The beautiful Connecticut, which washes its whole eastern boundary, gives to this county large tracts of alluvial meadow land, and affords it a navigable channel to the sea board, for its surplus productions, and for its wants from abroad.

The hydraulic power of Windsor county is very large, and its local position is such as to induce men of enterprize and capital to embark in manufacturing operations, which are annually increasing with fair prospects of success.

From Hayward's New England Gazetteer of 1839

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 976 square miles (2,527 km²), of which, 971 square miles (2,515 km²) of it is land and 5 square miles (12 km²) of it (0.49%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Orange County, Vermont - northeast
Grafton County, New Hampshire - northeast
Sullivan County, New Hampshire - east
Windham County, Vermont - south
Bennington County, Vermont - southwest
Rutland County, Vermont - west
Addison County, Vermont - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Andover	town
- Athens	town
- Baltimore	town
- Barnard	town
- Bethel	town
- Bridgewater	town
- Cavendish	town
- Chester	town
- Hartford	town
- Hartland	town
- Ludlow	village	Incorporated Area
- Norwich	town
- Perkinsville	village	Incorporated Area
- Plymouth	town
- Pomfret	town
- Reading	town
- Rochester	town
- Royalton	town
- Sharon	town
- Springfield	town
- Stockbridge	town
- Weathersfield	town
- West Windsor	town
- Weston	town
- Windsor	town
- Woodstock (County Seat)	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

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."

Penn Foster High School

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