Swanton, Vermont (town)
Town of Swanton | ||
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GNIS feature ID 1462225 | | |
Website | townofswantonvermont |
Swanton is a
History
The town of Swanton was chartered in 1763 as one of the New Hampshire Grants by Benning Wentworth, the governor of the Province of New Hampshire. It was named for Captain William Swanton, an officer in the British Army who had traveled through the area during the French and Indian War.
There were French land grants in the area beginning in 1734, and small French settlements including a Catholic mission in what is now Swanton from as early as 1740, when settlers in Quebec used a water route from Quebec City and Montreal to reach the banks of the Missisquoi River near what are now known as Swanton Falls.
None of the original grantees who received the charter from Governor Wentworth settled or resided in Swanton, opting instead to sell or trade their shares. Because of its proximity to the border with New France, and later the Province of Quebec, it was not populated by anyone from the British colonies in the 1760s and 1770s, the newly independent United States in the 1770s and 1780s, or the Vermont Republic in the early 1780s. As late as 1786, Ira Allen owned 59 of the original 64 shares.
In 2013, human artifacts dating from 7,000 years ago were found near the Missisquoi River, including a Neville-type stone object that might have been attached to a spear.[2]
Geography
Swanton is located in western Franklin County, bordered on the west by Lake Champlain and Grand Isle County. The town limits extend northwest to the Canada–United States border within Missisquoi Bay, west of Highgate. St. Albans, the Franklin County seat, is to the south.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 61.7 square miles (159.7 km2), of which 48.0 square miles (124.4 km2) is land and 13.6 square miles (35.3 km2), or 22.11%, is water.[3]
The village of
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1790 | 74 | — | |
1800 | 858 | 1,059.5% | |
1810 | 1,657 | 93.1% | |
1820 | 1,607 | −3.0% | |
1830 | 2,158 | 34.3% | |
1840 | 2,313 | 7.2% | |
1850 | 2,824 | 22.1% | |
1860 | 2,678 | −5.2% | |
1870 | 2,866 | 7.0% | |
1880 | 3,079 | 7.4% | |
1890 | 3,231 | 4.9% | |
1900 | 3,745 | 15.9% | |
1910 | 3,628 | −3.1% | |
1920 | 3,343 | −7.9% | |
1930 | 3,433 | 2.7% | |
1940 | 3,543 | 3.2% | |
1950 | 3,740 | 5.6% | |
1960 | 3,946 | 5.5% | |
1970 | 4,622 | 17.1% | |
1980 | 5,141 | 11.2% | |
1990 | 5,636 | 9.6% | |
2000 | 6,203 | 10.1% | |
2010 | 6,427 | 3.6% | |
2020 | 6,701 | 4.3% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[4] |
As of the
There were 2,329 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $41,086, and the median income for a family was $45,810. Males had a median income of $32,789 versus $25,579 for females. The
Local organizations
The Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, also known as the Mississquoi Abenaki Tribe, a
Swans
In 1961,
"The swans were caught during the annual "swan-upping" outing held by members of England's ancient guilds, who mark the Queen's swans with a nick on the beak to separate them from their less exalted brethren."[8] The swans were presented to Vermont Governor F. Ray Keyser by a representative of the Canadian Government at a ceremony attended by dignitaries from both sides of the border.[8]
Before summer 2016, the swans died of old age.[9] After a gap of two years, a new set of swans (still named Sam and Betty) were secured and placed in their home in Village Green Park, surrounded by a black fence.[10] The new swans are not related to, or descended from, the originals, but they are still called the Royal Swans.[11]
Notable people
- Stephen F. Brown, Union Army officer in the American Civil War[12]
- Lucien B. Caswell, US congressman from Wisconsin[13]
- James Fisk, member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate[14]
- Oscar Clark Hathaway, Wisconsin state senator[15]
- Albert B. Jewett, commander of the 10th Vermont Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War[16]
- William B. La Selle, Wisconsin state assemblyman[17]
- Albert Whittemore Sanborn, Wisconsin state senator[18]
- M. Emmet Walsh, actor[19]
References
- ^ "Census - Table Results - Swanton town, Franklin County, Vermont". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
- ^ Murray, Elizabeth (July 13, 2013). "Digging into the past". The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, Vermont. pp. 1B, 3B. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Swanton town, Franklin County, Vermont". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved September 14, 2016.[dead link]
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Missisquoi Abenaki Tribal Council – Tribal News and Updates". Archived from the original on January 7, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
- ^ "Federal and State Recognized Tribes". National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
- ^ a b St. Albans Messenger
- ^ Ledoux, Rodney R., The History of Swanton, 1988
- ^ Isaacs, Abby (June 24, 2017). "'Royal Swans' return to Swanton: After 2 years, proper permitting was secured for a pair of 'royal swans.'". NBC5. Burlington, VT: WPTZ Burlington. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
- ^ "Swanton's Royal Swans". Swanton Chamber. Swanton Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
While today's swans aren't the original (or even descended from them), Swanton still calls them the Royal Swans."
- ^ Vermont Historical Society (1903). Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society for 1901–1902. Burlington, VT: Free Press Association. p. 33.
- ^ Headley, Phineas Camp (1882). Public Men of To-day. San Francisco, CA: A. L. Bancroft & Company. p. 329.
- ^ Coolidge, A. J.; Mansfield, J. B. (1859). A History and Description of New England, General and Local. Vol. 1. Boston, MA: Austin J. Coolidge. p. 916.
- ^ Bashford, R. M. (1876). The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin. Madison, WI: E. B. Bolens. p. 455.
- ^ Haynes, Edwin M. (1894). A History of the Tenth Regiment, Vt. Vols. Rutland, VT: The Tuttle Company. pp. 71–72 – via Internet Archive.
- Timme, Ernst G., ed. (1889). Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin. Madison, WI: State Printing Board. p. 521 – via Google Books.
- ^ Fifield, James Clark (1919). The American Bar. Minneapolis, MN: James C. Fifield Company. p. 1010 – via Google Books.
- ^ Lindell, Melissa (August 21, 1998). "M. Emmet Walsh Of Culver City, Calif. And Swanton, Vermont, Receives Clarkson University's Highest Alumni Honor". CU News & Events. Potsdam, NY: Clarkson University. Retrieved January 11, 2021.