White River Junction, Vermont

Coordinates: 43°39′1″N 72°19′17″W / 43.65028°N 72.32139°W / 43.65028; -72.32139
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

White River Junction, Vermont
FIPS code
50-83575[1]
GNIS feature ID1460224[2]
White River Junction in 1889

White River Junction is an unincorporated village and

2010
, making it the largest community within the town of Hartford.

The village includes the

Italianate, and Romanesque
architecture.

History

The village has long had a role in transportation, primarily as a railroad junction. From the arrival of the first railroads in the late 1840s until rail diminished in importance in the 1950s and 1960s, White River Junction was the most important railroad community in Vermont.[3] Its original importance was due to its location at the confluence of the White River with the Connecticut River. In 1803 Elias Lyman built a bridge across the Connecticut from the north bank of the White River to West Lebanon, New Hampshire.[4]

The local population remained quite low until the arrival of the railroad in the 1840s. Five different railroad lines were laid through the village site between 1847 and 1863 (the

railroad depot was built, and local farmer Samuel Nutt arranged to buy and dismantle a hotel in Enfield, New Hampshire, and move it to his farm on the other side of the railroad tracks from the depot. His hotel, named the Junction House, was the first of three hotels to occupy the site, which now is home to the Coolidge Hotel, built in 1924.[4]

White River Junction hosted the annual Vermont State Fair from the mid-19th century until the mid-20th century. A special rail spur carried visitors uphill from the station to the fairgrounds.[5]

Geography

White River Junction is located at 43°38′56″N 72°19′11″W / 43.64888°N 72.319588°W / 43.64888; -72.319588 (43.64888, -72.319588).[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km2), of which 1.6 square miles (4.3 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km2) (2.94%) is water.

It takes its name from the White River, which joins with the Connecticut River there.

The village is only a five-minute drive from Hanover, New Hampshire, which hosts Dartmouth College and nearly equidistant from major cities and towns such as Rutland, Montpelier, St. Johnsbury, Brattleboro, Keene, and Concord. All are about a one-hour drive from the village.

Demographics

As of the

Latino
of any race were 0.58% of the population.

There were 1,169 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.5% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $33,667, and the median income for a family was $44,094. Males had a median income of $34,200 versus $21,591 for females. The

poverty line
, including 17.0% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Lillian Gish in Way Down East
North Main Street c. 1908
White River Junction in 1915

White River Junction served as the location for the filming of director

Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department.[7]

Hotel Coolidge, renovated in 1997, now operates as a 30-room hotel and a 26-bed youth hostel by Hostelling International USA.[8][9] The 1920s structure once served as a railway hotel. The hotel is said to be haunted by the ghost of Ezra "Wrench" Magoon, a farmer and known bootlegger who died in the Hotel Coolidge in the summer of 1918.[10]

White River Junction is home to the Center for Cartoon Studies, a 2-year art school focusing on sequential art.

It is also home to the Tip Top Building, a renovated 45,000-square-foot (4,200 m2) bakery that houses artists, creative businesses and a cafe.

taxonomy
. It makes its home in White River Junction's former fire station on Bridge Street, next to the underpass.

White River Junction is home to Northern Stage, a professional regional theatre. It is also home to The Writers' Center, which offers classes and workshops to the local writing community.

Transportation

Roads and highways

White River Junction is crossed by:

To take advantage of the village's location as one of Vermont's busiest junctions, and as the place where the state's two major Interstate highways meet, several chain hotels have been built in the area.

Rail

See also: White River Junction station

Boston & Maine Railroad's Connecticut River Line. White River Junction also serves as a major stop along the Green Mountain Railroad
for the White River Flyer train.

Bus

Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. The other represents the northern terminus of a line to New York City. Premier Coach's Vermont Translines, as part of a partnership with Greyhound, also stops there on its route between Rutland and Lebanon, New Hampshire. Service on this route began on June 9, 2014.[11][12]

Advance Transit provides local bus transportation in and around the White River Junction area. All routes are fare free and run on weekdays only.[13]

Education

White River Junction is in the Hartford School District,[14] and is home to four of the seven Hartford School District schools, and the only high school in the district, them being White River Elementary, Hartford Memorial Middle School, Hartford High School, and the HACTC.

Mid Vermont Christian School, a private K-12 school, has a White River Junction postal address, but is physically in Quechee.[15][16]

Notable people

References

  1. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ^ Preserve America Community: White River Junction, Vermont, Preserve America website, accessed July 21, 2009
  4. ^ a b c "White River Junction Historic District". www.crjc.org.
  5. ^ a b Brief History - Town of Hartford Vermont Archived 2012-08-19 at the Wayback Machine. Hartford-vt.org. Retrieved on 2013-08-02.
  6. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". Census.gov. United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  7. ISBN 9780415968263
    .
  8. ^ "Hotel Coolidge- Tourist Class White River Junction, VT Hotels- GDS Reservation Codes: Travel Weekly". www.travelweekly.com.
  9. ^ "HI White River Junction - Vermont hostel in 1920s railroad Hotel Coolidge 1920s - HI USA". Hostelling International.
  10. ^ Coffin, Larry (October 26, 2013). "A Frightful Regional History of Halloween". Valley News.
  11. ^ Schedules, Vermont Translines. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
  12. ^ New Vermont Bus Service Coming Soon, My Champlain Valley. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
  13. ^ Advance Transit Home, Advance Transit. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
  14. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2023. - Text list
    .
  15. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2023. - Compare to the postal address: "399 West Gilson Ave. White River Junction, VT 05001" - Despite the postal address it is not in the White River Junction CDP
    .
  16. Newspapers.com
    . The source states that the school is in Quechee.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_River_Junction,_Vermont&oldid=1216590307"