Windsor, Vermont

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.{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofwindsor00aldr/historyofwindsor00aldr_djvu.txt |title=ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRA |access-date=October 8, 2023}} 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).{{Cite web|url=http://www.windsorvt.org/history|title = History}} 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.

In 1846, Robbins and Lawrence received a government contract to manufacture firearms. Using advanced machine tools to produce interchangeable parts, they and their associates established factories in the Connecticut River valley and throughout New England. Two factories, now both closed, sustained the economy of Windsor: Cone Automatic Machine Company and a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant.

Windsor village began development at the end of the 18th century and achieved importance in Vermont history as the location of the framing of the constitution of Vermont. It is known as the birthplace of Vermont, where the state constitution was signed, and acted as the first capital until 1805 when Montpelier became the official state capital.

Commerce prospered due to the village's location on the banks of the Connecticut River where several smaller streams run into it. The economy improved in the mid-19th century when Windsor became the first town in the state to break ground for the railroad with the construction of a rail depot. Windsor Station connected the town to out-of-state markets. It was after the railroad went through that the area was discovered by tourists.

Windsor's war memorial, the City Center Veterans Memorial, was created by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan.{{cite news|title=Sculptor commissioned to complete Joe Frazier statue has died|url=http://www.timesargus.com/article/20130802/NEWS03/708029923/0/FEATURES10|work=Barre Montpelier Times Argus|date=August 2, 2013|access-date=August 27, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221231935/http://www.timesargus.com/article/20130802/NEWS03/708029923/0/FEATURES10|archive-date=February 21, 2014}}

File:Main Street, Windsor, VT.jpg|Main Street {{circa|1910}}

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.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 19.8 square miles (51.2 km²), of which 19.5 square miles (50.6 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.5 km²) (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.

File:Cornish windsor bridge.jpg|Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge, built 1866, rebuilt 1988

{{US Census population

|1790= 1542

|1800= 2211

|1810= 2757

|1820= 2956

|1830= 3134

|1840= 2744

|1850= 1928

|1860= 1669

|1870= 1699

|1880= 2175

|1890= 1846

|1900= 2119

|1910= 2407

|1920= 3687

|1930= 4359

|1940= 4155

|1950= 4402

|1960= 4468

|1970= 4158

|1980= 4085

|1990= 3714

|2000= 3756

|2010= 3553

|2020= 3559

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 16, 2015}}

}}

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,756 people, 1,520 households, and 945 families residing in the town. The population density was 192.1 people per square mile (74.2/km²). There were 1,611 housing units at an average density of 82.4 per square mile (31.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.74% White, 0.24% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.

There were 1,520 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were couples living together and joined in either marriage or civil union, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $33,815, and the median income for a family was $43,551. Males had a median income of $29,897 versus $23,313 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,640. About 6.4% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.

Windsor is served by Mount Ascutney School District, Vermont. The district is home to the Windsor Yellow Jackets and serves grades kindergarten to twelfth. The three schools in the district are the Windsor School and Windsor High School, as well as Albert Bridge School in West Windsor, Vermont.{{cite web|url= https://whs.wsesu.net/information/school-board |access-date= February 12, 2022|title= Mt. Ascutney School Board - Windsor High School}}

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

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

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

{{See also|Windsor station (Vermont)}}

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

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

Moon Dance

Since 1999, Windsor has regularly hosted this Autumn street festival, complete with live bands, magicians, and hypnotists.[http://www.vermontjournal.com/?q=content/windsor%E2%80%99s-moondance-festival-planned-october-5 Windsor’s Moondance Festival Planned October 5] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130217001656/http://www.vermontjournal.com/?q=content/windsor%E2%80%99s-moondance-festival-planned-october-5 |date=February 17, 2013 }}. The Vermont Journal. Retrieved on April 12, 2014.

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

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

• Asa Aikens, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court{{cite book |last=Wiley |first=Edgar J. |date=1917 |title=Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TapBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA10 |location=Middlebury, VT |publisher=Middlebury College |page=10 |ref={{sfnRef|Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College}}}}
• Rollin Amsden, U.S. Marshal for Vermont{{cite news |date=February 4, 1899 |title=Hon. Rollin Amsden |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46154795/hon-rollin-amsden/ |work=Vermont Journal |location=Windsor, VT |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Hon. Rollin Amsden"}}}}
• 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{{cite book |last=Bisbee |first=Marvin Davis |date=1900 |title=General Catalogue of Dartmouth College and the Associated Schools 1769-1900 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_sKM4AAAAYAAJ |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_sKM4AAAAYAAJ/page/n149 121]–122 |access-date=January 26, 2017 }}
• 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{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000265|title= EVERETT, Horace, (1779 - 1851)|dictionary= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date= October 24, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121018005045/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000265|archive-date= October 18, 2012|url-status= live}}
• William Laurel Harris, educator and arts organizer
• Joseph D. Hatch, Vermont state legislator and mayor of Burlington, Vermont{{cite book |last=Carleton |first=Hiram |date=1903 |title=Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont |volume=I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Cr5seuiQ2wC&pg=PA305 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Lewis Publishing Company |pages=305–306 |via=Google Books |ref={{sfnRef|Carleton}}|isbn=9780806347943 }}
• Joab Hoisington, one of Windsor's founders, militia leader on the Patriot side in the American Revolution{{cite book |last=Wells |first=Frederic P. |date=1902 |title=History of Newbury, Vermont |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HAo1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA578 |location=St. Johnsbury, VT |publisher=The Caledonian Company |page=578 |via=Google Books}}
• Valentine B. Horton, US congressman{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000800|title= HORTON, Valentine Baxter, (1802 - 1888)|dictionary= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date= October 24, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121023192947/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000800|archive-date= October 23, 2012|url-status= live}}
• Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, fur trader and developer of Chicago
• Jonathan Hatch Hubbard, US congressman{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000886|title= HUBBARD, Jonathan Hatch, (1768 - 1849)|dictionary= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date= October 24, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121021231437/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000886|archive-date= October 21, 2012|url-status= live}}
• William Hunter, US congressman{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000990|title= HUNTER, William, (1754 - 1827)|dictionary= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date= October 24, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121023141420/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000990|archive-date= October 23, 2012|url-status= live}}
• Stephen Jacob, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court{{cite book |last=Ullery |first=Jacob G. |date=1894 |title=Men of Vermont Illustrated |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Nvg_AAAAYAAJ |location=Brattleboro, VT |publisher=Transcript Publishing Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Nvg_AAAAYAAJ/page/n175 178] |ref={{sfnRef|Men of Vermont Illustrated}}}}
• Bob Keeshan, actor and television producer (Captain Kangaroo){{cite web|url= https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444828/bio|title= Bob Keeshan|publisher= IMDb|access-date= October 24, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120513092933/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444828/bio|archive-date= May 13, 2012|url-status= live}}
• Thomas Leverett, Secretary of State of Vermont{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.vt.us/archives-records/state-archives/government-history/government-officials/state-officers/secretaries-of-state.aspx |title=Vermont Secretaries of State, 1778-Present |last=Condos |first=James |date=2011 |website=Vermont Government Officials: State Officers |publisher=Vermont Secretary of State |location=Montpelier, VT |access-date=January 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202060223/https://www.sec.state.vt.us/archives-records/state-archives/government-history/government-officials/state-officers/secretaries-of-state.aspx |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com/ |title=Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908: Death and Burial Entry for Thomas Leverett |website=Ancestry.com |location=Provo, UT |publisher=Ancestry.com, LLC |access-date=January 28, 2017 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223114016/http://www.ancestry.com/ |archive-date=February 23, 2011 |url-status=live }}
• Maxwell Perkins, editor
• John Pettes, US Marshal for Vermont{{cite news |last=M. D. |date=April 11, 1868 |title=The Late Maj. John Pettes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45319424/the_late_maj_john_pettes/ |work=Vermont Journal and Farmer |location=Windsor, VT |via=Newspapers.com |page=4 |ref={{sfnRef|"The Late Maj. John Pettes"}}}}
• Matt Salinger, actor
• Stephen William Shaw, artist
• Mark Shepard, state senator
• Nathaniel Simonds, politician
• William H.H. Stowell, US congressman, merchant and industrialist{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000985|title= STOWELL, William Henry Harrison, (1840 - 1922)|dictionary= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date= October 24, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121026124241/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000985|archive-date= October 26, 2012|url-status= live}}
• John C. Thompson, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court{{cite magazine |last=Taft |first=Russell S. |date=March 1, 1894 |title=The Supreme Court of Vermont, Part IV: John C. Thompson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zA6SAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA123 |magazine=The Green Bag |location=Boston, MA |publisher=Boston Book Company |pages=123–124 |ref={{sfnRef|The Green Bag}}}}
• Allen Wardner, prominent banker and businessman who served as Vermont State Treasurer. He was the father-in-law of William M. Evarts and grandfather of Maxwell EvartsNew York Genealogical and Biographical Society, [https://books.google.com/books?id=jNcUAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22allen+wardner%22+william+maxwell+evarts&pg=PA314 The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023101745/http://books.google.com/books?id=jNcUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA314&dq=%22allen+wardner%22+william+maxwell+evarts&hl=en&sa=X&ei=d3XRUoHUNrKqsATM2ICYDA&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22allen%20wardner%22%20william%20maxwell%20evarts&f=false |date=October 23, 2014 }}, Volume 47, 1916, page 314
• Henry D. Washburn, US congressman and general

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

{{Reflist}}

• [https://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&dq=coolidge+mansfield+history+description+new+england+1859&pg=PA9 A. J. Coolidge & J. B. Mansfield, A History and Description of New England, Boston, Massachusetts 1859]
• [https://newenglandtowns.org/vermont/windsor 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. {{ISBN|0-917914-73-2}} paper

{{Commons category}}

{{wikivoyage|Windsor (Vermont)}}

• [http://www.windsorvt.org Town of Windsor official website]
• [http://windsorlibrary.org/ Windsor Public Library]
• [https://www.americanprecision.org/ American Precision Museum]
• [http://www.windsorschools.net/ Windsor School District]
• [http://www.virtualvermont.com/towns/windsor.html Virtual Vermont Internet Magazine: Windsor, Vermont]
• [http://www.city-data.com/city/Windsor-Vermont.html City-Data.com]

{{Geographic location

| Centre = Windsor

| North = Hartland

| Northeast = Plainfield, New Hampshire

| East = Cornish, New Hampshire

| Southeast = Claremont, New Hampshire

| South = Weathersfield

| Southwest = Weathersfield

| West = West Windsor

| Northwest = Hartland

}}

{{Windsor County, Vermont}}

{{Connecticut River}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Towns in Vermont

Vermont

Category:Vermont populated places on the Connecticut River

Category:Towns in Windsor County, Vermont

Category:Capitals of former nations

Category:1764 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies