Jamaica (Vermont)

Jamaica
Church in Jamaica, Vermont
Location in Vermont
Jamaica
Basic data
Foundation :	November 7, 1788
State :	United States
State :	Vermont
County :	Windham County
Coordinates :	43 ° 6 ′  N , 72 ° 48 ′  W Coordinates: 43 ° 6 ′  N , 72 ° 48 ′  W
Time zone :	Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents :	1,035 (as of 2010)
Population density :	21 inhabitants per km 2
Area :	49.5 km 2  (approx. 19 mi 2 ) of which 49.3 km 2  (approx. 19 mi 2 ) are land
Height :	346 m
Postal code :	05343
Area code :	+1 802
FIPS :	50-36175
GNIS ID :	1462126
Website :	www.jamaicavermont.org

Jamaica is a town in Windham County of the state of Vermont in the United States with 1,035 inhabitants (according to the 2010 census).

geography

Geographical location

Jamaica is located in northwest Windham County. In the eastern foothills of the Green Mountains . The highest point is the 771 m high The Pinnacle in the northwest, the 633 m high College Hill in the south, the 641 m high Sage Hill in the southeast, the 604 m high Shatterack Mountain in the northeast and the 534 m high Ball Mountain in the east . The West River winds in a north-south direction through the area of ​​the town, its course essentially follows the State Route 30 and the Ball Mountain Brook as one of the larger tributaries flows into the West River from the west.

geology

The geological structure of Jamaica was shaped in the last ice age when glaciers formed valleys and mountains. Mountains such as Ball Mountain and Attridge Hill consist of very old gneiss , formed in the Archean Era , and terraces above the West River show the banks of the glacial streams.

Neighboring communities

All distances are given as straight lines between the official coordinates of the places from the 2010 census.

• North: Londonderry , 2.7 mi
• Northeast: Windham , 8.4 mi
• East: Townshend , 9.6 miles
• South: Wardsboro , 1.7 mi
• Southwest: Stratton , 6.9 mi
• West: Winhall , 17.1 km

climate

The mean mean temperature in Jamaica is between −8 ° C (16 ° Fahrenheit ) in January and 18.3 ° C (65 ° Fahrenheit) in July. The snowfall between October and May is up to half a meter (17 inches ) about twice as high as the mean snow depth in the USA. The daily sunshine duration is at the lower end of the range in the USA.

history

Theodore Robinson Jamaica 1895

The first grants for the area were made by the Governor of New York Province in 1767 and 1772. They covered the areas of two towns. The Vermont Republic , founded in 1777, ignored this and proclaimed its own grants in 1780. They ignored previous grants and gave away free land on the West River and Ball Mountain Brook. There were 67 grants in total and many of the residents of Jamaica are still among the descendants of these first settlers. The town of Jamaica was founded on November 7, 1780. Jamaica is one of only two towns in Vermont whose name goes back to an original place name, it can be traced back to the term Natick for beaver . The first town meeting took place on September 3, 1781 in the house of William Hayward . Early grant holders were Thomas Chittenden , Samuel Fletcher , Benjamin How , Ira Allen , William Hayward, John Butler, and Paul Hayward .

Postcard from Jamaica 1907

Settlement started along the West River near the Wardsboro Bridge, now the area around East Jamaica. The first school was founded in 1791. After the settlement continued to grow westward, the center of the town was moved to Jamaica Village in 1800. The first store in Jamaica was the Noon House , founded in 1803. In 1814 the Jamaica House was opened, a place to stay for travelers between Manchester and Brattleboro.

Jamaica House 2010

Jamaica experienced an economic boom with the introduction of the merino sheep . However, after the Civil War and the decline of the wool market, Jamaica's population declined. A flood in 1869 also destroyed many bridges and damaged the dams at Ball Mountain Brook. Only the opening of the West River Railroad between Brattleboro and Whitehall, New York in 1877 led to new growth.

After no more sheep kept the high pastures low, the heights reforested. The settlements of East Jamaica, Rawsonville and Jamaica Village are now the centers of the town after many of the old settlements were abandoned. In 2006, the Village Center Designation Status was applied for for Jamaica Village , which Jamaica Village received. The Town of Jamaica was named a Historic Village as early as 1974 .

Religions

Almost 69% of the residents of Jamaica do not belong to any religious community. There is a Catholic congregation in Jamaica, the Our Lady of Ephesus Church .

Population development

Census Results - Town of Jamaica, Vermont
year	1800	1810	1820	1830	1840	1850	1860	1870	1880	1890
Residents	582	996	1313	1553	1586	1606	1541	1223	1252	1074
year	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990
Residents	800	716	566	570	567	597	469	590	681	754
year	2000	2010	2020	2030	2040	2050	2060	2070	2080	2090
Residents	946	1035

Culture and sights

Parks

Jamaica State Park covers 312 hectares (772 acres ) and was opened in 1969. It covers the eastern area of ​​the town and covers more than 2/3 of the area. It extends to the West River . There were previously some small farms and a sawmill on the area. The West River Railroad ran through the park. The route is now used as a route that leads to the Mountain Dam. The railroad operated from 1879 to 1927 and the route was destroyed by the floods of the New England Hurricane . The Salmon Hole in State Park is one of Vermont's most popular fishing spots.

traffic

Vermont State Route 30 crosses Jamaica in a north-south direction from Townshand in the south to Windhall in the north and Vermont State Route 100 joins State Route 30 in the south-east and leaves it again in the north-west. The Brattleboro – South Londonderry railway runs through Jamaica.

Public facilities

Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend is the closest hospital.

education

The Jamaica Village School is an elementary school with classes from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. About 100 students attend the school.

Jamaica is part of the Windham Central Supervisory Union. The closest high school is Leland & Gray Union Middle and High School in Townshend.

The Jamaica Memorial Library is available to residents in Jamaica. The library is in the center of the village and is located in a former two-room schoolhouse.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

• Florence Lee (1888–1962), actress of the silent film era
• Orion Metcalf Barber (1857-1930), judge and politician Vermont State Auditor was

literature

• Zadock Thompson: History of Vermont, natural, civil and statistical, in Three Parts . Part 3. Chauncey Goodrich, Burlington 1842, p. 96 f . ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Jamaica, Vermont  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

• Homepage of Jamaica
• Profile of the municipality on the official portal www.Vermont.gov
• Entry on VirtualVermont (English) ( Memento from March 5, 2017 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jamaica in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System , accessed May 16, 2016
2. ↑ Population data from the 2010 US Census in the American Factfinder
3. ^ The Pinnacle. In: peakery.com. Retrieved July 22, 2018 . 
4. ^ College Hill. In: peakery.com. Retrieved May 16, 2016 . 
5. ↑ Sage Hill. In: peakery.com. Retrieved May 16, 2016 . 
6. ↑ Shatterack Mountain. In: peakery.com. Retrieved May 16, 2016 . 
7. ↑ Ball Mountain. In: peakery.com. Retrieved May 16, 2016 . 
8. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Town Plan Jamaica, November 19, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2016
9. ↑ ^{a b} Warren E. Booker: Historical Notes: Jamaica, Windham county, Vermont . Brattleboro VT, 1940.
10. ↑ Coordinates of the locations of the Census Authority 2010
11. ↑ Climate, school and employment data at www.City-Data.com (English)
12. ↑ Jamaica, Vermont (VT 05343) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news, sex offenders. In: city-data.com. www.city-data.com, accessed on May 16, 2016 . 
13. ↑ Our Lady of Ephesus House of Prayer - Jamaica, Vermont. In: ourladyofephesushouseofprayer.org. Retrieved May 16, 2016 . 
14. ↑ Population 1800–2010 according to census results
15. ↑ Vermont State Parks - Jamaica State Park. (No longer available online.) In: vtstateparks.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016 ; accessed on May 16, 2016 . 
16. ^ Jamaica Village School. In: jamaicavillageschool.org. Retrieved May 16, 2016 . 
17. ^ Jamaica Memorial Library. In: wordpress.com. Jamaica Memorial Library, accessed May 16, 2016 (American English).