Swanton (Vermont)

Swanton
School building listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Location in Vermont
Swanton
Basic data
Foundation :	17th August 1763
State :	United States
State :	Vermont
County :	Franklin County
Coordinates :	44 ° 54 ′  N , 73 ° 7 ′  W Coordinates: 44 ° 54 ′  N , 73 ° 7 ′  W
Time zone :	Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents :	6,427 (as of 2010)
Population density :	51.7 inhabitants per km 2
Area :	159.7 km 2  (approx. 62 mi 2 ) of which 124.4 km 2  (approx. 48 mi 2 ) is land
Height :	39 m
Postal code :	05488
Area code :	+1 802
FIPS :	50-71725
GNIS ID :	1462225
Website :	www.SwantonVermont.weebly.com

Swanton is a town in Franklin County , Vermont , United States with 6,427 residents (2010 census).

geography

Geographical location

Swanton is located near the Canadian border on the Missisquoi River , which flows into Lake Champlain a few kilometers away . In 1943, a nature reserve, the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge , was created in the Missisquoi River delta . The surface is flat, there are some steep cliffs on the banks of the Missisquoi River into which some small streams that run through the town flow.

Neighboring communities

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

• North: Philipsburg, Canada , 3.8 mi
• Northeast: Frelighsburg, Canada , 19.2 mi
• East: Franklin , 14.7 miles
• Southeast: Highgate , 3.9 mi
• South: St. Albans , 2.9 mi
• Southwest: North Hero , 7.9 mi
• West: Alburg , 19.9 km
• Northwest: Lacolle, Canada , 18.2 mi

City structure

The Village Swanton at the crossroads of the main roads is the main settlement of the town.

climate

The mean mean temperature in Swanton is between −9.44 ° C (15 ° Fahrenheit ) in January and 20.6 ° C (69 ° Fahrenheit) in July. This means that the place is around 9 degrees cooler than the long-term average in the USA. The snowfall between mid-October and mid-May is more than two meters, about twice as high as the average snow depth in the USA. The daily sunshine duration is at the lower end of the range of values ​​in the USA, between September and mid-December it is even significantly lower.

history

The Swanton area has been around since about 8000 BC. Settled. The oldest known settlement trace in this region, the John's Bridge Site , was found during the construction of a river bridge in Swanton's city center . It is dated to 6000 BC. Dated.

Further archaeological finds prove the presence of today's Abenaki in the area from 800 BC. Chr.

Town Hall

After the discovery of Lake Champlain by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain , the area was taken over by white settlers from around 1700. About 50 houses and a flour mill were built by French colonists, but after the British conquered Canada, they gave up this advanced settlement. Today's Swanton was proclaimed for settlement on August 17, 1763 under the New Hampshire Grants and sold to a group. A permanent settlement did not occur until around 1787; the constituent city assembly took place in 1790. Thereafter the development proceeded calmly and without any noticeable occurrences. Nowadays Swanton is a rural commuter town that attracts a limited number of tourists in the summer due to its proximity to Lake Champlain and its comparatively good transport links.

Religions

The Congregational Church was founded as the first religious community on January 4, 1800. Together with the Baptist congregation, they built a joint church in 1816/17, the then three other religious communities (Episcopals, Vaptists and Friends ) built one in 1822/23 common church. Both buildings are still standing and in operation today.

The largest congregation today is the Episcopal Church ; three other denominations ( Methodists , the Church of the Nativity and the Swanton Christian Church ) have meetinghouses in the city.

Population development

Census Results - Town of Swanton, Vermont
year	1700	1710	1720	1730	1740	1750	1760	1770	1780	1790
Residents										74
year	1800	1810	1820	1830	1840	1850	1860	1870	1880	1890
Residents	858	1657	1607	2158	2313	2824	2678	2866	3079	3231
year	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990
Residents	3745	3628	3343	3433	3543	3740	3946	4622	5141	5636
year	2000	2010	2020	2030	2040	2050	2060	2070	2080	2090
Residents	6203	6427

Culture and sights

Museums

The Abenaki Tribe Museum provides information about the history of the indigenous sub-tribes of the Indian Abenaki group.

The Railroad Depot Museum , set up in the former depot and the restored station building, preserves mementos from the eventful history of local rail operations, which began in 1883.

Parks

Autumn leaves in the refuge

The Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the mouth of the Missisquoi River. It is the only wildlife refuge that is exclusively located in the state of Vermont. It was placed under the protection of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act on February 4, 1943 . At that time it comprised 6.4 km² of land on the estuary delta including the islands of Shad Island and Big Marsh Slough . In the following years more land was added, today the area covers 27 km², which is distributed between the towns of Swanton and Highgate. It is home to the largest colony of the great blue heron in Vermont.

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

The place is connected to the expressway system of North America via Interstate 89 . It runs in a north-south direction, starting from the border with Canada in the north. The US Highway 7 runs parallel to the Interstate also in north-south direction. It runs through the Village Swanton. This is where Vermont Route 78 and Vermont Route 36 intersect in a west-east direction . Franklin County State Airport is also about two miles northeast of downtown.

Public facilities

The Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans is the closest hospital for residents of the Town.

education

Swanton Public Library

Swanton is part of the Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union with Franklin, Highgate and Sheldon . The Swanton Elementary School provides for more than 500 children school classes from kindergarten to sixth grade.

In addition, a high school for around 1,000 students, the Missisquoi Valley Union Middle & High School , continues through to 12th grade. Colleges and universities are available in the surrounding communities. The nearest colleges are approximately 30 kilometers away in Plattsburgh, New York and Colchester ; the University of Vermont is located in Burlington, about 60 kilometers away .

The Swanton Public Library was founded on August 28, 1938.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

• Lucien B. Caswell (1827-1919), Senator in the US Congress
• George Stephens (1832–1904), Canadian politician
• Agnes zu Salm-Salm (1840–1912), actress, nurse and princess
• Joseph W. Babcock (1850–1909), Senator in the US Congress

Personalities who have worked on site

• James Kelsey (1952–2007) Bishop of the Episcopal Church; Priest in Swanton

Others

On the 200th anniversary of its founding in 1963, Queen Elizabeth II of England gave the city two swans, which were settled in the city park. Since then, the small swan population, which no longer descends from the original couple, has been used as a landmark in many publications of the place under the keyword The Royal Swans .

literature

• Zadock Thompson: History of Vermont, natural, civil and statistical, in three parts . 3rd volume. Chauncey Goodrich, Burlington 1842, p. 170 ( limited preview in Google Book search).

Web links

Commons : Swanton, Vermont  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Homepage of the municipality (English)
• Swanton Historical Society website
• Profile of the municipality on the official portal www.Vermont.gov
• Entry on VirtualVermont.com (English) ( Memento from May 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Swanton in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey , accessed March 14, 2014
2. ↑ Population data from the 2010 US Census in the American Factfinder
3. ↑ Index of / geo. In: census.gov. Retrieved May 18, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Swanton on the City Daty portal , accessed May 7, 2017
5. ^ William A. Haviland, Marjory W. Power: The original Vermonters. Native Inhabitants, Past and Present , Trustees of the University of Vermont 1994, p. 40.
6. ↑ Population 1790–2010 according to the census results
7. ↑ Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge on the US Fish & Wildlife Service website , accessed May 7, 2017
8. ^ Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union , accessed May 7, 2017.
9. ↑ Swanton Elementary School , accessed May 7, 2017
10. ↑ mvuschool. In: mvuschool.org. mvuschool, accessed on May 18, 2019 . 
11. ^ Swanton Public Library , accessed May 7, 2017
12. ↑ Summary of the city's history on the website of the local Chamber of Commerce.