Townshend (Vermont)

Townshend
Center of Townshend
Location in Vermont
Townshend
Basic data
Foundation :	June 20, 1753
State :	United States
State :	Vermont
County :	Windham County
Coordinates :	43 ° 3 ′  N , 72 ° 41 ′  W Coordinates: 43 ° 3 ′  N , 72 ° 41 ′  W
Time zone :	Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents :	1,232 (as of 2010)
Population density :	11.1 inhabitants per km 2
Area :	110.8 km 2  (approx. 43 mi 2 ) of which 110.6 km 2  (approx. 43 mi 2 ) are land
Height :	333 m
Postcodes :	05353, 05359
Area code :	+1 802
FIPS :	50-73300
GNIS ID :	1462229
Website :	www.unofficialtownshendvt.net

Townshend is a town in Windham County of the state of Vermont in the United States with a population of 1,232 (according to the 2010 census).

geography

Geographical location

Townshend is centrally located in Windham County. The West River flows through the area of ​​the town in the southeast. State Route 30 follows its course and leads from Jamaica to Newfane . State Route 35 branches off at Village Townshend and heads north to Athens . Townshend State Park is located in the southeast of the town. The highest point is Acton Hill, 605 m to the north, and Rattlesnake Mountain , 462 m , is centrally located in the town's territory. The Brattleboro – South Londonderry railway runs through Townshend.

Neighboring communities

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

• North: Grafton , 5.1 mi
• Northeast: Athens , 9.4 km
• Southeast: Brookline , 5.0 mi
• South: Newfand , 2.5 mi
• Southwest: Wardsboro , 9.2 mi
• West: Jamaica , 9.6 mi
• Northwest: Windham , 2.5 mi

climate

The mean mean temperature in Townshend 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

Townshend was founded on June 20, 1753 by Benning Wentworth under the New Hampshire Grants . Wentworth named the town after Charles Townshend . Charles Townshend was the Chancellor of the Exchequer and was responsible for tax legislation and his tax laws for America, the Townshend Acts , sparked the Boston Tea Party and ultimately the American Revolutionary War . Since the first call for settlement had little response, the area was again called for settlement in 1762, this time successfully.

As one of the oldest schools in Vermont, the Leland and Gray Seminary , then Leland Classical and English School , was founded in Townshend in 1833 . In 1840 the Acton area was added to the Townshend Town area.

A flood in 1869 destroyed the Harmonyville area and in 1894 a fire destroyed part of the Townshend Village and in 1918 the Townshend Village was destroyed again by a second fire. The floods of the hurricanes of 1927 and 1938 also caused great damage in Townshend. To protect Townshend from further flood damage, the Townshend Dam was built between 1959 and 1961 by the US Army Corps of Engineers for flood-control. This has only been flooded once, in 1978.

Scott Covered Bridge

One of the few historic structures to survive fire and flooding is the Scott Covered Bridge , the longest covered bridge in Vermont.

Religions

Just under 69% of the residents of Townshend do not belong to any religious community, around 20% are Catholic and around 10% are Protestants.

Population development

Census Results - Town of Townshend, Vermont
year	1800	1810	1820	1830	1840	1850	1860	1870	1880	1890
Residents	1083	1115	1406	1386	1345	1354	1376	1171	1099	865
year	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990
Residents	833	817	786	633	694	584	643	668	859	1019
year	2000	2010	2020	2030	2040	2050	2060	2070	2080	2090
Residents	1149	1232

Culture and sights

Parks

Townshend State Park

Townshend State Park is located south of the West River. The park was created by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression . The area was previously protected as Townshend State Forrest in 1912 and used with a small camping area. A fire tower was built in 1924, and it was relocated in 1949. The area was used as agricultural land and cleared in the early days of the town. Today there are still some stone walls and paths from that time left. There are picnic spots and hiking trails criss-cross the park. Townshend State Park is home to the last platforms for tents built by the CCC.

Public facilities

The Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend is the hospital for the region. It was founded in 1949.

education

Townshend is home to the Townshend Elementary School with classes from pre-kindergarten to 6th grade. The historic school building is the oldest continuously used school building in Vermont.

Townshend is part of the Windham Central Supervisory Union. Students in Grades 7 through 12 attend Leland and Gray Union Middle and High School . Founded in 1833 as the Leland Classical and English School and named after Aaron Leland , it is one of the oldest schools in Vermont. Later, with financial support from Samuel Gray, it was renamed Leland and Gray Seminary in 1860 . In 1970 it was converted into the current secondary school.

The Windham Regional Career Center in Brattleboro is also available for students in grades 11 and 12 .

One public library, the Townshend Public Library was founded in 1899. The first books were offered in the rooms of the school house. In 1909 the library moved to Leland and Gray Seminary. After 1915 the books were again stored in the Elementary School and in the Town Hall and in 1968 the library got its own building at the current location.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

• Clarina IH Nichols (1810–1885), journalist and women's rights activist
• Alphonso Taft (1810–1891), politician, grandfather of President William Howard Taft
• Ambrose Ranney (1821–1899), politician

Personalities who have worked on site

• Attila Zoller (1927–1998), jazz musician
• David Shapiro (1952–2011), jazz musician

literature

• Zadock Thompson: History of Vermont, natural, civil and statistical, in Three Parts . Part 3. Chauncey Goodrich, Burlington 1842, p. 172 f . ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Townshend, Vermont  - collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

• Townshend homepage
• Profile of the municipality on the official portal www.Vermont.gov
• Entry on VirtualVermont (English) ( Memento from July 13, 2017 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Townshend in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System , accessed June 18, 2016
2. ↑ Population data from the 2010 US Census in the American Factfinder
3. ^ Acton Hill. In: peakery.com. Retrieved June 18, 2016 . 
4. ^ Rattlesnake Mountain. In: peakery.com. Retrieved June 18, 2016 . 
5. ↑ Coordinates of the locations of the Census Authority 2010
6. ↑ Climate, school and employment data at www.City-Data.com (English)
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Townshend Timeline. In: townshendvt.org. Retrieved June 18, 2016 . 
8. ↑ Townshend, Vermont (VT 05353) 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 June 18, 2016 . 
9. ↑ Population 1800–2010 according to census results
10. ↑ Vermont State Parks - Townshend State Park. In: vtstateparks.com. Retrieved June 18, 2016 . 
11. ^ Townshend Elementary School. In: townshendschool.org. Retrieved June 18, 2016 . 
12. ↑ Kevin Burke: Leland & Gray Union Middle & High School - About Us. In: lelandandgray.org. Retrieved June 18, 2016 . 
13. ↑ Home. In: townshendpubliclibrary.org. Townshend Public Library, accessed June 18, 2016 .