Rutland (town), Vermont
Encyclopedia
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 4,054 at the 2010 census. Rutland completely surrounds the city of Rutland, which is incorporated separately from the town of Rutland.
History
The town was originally granted in 1761 by Governor Benning WentworthBenning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth was the colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766.-Biography:The eldest child of the John Wentworth who had been Lieutenant Governor, he was born and died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Wentworth graduated from Harvard College in 1715...
as one of the New Hampshire Grants
New Hampshire Grants
The New Hampshire Grants or Benning Wentworth Grants were land grants made between 1749 and 1764 by the provincial governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. The land grants, totaling about 135 , were made on land claimed by New Hampshire west of the Connecticut River, territory that was also...
. He named it after John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland
John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland
John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland KG PC was an English nobleman, the eldest son of John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland and Catherine Russell...
. It was one of the most successful of those grants because of the excellent farmland and gentle topography.
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
deposits were discovered in Rutland, and in the 1830s a large deposit of nearly solid marble of high quality was found in what is now West Rutland
West Rutland, Vermont
West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,326 at the 2010 census. The town center, located in the south central portion of the town and where about 87% of the population resides, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place...
. By the 1840s small firms had begun operations, but marble quarries
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
only became profitable when the railroad came to Rutland in 1851. As fate would have it, the famous quarries of Carrara
Carrara
Carrara is a city and comune in the province of Massa-Carrara , notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence....
in Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, became largely unworkable because of their extreme depth at the same time, and Rutland quickly became one of the leading producers of marble in the world. This fueled enough growth and investment that in 1886 the marble companies saw to it that the present Rutland City was incorporated as a village, and most of the town was split off as West Rutland and Proctor
Proctor, Vermont
-Notable people:* Bernard Joseph Flanagan, bishop* F. Ray Keyser, governor of Vermont* Frank Charles Partridge, senator* Fletcher Dutton Proctor, governor of Vermont* Mortimer Robinson Proctor, governor of Vermont...
, which between them contained the bulk of the marble quarries. Proctor was named for and almost completely owned by Senator Redfield Proctor
Redfield Proctor
Redfield Proctor was a U.S. politician of the Republican Party. He served as the 37th Governor of Vermont from 1878 to 1880, as Secretary of War from 1889 to 1891, and as a United States Senator for Vermont from 1891 to 1908....
. In 1892 Rutland City was incorporated, and the remaining town of Rutland that encircled it was primarily rural.
Geography
Rutland is located at 43°46′N 72°59′W, elevation 164.6 m (540 ft).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 19.3 square miles (50 km²), of which 19.2 square miles (49.7 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) is water. Rutland is drained by Otter Creek, Moon Brook, Tenney Brook, East Creek and Mussey Brook.
The town is crossed by U.S. Route 4
U.S. Route 4
U.S. Route 4 is a long United States highway that runs from East Greenbush, New York, in the west to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the east, traversing through Vermont.In New York, US 4 is signed north–south to reflect its alignment in the state...
, U.S. Route 7
U.S. Route 7
U.S. Route 7 is a north–south United States highway in western New England that runs for from Norwalk, Connecticut, to Highgate, Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 in Norwalk, Connecticut...
and Vermont Route 4A
Vermont Route 4A
Vermont Route 4A is an east–west state highway in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. It runs from Fair Haven to West Rutland. VT 4A was the former alignment of U.S. Route 4 before it was relocated to an expressway.-Route description:...
.
The town of Rutland is home to the Diamond Run Mall and Castleton State College
Castleton State College
Castleton State College is a public liberal arts college located in Castleton in the U.S. state of Vermont. Castleton has an enrollment of 2000 students and offers more than 30 undergraduate programs as well as master’s degrees in education...
's Spartan Arena.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 4,038 people, 1,691 households, and 1,166 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 209.7 people per square mile (81.0/km2). There were 1,761 housing units at an average density of 91.5 per square mile (35.3/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.66% White, 0.37% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.
There were 1,691 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 32.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.
The median income
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
for a household in the town was $44,420, and the median income for a family was $55,134. Males had a median income of $37,005 versus $25,053 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $24,400. About 4.9% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under the age of 18 and 7.7% of those ages 65 or older.
Notable people
- Benjamin AlvordBenjamin Alvord (mathematician)Benjamin Alvord was an American soldier, mathematician, and botanist.-Early life and career:Alvord was born in Rutland, Vermont, where he developed an interest in nature. He attended the United States Military Academy and displayed a talent in mathematics. He graduated in 1833. He was assigned to...
, Civil War general, mathematician, and botanist - John Deere, blacksmith and industrialist who founded Deere & CompanyDeere & CompanyDeere & Company, usually known by its brand name John Deere , is an American corporation based in Moline, Illinois, and the leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery in the world. In 2010, it was listed as 107th in the Fortune 500 ranking...
- Julia Caroline DorrJulia Caroline DorrJulia Caroline Dorr was an American author who published both prose and poetry. She was born at Charleston, South Carolina, but moved early in her life to New York City, then to Rutland, Vermont. There she married Hon. Seneca R. Dorr. Her earliest published writings appeared in 1848...
, author of prose and poetry - Merritt A. EdsonMerritt A. EdsonMajor General Merritt Austin Edson , known as "Red Mike", was a general in the United States Marine Corps. Among the decorations he received was the Medal of Honor, two Navy Crosses, the Silver Star, and two Legions of Merit...
, general in the United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States... - Russell de Gree FlaggRussell de Gree FlaggRussell de Gree Flagg was an American luthier. Grandson of Essex County, New York, violin maker Henry Lewis Flagg, Russell de Gree Flag studied violin making with Charles Eastbrook. Flagg's violins and violas were mostly patterned after Stradivarius, although he did produce instruments patterned...
, luthier - Walter E. Flanders, industrialist
- Martin Henry FreemanMartin Henry FreemanMartin Henry Freeman was the first Black president of an American college, as well as later serving as president of Liberia College....
, first black president of a U.S. college - William Henry JacksonWilliam Henry JacksonWilliam Henry Jackson was an American painter, Civil War, geological survey photographer and an explorer famous for his images of the American West...
, painter, photographer and explorer - William MarksWilliam Marks (Mormonism)William Marks was a leader in the early days of the Latter Day Saint movement and was a member of the First Presidency in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...
, early figure in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day SaintsCommunity of ChristThe Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"... - James MeachamJames MeachamJames Meacham was a United States Representative from Vermont. He was born in Rutland, Vermont. He graduated from Middlebury College in 1832 and taught in the seminary at Castleton, Vermont. In addition, he attended the local academy at St. Albans, Vermont and attended Andover Theological...
, congressman - Cephas WashburnCephas WashburnCephas Washburn was a noted Christian missionary and educator who worked with the Cherokee of northwest Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. He is often referred to as "The Apostle to the Cherokees" and "Builder of Presbyterianism in Arkansas"....
, Christian missionary and educator