St. Albans (city), Vermont
Encyclopedia
St. Albans is a city in and the shire town (county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

) of Franklin County
Franklin County, Vermont
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is part of the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 47,746. Its shire town is the City of St. Albans.-Geography:...

, Vermont
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...

, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. At the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

, the city population was 7,650. St Albans City is completely surrounded by St. Albans
St. Albans (town), Vermont
St. Albans is a town in Franklin County, Vermont. The population was 6,392 at the 2010 census. The town completely surrounds the city of St. Albans, which was separated from the town and incorporated in 1902. References to "St. Albans" prior to this date generally refer to the town center, which...

 town
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...

, which is incorporated separately from the city of St. Albans. The city and area are part of the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

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...

, St. Albans was chartered by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth
Benning 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...

 on August 17, 1763 to Stephen Pomeroy and 63 others. Named after St. Albans in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, it was first settled during the Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

 by Jesse Welden. The war, however, delayed further settlement until 1785, when many others began arriving. Farmers found the rich, dark loam
Loam
Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...

 suitable for cultivation
Tillage
Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shovelling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking...

, as well as for the raising of cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

, horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

s and sheep. The city produced butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...

 and cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....

 in great quantities. It also became known as "Railroad City," home to a major depot
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

, operations center and repair shop of the Vermont and Canada Railroad. When the city was incorporated in 1859, it had an iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...

, a manufacturer of freight cars, and a large number of mechanic
Mechanic
A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...

 shops.

The northernmost engagement of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, known as the St. Albans Raid
St. Albans raid
The St. Albans Raid was the northernmost land action of the American Civil War, taking place in St. Albans, Vermont on October 19, 1864.-Background:In this unusual incident, Bennett H. Young led Confederate States Army forces...

, occurred here on October 19, 1864. In 1902, the city of St. Albans was incorporated, comprising two square miles (518 hectares) within the town of St. Albans
St. Albans (town), Vermont
St. Albans is a town in Franklin County, Vermont. The population was 6,392 at the 2010 census. The town completely surrounds the city of St. Albans, which was separated from the town and incorporated in 1902. References to "St. Albans" prior to this date generally refer to the town center, which...

. Today, it is a tourist destination
Tourist destination
A tourist destination is a city, town, or other area that is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions and possibly some "tourist traps."...

 noted for its Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

 and Craftsman
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...

 style architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 built during the railroad era, when over 200 trains a day passed through. St. Albans is a research target for genealogists
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...

, as Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an immigrants heading for the United States would sometimes land at Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

 or Montreal, then take a train through the border crossing here. The National Archives (NARA) lists for St. Albans cover the period 1895-1954.

Culture

St. Albans is called "The Maple Syrup
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...

 Capital of the World," and in late April sponsors the annual Vermont Maple
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...

 Festival. The festival includes many different food-related contests, as well as a footrace from Swanton
Swanton (town), Vermont
Swanton is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 6,203 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 61.7 square miles , of which 48.4 square miles is land and 13.3 square miles is...

, 8.2 miles (13.2 km) to the north.

Geography

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 city has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.3 km2), all land. The city is surrounded by the town of St. Albans
St. Albans (town), Vermont
St. Albans is a town in Franklin County, Vermont. The population was 6,392 at the 2010 census. The town completely surrounds the city of St. Albans, which was separated from the town and incorporated in 1902. References to "St. Albans" prior to this date generally refer to the town center, which...

, with its lush farmland
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...

 across gently rolling hills. The city is drained by Stevens Brook.

St. Albans is crossed by Interstate 89
Interstate 89
Interstate 89 is an interstate highway in the New England region of the United States travelling between Bow, New Hampshire and Highgate Springs, Vermont. As with all odd-numbered primary interstates, I-89 is signed as a north–south highway...

, U.S. Route 7
U.S. Route 7 in Vermont
U.S. Route 7 is a mostly rural two-lane road running along the western side of the state, with a few, short expressway sections. It is known as the Ethan Allen Highway for much of its path through the state. US 7 ends at I-89 in the northern part of the town of Highgate, just south of the Canadian...

, as well as Vermont Route 36
Vermont Route 36
Vermont Route 36 is a state highway in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. It is an L-shaped highway running south and east from VT 78 in the village of Swanton in the north to VT 108 in the town of Bakersfield in the east. The portion from St...

, 38, 104 and 105
Vermont Route 105
Vermont Route 105 is a state highway located in northern Vermont, United States. The route runs from U.S. Route 7 in the city of St. Albans in the west to the New Hampshire state line in Bloomfield in the east. The road continues across the state line as Bridge Street, a short unnumbered New...

. It is about 15 miles (24.1 km) from Vermont's border with Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

.

Demographics

At the 2000 census
Census
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...

, there were 7,650 people, 3,235 households and 1,937 families residing in the city. 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 3,768.2 per square mile (1,455.0/km2). There were 3,376 housing units at an average density of 1,662.9 per square mile (642.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 95.87% White, 0.39% Black or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 1.20% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.70% from two or more races. 0.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,235 households of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% 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, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% 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 2.97.

Age distribution was 25.6% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

Government

St. Albans is governed via a mayor and city council. The city council consists of six member each elected from individual wards. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote.

Personal income

The median household 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...

 $37,221, and the median family income was $44,286. Males had a median income of $31,340 versus $23,262 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 city was $17,853. About 8.5% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

The USCIS has a service center in St. Albans.

Railways

Saint Albans is the northern terminus of the Vermonter
Vermonter
Amtrak's Vermonter is a 611-mile passenger train service between St. Albans , New York City and Washington, D.C. One trip runs in each direction per day....

, an all-coach train operated by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

, the national passenger rail system. This train operates daily from Saint Albans to and from Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 and points between.

The train formerly continued on from Saint Albans to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 and was named the Montrealer, but that connection is now accomplished by bus.

Notable people

  • Michael Colburn, Conductor, Presidents Own Marine Band
  • Bradley Barlow
    Bradley Barlow
    Bradley Barlow was a United States Representative from Vermont. He was born in Fairfield, Vermont. He attended the common schools and then engaged in mercantile pursuits in Philadelphia until 1858, when he moved to St...

    , US Representative, industrialist.
  • William Beaumont
    William Beaumont
    William Beaumont was a surgeon in the U.S. Army who became known as the "Father of Gastric Physiology" following his research on human digestion.-Early life:...

    , army physician.
  • Paul Blackburn
    Paul Blackburn (U.S. poet)
    Paul Blackburn was an American poet. He influenced contemporary literature through his poetry, translations and the encouragement and support he offered to fellow poets.-Biography:...

    , poet.
  • Lawrence Brainerd
    Lawrence Brainerd
    Lawrence Brainerd was a businessman, abolitionist and United States Senator from Vermont. He was the father of Anne Eliza Brainerd Smith and the father-in-law of Vermont Governor J. Gregory Smith....

    , senator.
  • Richard Brewer
    Richard Brewer
    Richard M. "Dick" Brewer , was an American cowboy and outlaw. He was the first leader of what historically is referred to as Billy the Kid's band, although Billy never led them.-Early life:...

    , assumed leader of Billy the Kid's
    Billy the Kid
    William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...

     band.
  • Abbott Lowell Cummings
    Abbott Lowell Cummings
    Abbott Lowell Cummings is a noted architectural historian and genealogist, best known for his study of New England architecture. He currently lives in South Deerfield, Massachusetts.Cummings was born in St...

    , architectural historian and genealogist.
  • Sile Doty
    Sile Doty
    Sile Doty was an infamous robber, burglar, horse thief, highwayman, counterfeiter, and criminal gang leader. Doty's criminal career is known primarily through his autobiography, compiled by J. G. W...

    , infamous robber, burglar, horse thief
    Horse thief
    -United States:The term horse thief came into great popularity in the U.S. during the 19th century. During that time the Great Plains states, Texas, and other western states were sparsely populated and negligibly policed. As farmers tilled the land and migrants headed west through the Great...

    , highwayman
    Highwayman
    A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...

    , counterfeiter
    Counterfeit money
    Counterfeit money is currency that is produced without the legal sanction of the state or government to resemble some official form of currency closely enough that it may be confused for genuine currency. Producing or using counterfeit money is a form of fraud or forgery. Counterfeiting is probably...

    , and criminal gang leader.
  • John LeClair
    John LeClair
    John Clark LeClair is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins...

    , professional hockey player
  • John Gregory Smith, governor.
  • William Farrar Smith
    William Farrar Smith
    William Farrar Smith , was a civil engineer, a member of the New York City police commission, and Union general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...

    , American Civil War
    American Civil War
    The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

     era general.
  • Benjamin Swift
    Benjamin Swift
    Benjamin Swift was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator and lawyer from Vermont.Swift was born in Amenia, New York. He moved with his father to Bennington, Vermont at the age of 5. In 1809 he moved to St. Albans, Vermont and became an important lawyer, banker and farmer in that area...

    , senator.

See also

  • List of people from St. Albans (city), Vermont
  • St. Albans (Amtrak station)
    St. Albans (Amtrak station)
    St. Albans is a train station in St. Albans, Vermont served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. The station is also in close proximity to the headquarters for the New England Central Railroad. St. Albans Station was originally built in 1900 as a switch house by the Central Vermont...

  • Vermont Voltage
    Vermont Voltage
    Vermont Voltage is an American soccer team based in St. Albans, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1997, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference, having spent the 2009 season on...

     (USL Soccer team)
  • St. Albans raid
    St. Albans raid
    The St. Albans Raid was the northernmost land action of the American Civil War, taking place in St. Albans, Vermont on October 19, 1864.-Background:In this unusual incident, Bennett H. Young led Confederate States Army forces...

  • Champ
    Champ (legend)
    Champ, or Champie, or Champy, is the name given to a reputed lake monster living in Lake Champlain, a natural freshwater lake in North America, partially situated across the U.S.-Canada border in the Canadian province of Quebec and partially situated across the Vermont-New York border...


External links

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