West Hartford, Vermont
Encyclopedia
West Hartford is an unincorporated
village
in the town
of Hartford
, Windsor County, Vermont
. It is the most rural of Hartford's five villages, situated on the White River
and crossed by the Appalachian Trail
. Almost half of the village was wiped out by a flood in 1927. Some areas have been developed for residential use, but significant forest, farming and open lands remain. West Hartford features a country store, a post office, a small library and a town park along the White River which is a popular fishing site. The village center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as the West Hartford Village Historic District.
Clifford Park is a town maintained park that includes nature trails, a softball field, horseshoe pits, and a picnic area on the river. Every summer, it is turned into a major landing area for the hot air balloons that have taken off at the Quechee Balloon Festival, and every Halloween it is the Haunted Area for local youths sponsored by the Hartford Parks and Recreation Department. The park is named Clifford, after the former owner of the land that now holds the park, and the land that is the Westfield Drive community.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
of Hartford
Hartford, Vermont
Hartford is a town in Windsor County in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is located on the New Hampshire border, at the intersection of Interstates 89 and 91. It is the site of the confluence of the White River and the Connecticut River; the Ottauquechee River also flows through the town...
, Windsor County, 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...
. It is the most rural of Hartford's five villages, situated on the White River
White River (Vermont)
The White River is a river in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River.The White River rises at Skylight Pond south of Bread Loaf Mountain near the crest of the Green Mountains. The river flows east to the town of Granville, where it receives the outflow from the...
and crossed by the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
. Almost half of the village was wiped out by a flood in 1927. Some areas have been developed for residential use, but significant forest, farming and open lands remain. West Hartford features a country store, a post office, a small library and a town park along the White River which is a popular fishing site. The village center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as the West Hartford Village Historic District.
Geography
West Hartford is located at geographical coordinates 43° 42′ 44" North, 72° 25′ 7" West (43.71212, -72.418541). The White River runs through the Village, and along Clifford Park, a great place for fishing and canoeing.History
In the spring of 1927 the Vermont rivers flooded taking out several bridges, including the west hartford bridge, shortly after the flood the bridges were all replace with "cookie cutter" bridges that were tall, green, steel bridges. In 2006 the bridge was replaced with a new single span bridge, Veterans Bridge. The old bridge had a pool off the downstream side that local teens, children, and adults would jump off the bridge into the water. The new bridge is in a location where it is dangerous to jump because the deep pool is no longer accessible. Though the teens, children, and adults still jump off the bridge. At the foot of the new bridge is a small area in remembrance of Hartford Veterans that have died in the wars.Clifford Park is a town maintained park that includes nature trails, a softball field, horseshoe pits, and a picnic area on the river. Every summer, it is turned into a major landing area for the hot air balloons that have taken off at the Quechee Balloon Festival, and every Halloween it is the Haunted Area for local youths sponsored by the Hartford Parks and Recreation Department. The park is named Clifford, after the former owner of the land that now holds the park, and the land that is the Westfield Drive community.