Bennington (town), Vermont
Encyclopedia : B : BE : BEN : Bennington (town), Vermont
- For other places in Vermont called Bennington, see Bennington, Vermont (disambiguation).
Bennington is a town located in, and one of two shire towns of, Bennington County, Vermont. The population was 15,737 at the 2000 census.
History
The history of the town of Bennington goes back to 1749, when New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth chartered the first town in the territory now known as Vermont, and named it after himself.The town is known primarily for the Battle of Bennington, fought during the Revolutionary War (the battle was actually fought a few miles further west, in the state of New York). On August 16th 1777, Gen. John Stark’s 1,500 New Hampshire Militia defeated 800 troops of German mercenaries, local Loyalists, Canadians and Indians under German Lt. Col. Friedrich Baum. German reinforcements under the command of Lt. Col. Heinrich von Breymann looked set to reverse the outcome, but were prevented by the arrival of Seth Warner’s Green Mountain Boys; the Vermont militia founded by Ethan Allen.
There are three historic districts within the town today: Old Bennington, Downtown Bennington and North Bennington. Of these, Old Bennington is the original settlement, dating back to 1761 when Congregational Separatists arrived from Connecticut and Massachusetts. In the early 1800’s , Downtown Bennington started developing, and by 1854 the county’s population had reached 18,589.
In 1891, the Bennington Battle Monument was opened, which features a 306 foot high stone obelisk. The monument is a popular tourist attraction.
Bennington has ready access to natural resources and waterpower, and a long history of manufacture, primarily within wood processing. The town is also recognized nationally for its pottery, iron, and textiles.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 110.0 km² (42.5 mi²). 109.9 km² (42.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.14%) is water.Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 15,737 people, 6,162 households, and 3,863 families residing in the town. The population density was 143.2/km² (370.9/mi²). There were 6,574 housing units at an average density of 59.8/km² (154.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.96% White, 0.63% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.99% of the population.There were 6,162 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,706, and the median income for a family was $40,615. Males had a median income of $30,712 versus $22,411 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,290. About 11.1% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.1% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.
Youth sports
- Bennington is home to the three time defending U-14 Bennington Blitz AAU boy's basketball team.
Attractions
- The Bennington Battle Monument
- The Grandma Moses Museum.
- The Park-McCullough Historic House, a well-preserved, 35-room, Victorian country house.
- Robert Frost's grave.
- Hemmings Motor News Vintage Auto Museum & Car Lovers' Gift Shop
- Bennington College
- [The Old First Church]
Notable residents
- Hiram Bingham, first missionary to introduce Christianity to the Hawaiian islands.
- Beatrice Boepple, actress.
- Peter Dinklage, actor.
- James Fisk, Jr., financier.
- Simon Fraser, fur trader and explorer who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia.
- Robert Frost, poet is buried here.
- Cynthia Gibb, actress and former model.
- Milford Graves, free jazz drummer and play different kinds of percussion of all the world.
- Horace Chapin Henry, Seattle businessman and founder of the Henry Art Gallery.
- Stanley Edgar Hyman, literary critic.
- Shirley Jackson, author.
- Ray Magliozzi, co-host of NPR's weekly radio show, Car Talk, taught science here for a few years.
- Jonathan Robinson, U.S. Sentator from Vermont.
- Moses Robinson, U.S. Sentator from Vermont.
- David Smith, sculptor of Abstract Expressionism mostly know for large steel abstract geometric sculptures.
- Benjamin Swift, U.S. Sentator from Vermont.
- Isaac Tichenor, Governor of Vermont and also served as a jurist and a U.S. Senator.
- Seth Warner, Captain of the Green Mountain Boys.
- Jamaica Kincaid, novelist.
See also
External links
- [Bennington Vermont Official Town Site]
- [Bennington Free Library Website]
- [Bennington Banner, the daily newspaper]
- [Bennington College]
- [Hemmings Motor News Collector Car Museum & Car Lover's Gift Shop]
- *[Maps and aerial photos]
- * Street map from [Google Maps] or [Yahoo! Maps]
- * Topographic map from [TopoZone]
- * Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
- * Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Windows Live Local]
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| State of Vermont |
|
|---|---|---|
| State Capital | Montpelier | |
| Regions | Champlain Valley | Green Mountains | Mount Mansfield | Northeast Kingdom | Northern Vermont | Southern Vermont | |
| Counties | Addison | Bennington | Caledonia | Chittenden | Essex | Franklin | Grand Isle | Lamoille | Orange | Orleans | Rutland | Washington | Windham | Windsor | |
| Cities | Barre City| Burlington| Montpelier| Newport City| Rutland City| South Burlington| St. Albans City| Vergennes| Winooski | |
| Towns | . | |
| Villages | . | |
| Constitution | | Geography | Government | History | | ||
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