Editing Castleton, Vermont (section)

==History==
[[File:Castleton, Vt. (2675064089).jpg|thumb|Print of Castleton from 1889 by [[L.R. Burleigh]] with listing of landmarks]]
Castleton was settled in 1770, and chartered in 1761.<ref name=charter>{{Cite book|url=http://sos.nh.gov/Papers.aspx|title=Provincial and State Papers, Volume 26|publisher=State of New Hampshire|year=1895|location=New Hampshire Records and Archives, Concord, NH|pages=79–82|access-date=February 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212162437/http://sos.nh.gov/Papers.aspx|archive-date=February 12, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The charter for {{convert|36|sqmi|km2}} of land was granted by Governor [[Benning Wentworth]] of [[New Hampshire]] and divided the land into 70 "rights" or "shares". Governor Wentworth retained ownership of two shares, and several others were given for churches and a school.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://sos.nh.gov/Papers.aspx|title=Provincial and State Papers, Volume 26|publisher=State of New Hampshire|year=1895|location=New Hampshire Records and Archives, Concord, NH|pages=82|access-date=February 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212162437/http://sos.nh.gov/Papers.aspx|archive-date=February 12, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Three families had settled in Castleton by 1770. In the spring of 1767, some of the town's first settlers, Amos Bird and Noah Lee, arrived in Castleton from [[Salisbury, Connecticut|Salisbury]], [[Connecticut]]. Castleton's favorite landmark, Birdseye Mountain, is named for Colonel Amos Bird. He had acquired 40 shares of land when the town was chartered and built a permanent residence there in the summer of 1769. More settlers followed, and by 1777 the town consisted of 17 families.{{citation needed|reason=The cited reference material no longer mentions these facts.|date=June 2016}}

In May 1775 [[Ethan Allen]] and his [[Green Mountain Boys]] met in Castleton with [[Benedict Arnold]] to plan their next day's attack on [[Fort Ticonderoga]], {{convert|30|mi|km}} west, on the New York side of [[Lake Champlain]]. Their successful capture of the fort was a holding action that lasted two years until the British launched a powerful sweep southward on Lake Champlain. The battle at nearby [[Hubbardton, Vermont|Hubbardton]], followed by battles at [[Battle of Bennington|Bennington]] and [[Battles of Saratoga|Saratoga]], marked the turning point of the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] in the North. Although [[Germans in the American Revolution|German soldiers]] were stationed in Castleton for a time in 1777, they left as the fortunes of the war changed, and [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Tory]] sympathizers were treated with scorn by Castleton settlers. [[Fort Warren (Vermont)|Fort Warren]], built in 1777, was also located in Castleton.<ref name="revolutionaryday">{{cite web |title=Castleton, Vermont – A Site on a Revolutionary War Road Trip |url=http://www.revolutionaryday.com/usroute4/castleton/default.htm |website=www.revolutionaryday.com |access-date=September 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617104752/http://www.revolutionaryday.com/usroute4/castleton/default.htm |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

The [[Castleton Medical College Building|first medical school in Vermont]] was chartered here in 1818.<ref name=bmla011950>{{cite journal |last1=Dittrick |first1=Howard |year=1950 |title=The History of the First Medical College in Vermont—Castleton 1818–1862 |journal=Bulletin of the Medical Library Association  |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=68–69 |pmc=195016}}</ref>

Following the war, Castleton continued to grow as an agricultural community. Farmers raised cattle, and then turned for a while to sheep. Saw mills and gristmills were the first industries established in town. During the 19th century the [[slate]] and [[marble]] industries thrived in and around Castleton. The railroad came in 1854, and the last half of the century saw the development of tourism around Lake Bomoseen. In the 19th century Castleton flourished, and many residents built elaborate houses to replace their log cabins and primitive frame houses. Several luxury hotels were built around the west end of the lake. A [[tram|trolley]] system ran from the center of town to Lake Bomoseen, a destination for tourists vacationing during the summer. The Hydeville area flourished in the mid-19th century as a slate quarrying and milling center.

Between 1900 and 1940 several fires occurred in [[Castleton (village), Vermont|Castleton Village]], Castleton Corners and Hydeville, as well as at the lakeside resorts. Despite this destruction of hotels and the original commercial and industrial areas of its villages, the town of Castleton retains an architectural heritage spanning two hundred years of Vermont history.  Castleton's mile-long tree-shaded Main Street, with its array of [[Federal style architecture|Federal]] and [[Greek Revival]] style houses and public buildings, many by builder Thomas Royal Dake, has been listed almost in its entirety on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].