Editing Hardwick, Vermont (section)

==History==
During the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], General [[George Washington]] ordered construction of the [[Bayley-Hazen Military Road]] to provide access into the interior of Vermont. It would prompt the development and settlement of Hardwick and East Hardwick.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.crossvermont.org/images/page_maps/brochure/bayleyhazen-intro.pdf|title=Bayley Hazen Intro}}</ref>

The town was granted by the [[Vermont General Assembly]] on November 7, 1780, then chartered on August 19, 1781, to Danforth Keyes and 66 others, some of whom were from [[Hardwick, Massachusetts]]. Permanent settlement began in 1793 when several families named Norris arrived from [[New Hampshire]]. By 1859, when the population reached 1,402, the town had several [[sawmill]]s and [[gristmill]]s on the [[Lamoille River]]. There were also two [[Tanning (leather)|tanneries]]. Over the years, other industries would include a [[woolen]] mill, [[tinware]] shop, and [[carriage]] factory.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

The predominant business following the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] was [[granite]] [[quarry]]ing, especially after the [[Portland and Ogdensburg Railway|Portland & Ogdensburg Railway]] opened service through the town and facilitated shipment of stone. While most of the granite was quarried in nearby [[Woodbury, Vermont|Woodbury]], the stone was dressed and finished in Hardwick, largely near "Granite Junction", where the rail lines met.<ref>''E.g.'', Vermont Board of Railroad Commissioners, ''Seventh Biennial report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of Vermont'', p. 143 (1900).</ref> The [[Hardwick and Woodbury Railroad]] was built to bring granite from the quarries to the finishing shops, and Hardwick became known as the "Building Granite Center of the World".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vermont-towns.org/hardwick/hardwick.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=June 16, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009071610/http://www.vermont-towns.org/hardwick/hardwick.htm |archive-date=October 9, 2007 }}</ref> By 1906, 1,200 people were employed in the industry, which was led by the [[Woodbury Granite Company]]. Buildings around the country made with Hardwick granite include the [[Pennsylvania State Capitol]], [[Chicago City Hall]], and the [[Postal Square Building|1914 Post Office]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], as well as numerous city halls and [[custom house]]s.<ref>Elizabeth H. Dow, “[https://vermonthistory.org/journal/misc/HardwickIndustrialization.pdf Hardwick on the Map, 1895-1915: Industrialization in Direct Democracy]”, ''Vermont History: Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society'', Vol. 58, No. 4, pp. 221-249 (Fall 1990).</ref>  The decline of the "architectural granite" industry in the 1920s and 1930s left Hardwick in economic depression.

Hardwick Village disincorporated in 1988 and merged with the town.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vermonthistory.org/journal/73/05_Howe.pdf |title=Data |website=vermonthistory.org}}</ref>

In 2011, the office manager of the municipal electric department was accused of embezzling $1.6 million over a period of 12 years. The [[FBI]] investigated, and she was charged in [[United States District Court for the District of Vermont|federal court]] and found guilty.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Mike | last=Donoghue | title=How $1.6M slid under the radar in Hardwick | url=http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110626/NEWS02/106260310/How-1-6-million-slid-under-radar-Hardwick-?odyssey=tab| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120728095929/http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110626/NEWS02/106260310/How-1-6-million-slid-under-radar-Hardwick-?odyssey=tab| url-status=dead| archive-date=July 28, 2012| newspaper=[[Burlington Free Press]] | location=Burlington, Vermont | pages= 1A | date=June 26, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/93099/bellevance-sentenced-to-3-12-years-for-embezzlemen/ |title=Bellevance Sentenced To 3 1/2 Years For Embezzlement |agency=Associated Press |publisher=[[Vermont Public Radio]] |date=January 18, 2012 }}</ref>

[[Image:Fletcher Granite Company, Hardwick, VT.jpg|thumb|center|upright=1.5|Fletcher Granite Co. {{Circa|1907}}]]