Editing Middletown Springs, Vermont (section)

==History==
Settlement began shortly before the [[American Revolutionary War]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=History – Middletown Springs Historical Society |url=https://mshsvt.org/history/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=mshsvt.org}}</ref> At that time, the four towns of [[Ira, Vermont|Ira]], [[Poultney (town), Vermont|Poultney]], [[Wells, Vermont|Wells]], and [[Tinmouth, Vermont|Tinmouth]] converged within a fertile valley ringed by mountains.<ref name=":1" /> Inhabitants of this valley had difficulty crossing the mountains to attend church and conduct business in their respective towns, and resolved in 1784 to petition the legislature to create a new town.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Frisbie |first=Barnes |url=https://archive.org/details/historymiddleto00frisgoog |title=The History of Middletown, Vermont, in Three Discourses: Delivered Before the Citizens of that Town, February 7 and 21, and March 30, 1867 |date=1867 |year=1867 |publication-date= |pages=7-9}}</ref> The petition was granted, and the honor of naming the town was given to settler Joseph Spaulding because of his service in surveying the town's borders. He chose "Middletown" as result of its location at the middle of four towns and to pay homage to his hometown of [[Middletown, Connecticut]].<ref name=":0" /> The town's name was officially changed to "Middletown Springs" in 1885, which was a reference to the town's mineral springs that drew in large numbers of visitors in the late 19th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Middleown Springs, VT – Information about Middletown Springs, Vermont |url=https://middletownsprings.vt.gov/about-middletown-springs/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=middletownsprings.vt.gov}}</ref>