Editing Island Pond, Vermont (section)

==History==

===The railroad===

Island Pond became an important [[railroad]] center in 1853 when the [[Grand Trunk Railway]] established international connections between [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], and [[Portland, Maine]]. The half-way point in the Portland-Montreal railroad line, this town became a booming railroad center with a [[Railway roundhouse|roundhouse]], shops, and all the facilities associated with train operations. In 1923 the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada was [[bankrupt]] and taken over by the Canadian government and operated as the [[Canadian National Railways]]. With the Canadian government directing the railroad, political considerations soon outweighed the economics of the railroad; commerce was displaced from the port of Portland to the Canadian ports of [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] and [[Saint John, New Brunswick|St. John]]. The importance of the Portland line then began a decline which was never to be reversed. Island Pond's days as a major railroad town were over by the late 1950s due to the elimination of [[steam locomotive]]s. By 1960 [[passenger train]] service to Portland had ended, and three years later the [[diesel locomotive]] shop was closed. In 1966 barely a skeleton staff of people worked in Island Pond after the roundhouse closed.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Cook|first=Roger.|title=Vermont time machine|magazine=[[Classic Trains]]|publisher=[[Kalmbach Media]]|volume=24|number=3|date=Fall 2023|pages=20-27}}</ref> Canadian National continued to operate freight service to Portland until 1988; the following year the line was sold to a [[short-line railroad|short line]] operator, the [[St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad]], which provides service to this day.

[[File:Common Sense Café 28 Cross Street Island Pond VT May 2013.jpg|thumbnail|left|Common Sense Cafe at 28 Cross Street next door to Yellow Deli--both owned and operated by the Twelve Tribes.]]

===The Twelve Tribes===
Island Pond became the home of the [[Twelve Tribes communities|Twelve Tribes]] when the religious movement relocated to Island Pond from [[Tennessee]] in 1977. The group, led by Yoneq Gene Spriggs, sought shelter from the opposition it met elsewhere, although it continually faced opposition which culminated in the Island Pond raid in 1984 where state police and state [[social worker]]s seized 112 children due to allegations of [[child abuse]]. The children were returned the same day upon a determination that the raid was unconstitutional, and no trial was held on the evidence of abuse the state found. Nevertheless, the "Island Pond Raid" retains its notoriety.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/tribes.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2006-08-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310193156/http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/tribes.html |archive-date=2007-03-10 }} article on the website of the [[University of Virginia]], note: the articles on individual religious groups were mostly written by students with as a result highly varying degrees of quality</ref>

===Traffic enforcement===
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In 2007, Brighton Constable Theodore "Ted" Miller's strict enforcement of traffic regulations became the subject of nationwide coverage. In 2006 alone, 1,224 tickets and 1,662 warnings were issued.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2007/10/29/youll_stop_there_or_be_stopped|title=At intersection of law and enforcement, Vermont officer awaits the careless - The Boston Globe|website=www.boston.com}}</ref><ref name="The Boston Globe">{{cite web |last1=Russell |first1=Jenna |title=Stop There or You'll be Stopped |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2007/10/29/youll_stop_there_or_be_stopped/ |website=Boston.com |publisher=The Boston Globe |access-date=27 October 2021}}</ref>