Editing Grafton, Vermont

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Grafton, Vermont
|settlement_type          = [[New England town|Town]]
|nickname                 =
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Grafton Village Overlook - panoramio.jpg
|imagesize                =
|image_alt                = general view of Grafton
|image_flag               =
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = grafton_vt_highlight.png
|mapsize                  = 200px
|map_caption              = Grafton, Vermont
|image_map1               =
|mapsize1                 =
|map_caption1             =
|pushpin_map              = USA
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location in the United States
<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Vermont]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Vermont|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Windham County, Vermont|Windham]]
|parts_type               = Communities
|parts                    = {{ubl|[[Grafton (CDP), Vermont|Grafton]]|[[Houghtonville Historic District|Houghtonville]]}}

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     =
|government_type          =
|leader_title             =
|leader_name              =
|leader_title1            =
|leader_name1             =
|established_title        =
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref  =  Imperial
|area_footnotes           =
|area_magnitude           =
|area_total_km2           = 99.5
|area_land_km2            = 99.4
|area_water_km2           = 0.0
|area_total_sq_mi         = 38.4
|area_land_sq_mi          = 38.4
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.0

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     =
|population_total         = 645
|population_density_km2   = 6.5
|population_density_sq_mi =

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = −05:00
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = −04:00
|elevation_footnotes      =
|elevation_m              = 282
|elevation_ft             = 925
|coordinates              = {{coord|43|11|25|N|72|36|0|W|region:US-VT|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]s
|postal_code              = 05146 (Grafton)<br/>05141 ([[Cambridgeport, Vermont|Cambridgeport]])<br/>05143 ([[Chester, Vermont|Chester]])
|area_code                = [[Area code 802|802]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 50-28900<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1462105<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|website                  =
|footnotes                =
}}
'''Grafton''' is a [[New England town|town]] in [[Windham County, Vermont]], United States. The population was 645 at the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0600000US5002528900|title=Census - Geography Profile: Grafton town, Windham County, Vermont|access-date=December 30, 2021}}</ref>

==History==
[[Image:Phelps Barn Grafton VT.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The Phelps Barn in Grafton]]

In the early 19th century, [[sheep]] raising became popular and multiple [[woolen]] mills sprang up along the branches of the [[Saxtons River]]. [[Soapstone]] was quarried on nearby Bear Mountain.<ref name="preservationnation">Stephen Jermanok, [https://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2010/january-february/grafton-vt.html A Town for All Seasons], ''Preservation'' magazine, January/February 2010.</ref>  The town became a notable [[stagecoach]] hub for traffic across the [[Green Mountains (Vermont)|Green Mountains]] into [[Albany, New York]]. One inn from that era, ''"the Old Tavern,"'' was founded in 1801. It remains one of the oldest continually operating hotels in the United States. It is now called The Grafton Inn.

Grafton had a population of almost 1,500 just before the [[American Civil War]].<ref name=preservationnation/> The town suffered severe losses during the Civil War. Local cemeteries in the village hold many [[tombstone]]s of casualties from the [[Battle of Gettysburg]]. After the war, the community declined in population. The soapstone [[quarry]] was depleted and closed late in the 19th century. Around the time of the Great Depression, the town's population was less than 400.<ref name=preservationnation/>

In the 1960s the Windham Foundation was established to help restore the village.<ref>Town, R. L., and Hall, Mathew: What's happening in Grafton, Vermont, ''Yankee Magazine'', November 1967, p. 90.</ref> It purchased the Old Tavern and many residences in the area. The foundation also established an artisanal cheese business, the [[Grafton Village Cheese Company]], and built a world-class [[cross-country skiing]] center at Grafton Ponds that offers a popular mountain biking program for children in the summer months. The restoration efforts attracted new residents from metropolitan New York and Boston.

==Etymology==
The town was founded as '''Thomlinson''' in 1754, but renaming rights were auctioned in 1791. The high bidder, who reportedly offered "five dollars and a jug of rum," changed the name to Grafton after his home town of [[Grafton, Massachusetts]].

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of 38.4&nbsp;square miles (99.5&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 38.4&nbsp;square&nbsp;miles (99.4&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.03% is water. The [[Grafton (CDP), Vermont|village of Grafton]] is slightly southeast of the geographic center of the town, in the valley of the [[Saxtons River]].

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1790= 561
|1800= 1149
|1810= 1365
|1820= 1482
|1830= 1439
|1840= 1326
|1850= 1241
|1860= 1154
|1870= 1008
|1880= 929
|1890= 817
|1900= 804
|1910= 729
|1920= 476
|1930= 453
|1940= 393
|1950= 422
|1960= 426
|1970= 465
|1980= 604
|1990= 602
|2000= 649
|2010= 679
|2020= 645
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=U.S. Decennial Census |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 16, 2015 }}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 649 people, 291 households, and 190 families residing in the town.  The [[population density]] was 16.9 people per square mile (6.5/km<sup>2</sup>).  There were 434 housing units at an average density of 11.3 per square mile (4.4/km<sup>2</sup>).  The racial makeup of the town was 99.23% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.31% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], and 0.46% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.77% of the population.

There were 291 households, out of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.73.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.2% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 33.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 114.2 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $42,313, and the median income for a family was $48,250. Males had a median income of $31,346 versus $21,406 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $23,617.  About 6.3% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

== Notable people ==
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· Only people who already have a Wikipedia article may appear here. This establishes notability.
· The article must mention how they are associated with Grafton, whether born, raised, or residing.
· The fact of their association should have a reliable source cited.
· Alphabetical by last name please.
· All others will be deleted.
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* [[John Barrett (diplomat)|John Barrett]], United States ambassador; founder of the [[Pan American Union]]
* [[John S. Barry]], fourth and eighth [[List of Governors of Michigan|Governor of Michigan]]
* [[L. J. C. Daniels]], American suffragist and political activist
* [[Benjamin W. Dean]], [[Secretary of State of Vermont]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Chapman |first=George T. |date=1867 |title=Sketches of the Alumni of Dartmouth College |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_sju7AAAAIAAJ |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Riverside Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_sju7AAAAIAAJ/page/n374 372]–373}}</ref>
* [[C. W. Deane]]. Michigan politician
* [[Enoch Hale]], army colonel, built the first bridge over the Connecticut River
* [[George Van Horn Moseley Jr.]], World War II airborne commander
* [[Samuel B. Pettengill]], congressman from Indiana, founded Grafton Historical Society
* [[Albert J. Pullen]], Wisconsin politician
* [[Frank E. Putnam]], Minnesota politician
* [[Danny Roberts (The Real World)|Danny Roberts]], television personality, resided in Grafton
* [[Frank Ryan (American football)|Frank Ryan]], football quarterback, Yale University athletic director
* [[Daisy Turner (storyteller)|Daisy Turner]], African-American storyteller

==References==

{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.graftonvt.org Grafton Vermont official town website]
*[http://www.vtliving.com/towns/grafton/ VT Living Magazine - Town of Grafton]

{{Windham County, Vermont}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Grafton, Vermont| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Vermont]]
[[Category:Towns in Windham County, Vermont]]