Editing Rockingham, Vermont

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

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Pleasant Valley Grange, Rockingham, Vermont.jpg
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = Pleasant Valley Grange Hall, next to the Rockingham Meeting House
|image_flag               =
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = rockingham_vt_highlight.png
|mapsize                  = 200px
|map_caption              = Rockingham, 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|[[Bellows Falls, Vermont|Bellows Falls]]|[[Cambridgeport, Vermont|Cambridgeport]]|[[Saxtons River, Vermont|Saxtons River]]}}

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     =
|government_type          =
|leader_title             =
|leader_name              =
|leader_title1            =
|leader_name1             =
|established_title        = Chartered
|established_date         = 1752

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref  =  Imperial
|area_footnotes           =
|area_magnitude           =
|area_total_km2           = 109.6
|area_land_km2            = 108.5
|area_water_km2           = 1.1
|area_total_sq_mi         = 42.3
|area_land_sq_mi          = 41.9
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.4

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     =
|population_total         = 4832
|population_density_km2   = 48.7
|population_density_sq_mi = 123.1

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      =
|elevation_m              = 316
|elevation_ft             = 1037
|coordinates              = {{coord|43|9|57|N|72|28|54|W|region:US-VT|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]s
|postal_code              = 05101 ([[Bellows Falls, Vermont|Bellows Falls]])<br/>05154 ([[Saxtons River, Vermont|Saxtons River]])<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               = 50-60250<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              = 1462189<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                =
}}
'''Rockingham''' is a [[New England town|town]] along the [[Connecticut River]] in [[Windham County, Vermont|Windham County]], [[Vermont]], United States. As of the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]], the population was 4,832. Rockingham includes the incorporated villages of [[Bellows Falls, Vermont|Bellows Falls]] and [[Saxtons River, Vermont|Saxtons River]], as well as a large rural area west of [[Interstate 91 in Vermont|Interstate 91]].

Rockingham has no formal town center; instead, town offices and the Rockingham Public Library are located in the village of Bellows Falls. The approximate center is the [[Rockingham Meeting House]], passed by Route 103, a popular east–west route across the state. The Meeting House was built in Rockingham Village, once the main settlement in the town, but with the increased use of water power for manufacturing, population shifted to other villages located on the two rivers in the town. Most of what was left of Rockingham Village (over a dozen buildings, also called the Old Town) burned in a fire on April 14, 1908; the fire came close to the Meeting House but it was saved.<ref>''Brattleboro Reformer'', April 17, 1908, page 2, Image 2. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn97067589/1908-04-17/ed-1/seq-2/</ref> The houses, hotel, and store that burned were not rebuilt.<ref>Incorrect year listed for the fire (1909). Lovell, F.S, and L.C. Lovell. 1958. ''History of the Town of Rockingham, Vermont, including the villages of Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Rockingham, Cambridgeport, and Bartonsville, 1907-1957, with family genealogies''. Published by the town, Bellows Falls, VT.</ref>

==History==

[[Image:Street Scene, Rockingham, VT.jpg|thumb|left|Street scene, Rockingham Village, {{circa|1908}}]]
[[File:Rockingham, Vermont (1915).jpg|thumb|left|Bellows Falls Village, Rockingham, 1915]]
One of the [[New Hampshire grants]], it was chartered by Governor [[Benning Wentworth]] on December 28, 1752, and named for [[Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham|Lord Rockingham]]. The township was granted to Samuel Johnson and 72 others. When the Town was first settled in 1753 by [[American pioneer|pioneer]]s, its rivers were sites of fishing for [[salmon]] and [[shad]],<ref name="books.google.com">[https://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&dq=coolidge+mansfield+history+description+new+england+1859&pg=PA9 A. J. Coolidge & J. B. Mansfield, ''A History and Description of New England;'' Boston, Massachusetts 1859]</ref> as they had been for the original indigenous inhabitants. By 1771, the population reached 225. In 1785, Colonel [[Enoch Hale]] erected the first bridge over the [[Connecticut River]], and until 1796, it remained the only bridge across.<ref name="books.google.com"/> The village of Bellows Falls became an important [[mill town]], which reduced the runs of palatable fish.

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of 42.3&nbsp;square miles (109.6&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 41.9&nbsp;square miles (108.5&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.4&nbsp;square mile (1.1&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) (0.97%) is water. It is drained by the [[Williams River (Vermont)|Williams]] and the [[Saxtons River|Saxtons]] rivers, and several brooks that flow directly into the [[Connecticut River]]; the latter river forms the eastern boundary of Rockingham.

The highest point in town is Berry Hill at 478 m/1568&nbsp;ft elevation, near the northwestern corner of the town.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/summary/2791532 | title=Geographic Names Information System }}</ref> The lowest point is on the [[Connecticut River]] at the southern boundary of town, at 73 m/240&nbsp;ft elevation.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://en-us.topographic-map.com/maps/kfq4/Connecticut-River/ | title=Connecticut River topographic map, elevation, relief }}</ref>

The town is crossed by [[Interstate 91]], [[U.S. Route 5 in Vermont|U.S. Route 5]], [[Vermont Route 103]] and [[Vermont Route 121]]. The [[Bellows Falls station|Bellows Falls train station]] was once served by three rail lines, and today it has [[Amtrak]] service on the ''Vermonter'' route, with two trains a day, one heading south to Washington, DC and one heading north to St. Albans, VT.

==Demographics==
The rural community, based on farming, had its peak of population in 1920.
{{US Census population
|1790= 1235
|1800= 1684
|1810= 1954
|1820= 2155
|1830= 2272
|1840= 2330
|1850= 2837
|1860= 2904
|1870= 2854
|1880= 3797
|1890= 4579
|1900= 5809
|1910= 6207
|1920= 6231
|1930= 5302
|1940= 5737
|1950= 5499
|1960= 5704
|1970= 5501
|1980= 5538
|1990= 5484
|2000= 5309
|2010= 5282
|2020= 4832
|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 5,309 people, 2,202 households, and 1,387 families residing in the town.  The [[population density]] was 126.7 people per square mile (48.9/km<sup>2</sup>).  There were 2,425 housing units at an average density of 57.9 per square mile (22.3/km<sup>2</sup>).  The racial makeup of the town was 97.38% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.34% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.09% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.55% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.06% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.26% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.32% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.15% of the population.

There were 2,202 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were couples living together and joined in either [[marriage]] or [[Civil Union|civil union]], 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $33,423, and the median income for a family was $45,503. Males had a median income of $29,200 versus $22,944 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $19,051.  About 4.8% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

==Listed on National Register of Historic Places==

[[Image:Rockingham Meeting House, Rockingham, VT.jpg|thumb|right|Rockingham Meeting House]]
* [[Bartonsville Covered Bridge]] – across the [[Williams River (Vermont)|Williams River]] at the southern end of Bartonsville (added August 2, 1973)
* [[Worrall Covered Bridge]] – north of Rockingham across the Williams River (added August 16, 1973)
* [[Hall Covered Bridge]] – West of Bellows Falls across the Saxtons River, off Vermont Route 121 (added August 28, 1973)
* [[Parker Hill Rural Historic District]] – Parker Hill and Lower Parker Hill Roads (added June 20, 1993)<ref>[http://www.crjc.org/heritage/V06-49.htm/ Description] of Parker Hill from National Register Nomination Information</ref>
* [[Rockingham Meeting House]] – off [[Vermont Route 103]] (added October 10, 1979)
* [[Rockingham Village Historic District]] – Meeting House Rd., Rockingham Hill Rd. (added January 4, 2008)
* [[Williams River Route 5 Bridge]] – [[U.S. Route 5]] over the Williams River (added December 14, 1991)
* [[Adams Gristmill Warehouse]] – Bridge St., Bellows Falls (added January 22, 1990)
* [[Bellows Falls Co-operative Creamery Complex]] – Bridge St., Bellows Falls (added January 22, 1990)
* [[Bellows Falls Petroglyph Site (VT-WD-8)]] – Bridge St., Bellows Falls (added January 22, 1990)
* [[Bellows Falls Times Building]] – Bridge and Island streets, Bellows Falls (added January 22, 1990)
* [[Bellows Falls Downtown Historic District]] – Depot, Canal, Rockingham, Bridge, Mill, and Westminster Sts. (added August 16, 1982)
* [[Bellows Falls Neighborhood Historic District]] – Atkinson, Westminster, School, and Hapgood Sts., Hapgood Pl., and Burt St., Henry St., South St., Hadley St., and Temple Pl.; also Center, Front, Old Terrace, and Pine Sts., Bellows Falls (added January 17, 2002)
* [[Gas Station at Bridge and Island Streets]] – (added January 22, 1990)
* [[George-Pine-Henry Street Historic District]] – 5-22 George St.; 1-17 Pine St.; 32-44 Henry St., Bellows Falls (added July 13, 2010)
* [[Vermont Academy Campus Historic District]] – 10 Long Walk, Saxtons River (added July 14, 2015)
* [[Saxtons River Village Historic District]] – Roughly bounded by Burk Hill and Bellview Rds., Oak St., the [[Saxtons River]], and Westminster West Rd. (added September 29, 1988)
* [[Miss Bellows Falls Diner]] – 90 Rockingham St., Bellows Falls (added February 15, 1983)
* [[Moore and Thompson Paper Mill Complex]] – Bridge St., Bellows Falls (added March 16, 1984)
* [[Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel (Bellows Falls, Vermont)|Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel]] – Off Pleasant St., Bellows Falls (added November 14, 1991)
* [[William A. Hall House]] – 1 Hapgood St., Bellows Falls (added May 5, 1999)
* [[Howard Hardware Storehouse]] – Bridge St., Bellows Falls (added January 22, 1990)
* [[Robertson Paper Company Complex]] – Island St., Bellows Falls (added January 22, 1990) It was demolished in 2018–19 as a Brownfields Economic Revitalization Alliance (BERA) project.
* [[Williams Street Extension Historic District]] – 51–58, 61–68, 70 Williams St., Bellows Falls (added July 13, 2010)
* [[Westminster Terrace Historic District]] – Along Westminster Terrace, in Bellows Falls and Westminster (added July 13, 2010)

==Locations==
The following smaller unincorporated villages are within the town of Rockingham, in addition to its two larger, incorporated villages (Bellows Falls and Saxtons River):<ref>https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=ULmlDG8KLjYC&pg=GBS.PA4&printsec=frontcover Hayes ''History of the Town of Rockingham, Vermont''</ref><ref>http://www.windhamregional.org/images/maps/roadname/Rockingham_roadmap_town_2017.pdf Town road map with villages labeled</ref>
*Bartonsville, a hamlet with mills established by Jeremiah Barton about 1840, once a stop on the [[Rutland Railroad]]
*Brockways Mills, a mill site and former stop on the [[Rutland Railroad]]
*[[Cambridgeport, Vermont|Cambridgeport]],<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://tools.usps.com/zip-code-lookup.htm?citybyzipcode| title=ZIP Code Lookup: 05141| publisher=U.S. Postal Service|access-date=September 3, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite gnis|1456723|Cambridgeport}}</ref> a hamlet with mills named after J.T. Campbridge, partially within the town of [[Grafton, Vermont|Grafton]]

== Notable people ==
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· The article must mention how they are associated with Rockingham, whether born, raised, or residing.
· The fact of their association should have a reliable source cited.
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· All others will be deleted.
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* [[John S. Barry]], fourth [[List of Governors of Michigan|governor of Michigan]]<ref>{{cite book |date=1891 |title=Portrait and Biographical Album of Barry and Eaton Counties, Mich. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hgY_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA113 |location=Chicago, IL |publisher=Chapman Bros. |page=113 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* [[Henry Adams Bellows (justice)|Henry Adams Bellows]], lawyer, state legislator and jurist<ref>{{cite book |last=Child |first=Hamilton |author-link= |date=1886 |title=Gazetteer of Grafton County, N. H. 1709-1886 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTYTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA100 |location=Syracuse, NY |publisher=Syracuse Journal Company |page=100 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* [[Jonathan Blanchard (Wheaton)|Jonathan Blanchard]], pastor, social reformer, and president of [[Wheaton College, Illinois|Wheaton College]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archives.wheaton.edu/agents/people/2699 |title=Biographical Statement, Jonathan Blanchard (1811-1892) |website=Archives of Wheaton College |publisher=Wheaton College |location=Wheaton, IL |access-date=August 28, 2022}}</ref>
* [[Hetty Green]], businesswoman and financier<ref>{{cite book |author=Vermont Bureau of Publicity |date=1913 |title=Vermont, the Land of Green Mountains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fo0UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA177 |location=Montpelier, VT |publisher=Vermont Secretary of State |page=177 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* [[Hugh H. Henry]], United States Marshal for Vermont<ref>{{cite news |date=December 21, 1869 |title=The Late Hugh H. Henry |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42532411/late_hugh_henry/ |work=[[Burlington Free Press]] |location=Burlington, VT |page=3 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |ref={{sfnRef|"The Late Hugh H. Henry"}}}}</ref>
* [[Daniel Kellogg (Judge)|Daniel Kellogg]], [[United States Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the District of Vermont|District of Vermont]] and Justice of the [[Vermont Supreme Court]]<ref>Hiram Carleton, [https://books.google.com/books?id=EmbLSJZgij4C&dq=%22daniel+kellogg%22+united+states+attorney+justice+vermont&pg=PA286 Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont], Volume 1, 1903, page 286</ref>
* [[George Bradley Kellogg]], [[State adjutant general|Adjutant General]] of the [[Vermont National Guard]], [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] of the [[1st Vermont Cavalry]] Regiment in the [[American Civil War]]<ref>Lyman Simpson Hayes, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ULmlDG8KLjYC&dq=george+kellogg+1st+vermont+cavalry&pg=PA691 ''History of the Town of Rockingham, Vermont''], 1907, page 691</ref>
* [[Selim Peabody]], educator<ref name=Cyclopaedia>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lcVKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA271 |title=The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography |volume=I |publisher=James T. White & Company |page=271 |year=1893 |access-date=April 12, 2021 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
* [[Zera Pulsipher]], religious leader<ref>{{cite book |last=Young |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Young |date=1878 |title=History of the Organization of the Seventies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vUM-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA8 |location=Salt Lake City, UT |publisher=Deseret News |page=8 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* [[Shadrach Roundy]], religious leader<ref>{{cite book |date=1904 |title=History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints |volume=II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wrcUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA298 |location=Salt Lake City, UT |publisher=Deseret News |page=298 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* [[Henry Franklin Severens]], judge<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387621 |title=Biography, Henry Franklin Severens |website=FJC.gov |publisher=Federal Judicial Center |location=Washington, DC |access-date=August 28, 2022}}</ref>

==References==

{{reflist}}

==Further reading==

* [https://books.google.com/books?id=ULmlDG8KLjYC&q=Lyman+Simpson+Hayes Lyman Simpson Hayes, ''History of the Town of Rockingham, Vermont: Including the Villages of Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Rockingham, Cambridgeport and Bartonsville, 1753–1907, with Family Genealogies.'' Bellows Falls, Vermont: 1907]
* Lovell, F.S. & Lovell, L.C. 1958. ''History of the Town of Rockingham, Vermont: Including the Villages of Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Rockingham, Cambridgeport and Bartonsville, 1907–1957 with Family Genealogies.'' Bellows Falls, VT: Town of Rockingham, VT.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.rockbf.org/ Town of Rockingham, Vermont]
* [http://rockinghamlibrary.org/ Rockingham Free Public Library]

{{Geographic location
 | Centre = Rockingham
 | North = [[Springfield, Vermont|Springfield]]
 | Northeast = [[Charlestown, New Hampshire]]
 | East = [[Charlestown, New Hampshire]]
 | Southeast = [[Walpole, New Hampshire]]
 | South = [[Westminster (town), Vermont|Westminster]]
 | Southwest = [[Athens, Vermont|Athens]]
 | West = [[Grafton, Vermont|Grafton]]
 | Northwest = [[Chester, Vermont|Chester]]
}}

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

[[Category:Rockingham, Vermont| ]]
[[Category:1752 establishments in New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1752]]
[[Category:Towns in Vermont]]
[[Category:Vermont populated places on the Connecticut River]]
[[Category:Towns in Windham County, Vermont]]
[[Category:Superfund sites in Vermont]]
[[Category:Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham]]