Editing Weathersfield, Vermont

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Tone|date=June 2021}}

{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Weathersfield, Vermont
|settlement_type          = [[New England town|Town]]
|nickname                 =
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Church, Weathersfield Center, Vermont.jpg
|imagesize                =
|image_caption            =
|image_flag               =
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = Windsor County Vermont incorporated and unincorporated areas Weathersfield highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location in [[Windsor County, Vermont|Windsor County]] and the state of [[Vermont]].
|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        = [[Windsor County, Vermont|Windsor]]
|parts_type               = Communities
|parts                    = {{ubl|Amsden|[[Ascutney, Vermont|Ascutney]]|Greenbush|Kendricks Corner|Nelsons Corner|[[Perkinsville, Vermont|Perkinsville]]|[[Weathersfield Bow, Vermont|Weathersfield Bow]]|[[Weathersfield Center Historic District|Weathersfield Center]]}}

<!-- 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           = 114.5
|area_land_km2            = 113.0
|area_water_km2           = 1.5
|area_total_sq_mi         = 
|area_land_sq_mi          = 
|area_water_sq_mi         =

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     =
|population_total         = 2842
|population_density_km2   = auto
|population_density_sq_mi =

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      =
|elevation_m              = 377
|elevation_ft             = 1237
|coordinates              = {{coord|43|23|4|N|72|27|45|W|region:US-VT|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]s
|postal_code              = 05030 ([[Ascutney, Vermont|Ascutney]])<br/>05151 ([[Perkinsville, Vermont|Perkinsville]])<br/>05156 ([[Springfield, Vermont|Springfield]])<br/>05062 ([[Reading, Vermont|Reading]])<br/>05142 ([[Cavendish, Vermont|Cavendish]])
|area_code                = [[Area code 802|802]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 50-77500 <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              = 1462247 <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                  = {{URL|www.weathersfield.org}}
|footnotes                =
}}
'''Weathersfield''' is a town in [[Windsor County, Vermont|Windsor County]], [[Vermont]], [[United States]]. The population was 2,842 at the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0600000US5002777500| title=Census - Geography Profile: Weathersfield town, Windsor County, Vermont| publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]| access-date=January 7, 2022}}</ref>

==History==
The town of Weathersfield was named after [[Wethersfield, Connecticut]], the home of some of its earliest settlers.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=65273|title=Profile for Weathersfield, Vermont, VT
|publisher =ePodunk.|access-date= May 12, 2014}}</ref> The Connecticut town had taken its name from Wethersfield, a village in the [[England|English]] county of [[Essex]]. 

[[William Jarvis (merchant)|William Jarvis]] was appointed by President [[Thomas Jefferson]] as U.S. Consul General to [[Portugal]] after founding a trading house in [[Lisbon]].<ref>William Jarvis Papers, 1793-1845</ref> In 1811, Jarvis imported the first Merino sheep to America from Spain to his farm at Weathersfield Bow.<ref>[http://www.weathersfield.org/pages/history.htm William Jarvis, Weatherfield history, Town of Weathersfield, Vermont]</ref> Jarvis set aside eight of the 4,000 Merino sheep he imported as gifts to former President Jefferson and to President [[James Madison]].<ref>[http://www.monticello.org/reports/interests/sheep.html Monticello Report: Sheep for the President, monticello.org]</ref>

"I cannot forbear, Sir," Jarvis wrote to Jefferson, "making you an offer of a Ram & Ewes, both as a mark of my great esteem & well knowing that the experiment cannot be in better hands."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=NlRgvqWHc8oC&dq=%22william+jarvis%22+sheep&pg=RA1-PA125 U.S. Consul William Jarvis to Pres. Thomas Jefferson, Lisbon, Jan. 20, 1810, Thomas Jefferson's Farm Book, by Thomas Jefferson, ed. by Edwin Morris Betts, University of North Carolina Press, 2002]</ref> Jarvis was a wealthy financier and gentleman farmer who had bought up most of the floodplain of Weathersfield. He was also one of the most prominent [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] in the [[Connecticut River Valley]]. Thanks to his introduction of Merino sheep, he provided the underpinning for Vermont agriculture for the next century.<ref>[http://vermonthistory.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=298 William Jarvis's Merino Sheep, Vermont Historical Society]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PsMJAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22william+jarvis%22+sheep&pg=PA1 ''Our Sheep and the Tariff'', William Draper Lewis, Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1890]</ref><ref>[http://www.groton.org/home/news_item.asp?id=375&pointID=701&zzSec=chapel Stone Walls and the Joys of Scholarly Connections, January 5, 2007, Dr. Ross, Groton School, groton.org]</ref>

Jarvis married his maternal first cousin, Mary Pepperell Sparhawk of Boston, a fellow descendant of [[Sir William Pepperrell]] of Massachusetts.<ref>[http://www.vermonthistory.org/arccat/findaid/jarvis.htm#bio William Jarvis Papers, Vermont Historical Society Library]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=RGsFAAAAQAAJ&dq=%22the+life+and+times+of+hon+william+jarvis%22&pg=PA489 "The Life and Times of Hon. William Jarvis", ''The New England Historical and Genealogical Register'', John Albion, 1869]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=KR8aAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22william+jarvis%22+weathersfield&pg=RA1-PA511 ''The Wentworth Genealogy: English and American'', John Wentworth LL.D., Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1878]</ref> Katherine L. Jarvis, daughter of Hon. William Jarvis, married [[Harvard]]-educated lawyer and photographer Col. [[Leavitt Hunt]], brother of architect [[Richard Morris Hunt]] and Boston painter [[William Morris Hunt]], and son of Vermont congressman [[Jonathan Hunt (Vermont Representative)|Jonathan Hunt]]. Leavitt Hunt and his wife later lived in Weathersfield at their home, ''Elmsholme''.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Sg0MAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22katherine+jarvis%22+hunt&pg=PA181 Social Register, New York, Social Register Association, 1896]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8dUHTfULq2QC&dq=%22katherine+jarvis%22+hunt&pg=PA729 ''Annals of Brattleboro, 1681&ndash;1895'', Mary Rogers Cabot, 1922]</ref>

Rev. John Dudley, a sometime missionary to the [[Choctaw]] Indians, a graduate of [[Yale University|Yale Seminary]], the descendant of one of the earliest families of [[Connecticut]] (his ancestor William Dudley settled in [[Guilford, Connecticut|Guilford]] in the early 17th century) and a widely reprinted [[Congregational]] preacher, made his home in Weathersfield, where his son [[William Wade Dudley]] was born.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}}

On August 20, 2011, Weathersfield celebrated the 250th anniversary of its town charter.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

===Romaine Tenney===
In September 1964, a Weathersfield bachelor farmer named Romaine Tenney burned himself and his farm rather than allow construction of [[Interstate 91]] which was then proceeding through the [[Connecticut Valley]]. The state transportation agency had offered landowners compensation, but could also seize land by [[eminent domain]].  Many landowners resisted, including one who shot a hole through a surveyor’s hard hat. Tenney happened to be the last local holdout. Finally, he was given an ultimatum to leave. That night a fire ravaged the barn, sheds, and farmhouse.  Although Tenney’s body was not identified, it was evident he had nailed his bedroom door shut from the inside. The day after his memorial service, construction on the highway resumed. Tenney was memorialized as the subject of poems, ghost stories, and songs. Tenney’s legacy has become a source of pride for some, despite its horror. It is a display of New England "flint", a story preserved by the Weathersfield Historical Society. The farm eventually became a [[park and ride]] at Exit 8 ([[Vermont Route 131]]), where commuters could park their cars and board buses. In March 2020, the last vestige of the farm, a dying [[rock maple]] tree was removed. The [[Vermont Agency of Transportation]] acknowledged the site’s significance as the Romaine Tenney Memorial Park with a lawn, pavilion, memorial plaque, and picnic table.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/us/vermont-farmer-tree.html |title=Goodbye to a Yankee Farmer, the Ghost of Exit 8 |first=Ellen |last=Barry |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 27, 2021 |accessdate=May 30, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://newengland.com/yankee-magazine/living/new-england-environment/eminent-domain-romaine-tenney-farm/ |first=Howard |last=Mansfield |title=I Will Not Leave: Romaine Tenney Loved His Vermont Farm To Death |work=[[Yankee (magazine)|Yankee]] |date=March–April 2013 |accessdate=May 30, 2021}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Perkinsville House.jpg|right|thumb|A house in [[Perkinsville, Vermont|Perkinsville]]]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|114.5|sqkm|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|113.0|sqkm|order=flip}} is land and {{convert|1.5|sqkm|order=flip}}, or 1.27%, is water.<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.census.gov| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Weathersfield town, Windsor County, Vermont| publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]| access-date=August 1, 2012}}</ref> The town of Weathersfield includes the village of [[Perkinsville, Vermont|Perkinsville]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weathersfieldvt.org/town-government/village-of-perkinsville|title=Village of Perkinsville, Vermont|publisher=Town of Weathersfield, Vermont|access-date=May 6, 2012}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1790= 1146
|1800= 1944
|1810= 2115
|1820= 2301
|1830= 2213
|1840= 2002
|1850= 1851
|1860= 1765
|1870= 1557
|1880= 1354
|1890= 1174
|1900= 1089
|1910= 1092
|1920= 1087
|1930= 1156
|1940= 1075
|1950= 1288
|1960= 1254
|1970= 2040
|1980= 2534
|1990= 2674
|2000= 2788
|2010= 2825
|2020= 2842
|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>
}}
[[File:West Weathersfield VT Volunteer Fire Department.jpg|thumb|left|West Weathersfield Volunteer Fire Department]]
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 2,788 people, 1,167 households, and 830 families residing in the town.  The [[population density]] was 63.7 people per square mile (24.6/km<sup>2</sup>).  There were 1,315 housing units at an average density of 30.0 per square mile (11.6/km<sup>2</sup>).  The racial makeup of the town was 98.57% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.07% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.29% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.25% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], and 0.82% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.72% of the population.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

There were 1,167 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% 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 2.77.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.6% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males.  For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $42,057, and the median income for a family was $46,282. Males had a median income of $33,226 versus $27,011 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $21,647.  About 4.8% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those aged 65 or over.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

==Arts and culture==

===Tourism===
Several historical buildings are located in the [[Weathersfield Center Historic District]], including the [[Reverend Dan Foster House]], the Weathersfield Meeting House and the First Congregational Church. The Reverend Dan Foster House is now a museum operated by the Weathersfield Historical Society. The house was built during the Revolutionary War with some sections completed in 1825. The museum houses [[American Civil War|Civil War]] memorabilia, a children's school room and a library.<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.weathersfieldvt.org/ourcommunity/historical-society|title=Weathersfield Historical Society|publisher =Town of Weathersfield, Vermont  |access-date= May 12, 2014}}</ref>

== Architecture ==
The architecture of Weathersfield, Vermont, reflects its rich history and the development of the area over the centuries. The town, chartered in 1761, saw modest settlement in the following decade. By the 1790s, the population had grown significantly, leading to the construction of notable buildings.

One of the key architectural highlights is the Weathersfield Center Historic District. This district encompasses a small cluster of historically significant buildings, including the town's second church building and the home of its first settled minister. The church, built in 1787 and later destroyed by fire, was replaced by a brick Federal style meeting house in 1821. This meeting house is notable for its restrained late Federal architecture, featuring round-headed door openings, a Palladian window, and a fully pedimented gable with an arched eyebrow window. It also has a multi-stage tower, comprising a square stage with a multilight oculus window, an open octagonal belfry, and a louvered cupola.

Another significant architectural feature in Weathersfield is the Foster House, built in 1825 as a Federal-style two-story house for the town's minister. This building, attached to a simpler 1-1/2 story Cape style house, stands on Weathersfield Center Road and is now a historic house museum operated by the local historical society.

Additionally, Weathersfield is home to an early stone animal pound, likely built in the 1780s, which reflects the town's agricultural heritage and the practical needs of its early residents.

==Education==

===Primary and Secondary schools===
The Weathersfield School District serves Weathersfield. There is one school in the district, Weathersfield School, located in [[Ascutney, Vermont|Ascutney]].<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.greatschools.org/vermont/ascutney/Weathersfield-School-District/schools/|title=Weathersfield School District Schools|publisher = Greatschools, Inc.|access-date= May 12, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url =http://weathersfield.squarespace.com/|title=Weathersfield School|publisher = Weathersfield School |access-date= May 12, 2014}}</ref>

===Public libraries===
The Weathersfield Proctor Library serves the Weathersfield area.<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.weathersfieldvt.org/proctor-library|title=Weathersfield Proctor Library|publisher =Town of Weathersfield, Vermont  |access-date= May 12, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.weathersfieldproctorlibrary.org/|title=Weathersfield Proctor Library|publisher =Weathersfield Proctor Library  |access-date= May 12, 2014}}</ref> The library is on Route 5, north of the intersection with Route 131.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contact – Weathersfield Proctor Library |url=https://weathersfieldproctorlibrary.org/contact/ |access-date=2024-06-29 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Media==
A detailed history of the town is available for the years 1971 through 1986 in the form of a weekly newspaper, ''The Weathersfield Weekly'', which covered the history and current events in the town.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.weathersfieldvt.org/news/151-remembering-the-weathersfield-weekly |title=Remembering the Weathersfield Weekly
|publisher =  Town of Weathersfield, Vermont..|access-date= May 12, 2014}}</ref> The newspaper was closed by its editors and publishers, Armstrong and Edith Hunter, in 1986, though they published a five-year retrospective in 1991.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

== Notable people ==
<!-- Note:
· Only people who already have a Wikipedia article may appear here. This establishes notability.
· The article must mention how they are associated with Weathersfield, 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.
-->
* [[Charles E. Billings]], engineer, inventor and businessman
* [[Aretas Blood]], steam locomotive manufacturer<ref>{{cite book|last=The Granite Monthly|author-link=The Granite Monthly|title=The Granite Monthly, Volume 1, Issue 1 - Volume 10, Issue 11|date=1887|publisher=The Granite Monthly|page=83|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iTE_AQAAMAAJ&q=Aretas+Blood++weathersfield+vermont&pg=PA83}}</ref> 
* [[Clarissa Danforth]], early female Christian minister<ref>{{cite book|last=Perry|first=Elizabeth A.|title=A Brief History of the Town of Glocester, Rhode Island: Preceded by a Sketch of the Territory While a Part of Providence|date=1886|publisher=Providence Press Company, Printers|page=70|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dMMTAAAAYAAJ&q=clarissa+danforth+weathersfield+vermont&pg=PA70}}</ref> 
* [[William Wade Dudley]], politician<ref>{{cite book|last=Brown|first=John Howard|title=Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States: Chubb-Erich|date=1900|publisher=James H. Lamb Company|page=537|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kydAAAAAYAAJ&q=William+Wade+Dudley+weathersfield+vermont&pg=PA537}}</ref> 
* [[Barbara Galpin]], journalist<ref name="Galpin1955">{{cite book|last=Galpin|first=William Freeman|title=The Galpin family in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HydMAAAAMAAJ|year=1955|publisher=Syracuse University|page=75}}</ref>
* [[Jarvis Hunt]], architect<ref>{{cite web|url= http://columbus.iit.edu/dreamcity/00044064.html|title=World's Columbian Exposition of 1893|publisher=Paul V. Galvin Library Illinois Institute of Technology |access-date= May 12, 2014}}</ref>
* [[William Jarvis (merchant)|William Jarvis]], consul to Portugal under president Thomas Jefferson<ref name="Vermont Historical Society">{{cite web |title=William Jarvis & the Merino Sheep Craze |url=http://vermonthistory.org/educate/online-resources/an-era-of-great-change/work-changing-markets/william-jarvis-s-merino-sheep |access-date=May 12, 2014 |publisher=Vermont Historical Society}}</ref>
* [[Franklin S. Lawrence]], member of the [[Wisconsin State Assembly]]<ref>{{cite book|title=THE BLUE BOOK OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN|year=1881|pages=521–522}}</ref>
* [[Don A. J. Upham]], mayor of [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]<ref>{{cite book|last=State Bar Association of Wisconsin|title=Proceedings of the State Bar Association of Wisconsin|date=1905|publisher=The Association|page=236|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nisCAQAAIAAJ&q=Don+A.+J.+Upham+weathersfield+vermont&pg=PA235}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* ''The Democratic Dilemma: Religion, Reform and the Social Order in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, 1791&ndash;1850'', Randolph A. Roth, 1987, Cambridge University Press, pp.&nbsp;16, 103, 107, 113, 144, 145, 173–177, etc., on William Jarvis.
* ''The Weathersfield weekly: an annotated index of selected articles, items and photos, April 22, 1971, to April 4, 1986'', E.F. Hunter, 1988.

==External links==
{{commons category|Weathersfield, Vermont}}
* [https://www.weathersfieldvt.org/ Town of Weathersfield official website]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=WUzvrwrCs3wC&dq=dudley+%22william+jarvis%22+weathersfield&pg=PT467 Weathersfield, Vermont, The New England Gazetteer, John Hayward, Boston, 1839]
* [http://www.city-data.com/city/Weathersfield-Vermont.html City-Data.com]

{{Geographic location
 | Centre = Weathersfield
 | North = [[West Windsor, Vermont|West Windsor]] and [[Windsor, Vermont|Windsor]]
 | Northeast = [[Cornish, New Hampshire]]
 | East = [[Claremont, New Hampshire]]
 | Southeast = [[Charlestown, New Hampshire]]
 | South = [[Springfield, Vermont|Springfield]]
 | Southwest = [[Chester, Vermont|Chester]]
 | West = [[Cavendish, Vermont|Cavendish]]<br>[[Baltimore, Vermont|Baltimore]]
 | Northwest = [[Reading, Vermont|Reading]]
}}
	
{{Windsor County, Vermont}}
{{Connecticut River}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Weathersfield, Vermont| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Vermont]]
[[Category:Vermont populated places on the Connecticut River]]
[[Category:Towns in Windsor County, Vermont]]
[[Category:Architectural design]]