Editing Wells River, Vermont

{{about|the village|the river|Wells River (Vermont)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Wells River, Vermont
|settlement_type          = [[Village (United States)|Village]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Wells River, Vermont.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            =
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|pushpin_map            = Vermont#USA
|pushpin_relief         = y
|pushpin_label          = Wells River
|pushpin_label_position = left <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_map_caption    = Location within the state of Vermont
|pushpin_mapsize        = 200px
|image_map                =  
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<!-- 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        = [[Orange County, Vermont|Orange]]

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

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref  = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_50.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 4.96
|area_land_km2            = 4.86
|area_water_km2           = 0.10
|area_total_sq_mi         = 1.91
|area_land_sq_mi          = 1.88
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.04

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 431
|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              = 131
|elevation_ft             = 430
|coordinates              = {{coord|44|9|14|N|72|3|15|W|region:US-VT|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 05081
|area_code                = [[Area code 802|802]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 50-78025<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              = 1460106<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                = 
{{Infobox NRHP
| name                 = Wells River Village Historic District
| embed                = yes
| nrhp_type            = hd
| nocat                = yes
| image                =
| caption              =
| location             = Main, Center, Grove, Cross, and Water Sts., [[Newbury (town), Vermont|Newbury, Vermont]]
| architect OR builder =
| architecture         = Classical Revival, Other, Federal, Late Victorian
| added                = July 28, 1983
| area                 = {{convert|39|acre|1}}
| refnum               = 83003217<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}} 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est =
}}
'''Wells River''' is a village in the town of [[Newbury (town), Vermont|Newbury]] in [[Orange County, Vermont|Orange County]], [[Vermont]], United States. The population was 431 at the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US5078025|title=Census - Geography Profile: Wells River village, Vermont|access-date=December 26, 2021}}</ref> The village center is located at the junction of U.S. Routes [[U.S. Route 5 (Vermont)|5]] and [[U.S. Route 302 (Vermont)|302]].

The village center (the portion near the [[confluence]] of the [[Wells River (Vermont)|Wells River]] and the [[Connecticut River]]) was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1983 as Wells River Village Historic District.  The district covers 84 contributing properties over an area of {{convert|390|acre|km2}}. It includes examples of Classical Revival, Federal, and Late Victorian styles.<ref name="nris 2009">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref> The architectural character of the district represents the building traditions of nineteenth-century Vermont, showcasing a wide array of building styles.

==History==
[[Image:Hale's Tavern, Wells River, VT.jpg|thumb|left|Hale's Tavern in 1915]]
The area was first called Governor's Right because {{convert|500|acre}} were granted to Governor [[Benning Wentworth]] of [[New Hampshire]]. It was purchased by Er Chamberlin, who built a [[gristmill]] on the [[Wells River (Vermont)|Wells River]].<ref name=wells>[https://books.google.com/books?id=HAo1AAAAIAAJ&q=History+of+Newbury,+Vermont Frederic P. Wells, ''History of Newbury, Vermont''; The Caledonian Company, St. Johnsbury, Vermont 1902]</ref> Located at the [[head of navigation]] for the [[Connecticut River]], Wells River developed as a center for [[trade]]. [[narrowboats|Canal boat]]s guided by long poles floated downriver laden with [[lumber]], [[Clapboard (architecture)|clapboard]]s and [[roof shingles|shingles]], returning with goods such as [[iron]], [[salt]], [[rum]] and [[molasses]].<ref name=wells/>  In the 1830s and 1840s, [[Jacob Kent Jr.]] was the proprietor of the Coosuck House, a well-known Wells River hotel.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wells |first=Frederic Palmer |date=1902 |title=History of Newbury, Vermont |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofnewbury1704well/page/605/mode/2up/ |location=St. Johnsbury, VT |publisher=The Caledonian Company |pages=605–606 |via=[[Google Books]] |ref={{sfnRef|''History of Newbury, Vermont''}}}}</ref>

On November 6, 1848, the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad opened to Wells River, rendering obsolete the river's barge traffic. In 1853–1854, the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad reached [[Woodsville, New Hampshire]] across the Connecticut River. It built division offices and repair facilities, transforming that village into a booming [[railway town]]. The line replaced the 1805 bridge over the narrows to Wells River with a two-level wooden span which combined a [[toll (road usage)|toll]] highway deck at the bottom of the [[truss]], with railroad tracks on the roof. In 1903, a steel bridge of similar configuration replaced it. In 1873, the Montpelier and Wells River Railroad was completed, enhancing the region's position as a [[railroad junction]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crjc.org/heritagebridges.htm#Woodsville|title=River Heritage|website=www.crjc.org}}</ref>

===Historic buildings===
[[File:Bird's-eye View of Wells River, VT.jpg|thumb|Wells River in 1907]]
Some of the more significant historic structures in the village are:{{citation needed|date=July 2009}}
*Wells River Congregational Church, Main Street, 1839, 1869, 1894
*[[Wells River Graded School]], Main Street, 1874 (listed separately on the National Register)
*Mulliken-Davis Store, Main Street, {{circa|1871}}
*U.S. Post Office, 26 Main Street: ({{circa|1840|lk=no}})
*Baldwin Memorial Library, Main Street, {{circa|1840|lk=no}}
*G. Gould House, 7 Main Street, {{circa|1794|lk=no}}, {{circa|1830|lk=no}}
*Baldwin-Simonds House, North end of Main Street, {{circa|1890|lk=no}}
*Wells River Village Hall, Cross Street, 1908

==Geography==
The village takes its name from the [[Wells River (Vermont)|Wells River]], which flows into the [[Connecticut River]] at the eastern edge of the village.  According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the village has a total area of 2.0&nbsp;square miles (5.1&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), all of it land.

Wells River is crossed by [[Interstate 91 (Vermont)|Interstate 91]], [[U.S. Route 5 in Vermont|U.S. Route 5]], and [[U.S. Route 302 in Vermont|U.S. Route 302]], with Routes 5 and 302 briefly running concurrently, before Route 302 crosses the Connecticut River into New Hampshire.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1880= 513
|1890= 526
|1900= 565
|1910= 608
|1920= 606
|1930= 553
|1940= 527
|1950= 570
|1960= 472
|1970= 419
|1980= 396
|1990= 424
|2000= 325
|2010= 399
|2020= 431
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 325 people, 156 households, and 92 families residing in the village.  The [[population density]] was 167.0 people per square mile (64.4/km<sup>2</sup>).  There were 178 housing units at an average density of 91.5/sq&nbsp;mi (35.2/km<sup>2</sup>).  The racial makeup of the village was 99.69% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] and 0.31% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]].

There were 156 households, out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.67.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 77.6 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $28,021, and the median income for a family was $32,708. Males had a median income of $28,056 versus $21,250 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the village was $14,705.  About 6.5% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.

==Notable people==
*[[Jacob Kent Jr.]], hotel proprietor, public official who served as Orange County Sheriff and U.S. Marshal for Vermont<ref>{{cite book |last=Wells |first=Frederic Palmer |date=1902 |title=History of Newbury, Vermont |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofnewbury1704well/page/605/mode/2up/ |location=St. Johnsbury, VT |publisher=The Caledonian Company |via=[[Google Books]] |ref={{sfnRef|''History of Newbury, Vermont''}}}}</ref>
*[[William A. Russell (Massachusetts politician)|William A. Russell]], U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts<ref>{{cite news |last=Post |first=L. D. |date=January 12, 1899 |title=William A. Russell Dead |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQFZAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA2 |work=The Paper Mill and Wood Pulp News |location=New York, NY |page=2 |via=[[Google Books]] |ref={{sfnRef|"William A. Russell Dead"}}}}</ref>
*[[Abel Underwood]], Vermont prosecutor, legislator, and judge<ref>{{cite book |last=Underwood |first=Lucien Marcus |date=1913 |title=The Underwood Families of America |volume=1 |url=https://archive.org/stream/underwoodfamilie01unde#page/184/mode/2up/ |location=Lancaster, PA |publisher=New Era Printing Company |ref={{sfnRef|''The Underwood Families of America''}}}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Orange County, Vermont]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Wells River, Vermont}}
* [http://www.librarytechnology.org/lwc-displaylibrary.pl?RC=25291 Baldwin Memorial Library]
* [http://www.crjc.org/heritage/V16-108.htm Wells River Village Historic District]

{{Orange County, Vermont}}
{{Connecticut River}}
{{NRHP in Orange County, Vermont}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Wells River, Vermont| ]]
[[Category:Federal architecture in Vermont]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in Vermont]]
[[Category:Incorporated villages in Vermont]]
[[Category:Newbury, Vermont|Wells River]]
[[Category:Vermont populated places on the Connecticut River]]
[[Category:Villages in Orange County, Vermont]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, Vermont]]
[[Category:Railway towns in Vermont]]