Editing Wheelock, Vermont

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

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Town Hall - Wheelock, Vermont - DSC04411.JPG
|imagesize                =
|image_caption            =
|image_flag               =
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = wheelock_vt_highlight.png
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Wheelock, 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        = [[Caledonia County, Vermont|Caledonia]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     =
|government_type          =
|leader_title             =
|leader_name              =
|leader_title1            =
|leader_name1             =
|established_title        = Chartered
|established_date         = November 8, 1780

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           =
|area_magnitude           =
|area_total_km2           = 103.1
|area_land_km2            = 102.3
|area_water_km2           = 0.8
|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         = 759
|population_density_km2   = 7.4
|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              = 482
|elevation_ft             = 1581
|coordinates              = {{coord|44|34|6|N|72|6|22|W|region:US-VT|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]s
|postal_code              = 05851 ([[Lyndonville, Vermont|Lyndonville]])<br/>05866 ([[Sheffield, Vermont|Sheffield]])<br/>05842 ([[Greensboro Bend, Vermont|Greensboro Bend]])
|area_code                = [[Area code 802|802]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 50-83500<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1462259<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|accessdate=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|website                  =
|footnotes                =
}}
'''Wheelock''' is a [[New England town|town]] in [[Caledonia County, Vermont|Caledonia County]], [[Vermont]], United States. The population was 759 at the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census 2020">{{cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0600000US5000583500| title=Census - Geography Profile: Wheelock town, Caledonia County, Vermont| publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]| access-date=January 7, 2022}}</ref>

==History==

The town was named after [[Eleazar Wheelock]], the founder of [[Dartmouth College]]. Through a provision of the college dating to {{circa|1830}}, any full-time resident of Wheelock who is accepted as an undergraduate at Dartmouth College may attend the school entirely free of tuition.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Albright |first1=Charlotte |title=Live In Wheelock? Get A Free Ride To Dartmouth, Which Used To Own The Town |url=https://www.vpr.org/vpr-news/2015-07-14/live-in-wheelock-get-a-free-ride-to-dartmouth-which-used-to-own-the-town |website=www.vpr.org |publisher=Vermont Public Radio (VPR) |access-date=April 21, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ramer |first1=Holly |title=Dartmouth, rural Vermont town have tuition agreement spanning generations |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/dartmouth-rural-vermont-town-have-tuition-agreement-spanning-generations |website=www.foxnews.com |publisher=Fox News |access-date=April 21, 2022}}</ref> Between the 1890s and 2025, ten Wheelock Scholars attended Dartmouth College.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Standing in the center of the village for many years was the old brick hotel, known as the Caledonia Spring House. In 1893, Myron D. Park, who served four years as a Wheelock selectman, sold the Caledonia Spring House to Marshall Way. The hotel was the site of a notorious murder on May 20, 1896, when owner Marshall Way killed his 44-year-old wife, Ellen Sheldon Way, in the dooryard. According to the St. Johnsbury ''Caledonian'' of May 22, 1896, "The little town of Wheelock was thrown into a state of wild excitement last Wednesday evening when the cry went around that Marshall Way had killed his wife. It was a terrible shock to the people of the quiet town, and it may be many days before they recover sufficiently to converse to any length upon another subject."{{full citation needed|date=January 2025}}

After the murder, the Caledonia Spring House was sold to Alden J. Rennie, owner of several mills in [[Sutton, Vermont|Sutton]], [[Sheffield, Vermont|Sheffield]], and Wheelock. The building was dismantled during the 1990s after falling into disrepair. It was moved to [[Peacham, Vermont|Peacham]] where it is being restored on private property.

Eleazar Wheelock's grandson founded [[Wheelock, Texas]] in the early 1800s and named it after the original town in Vermont.

==Geography==
Wheelock is located in northwestern Caledonia County and is bordered by the town of [[Sheffield, Vermont|Sheffield]] to the north, [[Sutton, Vermont|Sutton]] to the northeast, [[Lyndon, Vermont|Lyndon]] to the east, [[Danville, Vermont|Danville]] to the south, [[Stannard, Vermont|Stannard]] to the southwest, and [[Greensboro, Vermont|Greensboro]] to the west. According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|103.1|sqkm|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|102.3|sqkm|disp=flip}} is land and {{convert|0.8|sqkm|disp=flip}}, or 0.80%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/0600000US5000583500| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212161756/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/0600000US5000583500| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Wheelock town, Caledonia County, Vermont| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| accessdate=February 6, 2013}}</ref>

The highest point in town is Wheelock Mountain, with an elevation of {{convert|848|m|disp=flip}}.<ref>U.S. Geological Survey ''Stannard, VT'' 7.5-minute quadrangle, 1986.</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1790= 33
|1800= 568
|1810= 964
|1820= 906
|1830= 834
|1840= 881
|1850= 855
|1860= 832
|1870= 822
|1880= 829
|1890= 596
|1900= 567
|1910= 500
|1920= 526
|1930= 412
|1940= 293
|1950= 287
|1960= 246
|1970= 238
|1980= 444
|1990= 481
|2000= 621
|2010= 811
|2020= 759
|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|accessdate=May 16, 2015}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 621 people, 238 households, and 178 families residing in the town.  The [[population density]] was 15.7 people per square mile (6.1/km<sup>2</sup>).  There were 321 housing units at an average density of 8.1 per square mile (3.1/km<sup>2</sup>).  The racial makeup of the town was 97.58% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.32% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.16% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.29% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.64% from two or more races.

There were 238 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.3% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 30.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $35,750, and the median income for a family was $40,625. Males had a median income of $30,417 versus $21,667 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $15,440.  About 4.9% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 18.3% of those age 65 or over.

==Notable people==

* [[Augustine Clarke]] ({{circa|1780}}–1841), [[Anti-Masonic Party]] leader and [[Vermont State Treasurer]]
* [[Erastus Fairbanks]] (1792–1864), [[Governor of Vermont]]
* [[William H. Taylor (judge)|William H. Taylor]], Associate Justice of the [[Vermont Supreme Court]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Bigelow |first=Walter J. |date=1919 |title=Vermont, Its Government |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x0kjAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA35 |location=Montpelier, VT |publisher=Historical Publishing Company |page=14 |ref={{sfnRef|''Vermont, Its Government''}}}}</ref>
* [[Josiah Willard]] (1805–1868), author and father of [[Frances Willard (suffragist)|Frances Willard]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Caledonia County, Vermont}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Wheelock, Vermont| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Vermont]]
[[Category:Towns in Caledonia County, Vermont]]