Washington County is one of several Vermont counties created from land ceded by the state ofNew York on January 15, 1777, when Vermont declared itself to be a distinct state from New York.[4][5][6] The land originally was contested byMassachusetts,New Hampshire, andNew Netherland, but it remained undelineated until July 20, 1764, whenKing George III established the boundary between New Hampshire and New York along the west bank of theConnecticut River, north of Massachusetts and south of the parallel of45 degrees north latitude. New York assigned the land gained toAlbany County.[7][8] On March 12, 1772, Albany County was partitioned to createCharlotte County,[9] and this situation remained until Vermont's independence from New York and Britain.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 695 square miles (1,800 km2), of which 687 square miles (1,780 km2) is land and 8.2 square miles (21 km2) (1.2%) is water.[12]
As of the2010 United States census, there were 59,534 people, 25,027 households, and 15,410 families residing in the county.[17] The population density was 86.6 inhabitants per square mile (33.4/km2). There were 29,941 housing units at an average density of 43.6 per square mile (16.8/km2).[18]
Of the 25,027 households, 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.4% were non-families, and 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.81. The median age was 42.3 years.[17]
The median income for a household in the county was $55,313 and the median income for a family was $66,968. Males had a median income of $45,579 versus $38,052 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,337. About 5.9% of families and 10.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.[19]
Following the Democrats' victory in 1964, the county went back to voting for Republican candidates for another 20 year winning streak starting with Richard Nixon in1968 and ending withGeorge H. W. Bush in1988, who became the last Republican presidential candidate to win the county.
In1992, the county was won byBill Clinton and has been won by Democratic candidates ever since.
United States presidential election results for Washington County, Vermont[20]
^Slade, William, Jr., comp.Vermont State Papers: Being a collection of Records and Documents Connected with the Assumption and Establishment of Government by the People of Vermont, Together with the Journal of the Council of Safety, the First Constitution, the Early Journals of the General Assembly, and the Laws from the Year 1779 to 1786, Inclusive. Middlebury, 1823. P. 70-73.
^Van Zandt, Franklin K.Boundaries of the United States and the Several States. Geological Survey Professional Paper 909. Washington, DC; Government Printing Office, 1976. The Standard Compilation for its subject. P. 64.
^Williamson, Chilton.Vermont in Quandary: 1763-1825. Growth of Vermont series, Number 4. Montpelier: Vermont Historical Series, 1949. PP. 82-84; map facing 95, 100-102, 112-113.
^Slade, William, Jr., comp.Vermont State Papers: Being a collection of Records and Documents Connected with the Assumption and Establishment of Government by the People of Vermont, Together with the Journal of the Council of Safety, the First Constitution, the Early Journals of the General Assembly, and the Laws from the Year 1779 to 1786, Inclusive. Middlebury, 1823. pp.13-19.
^Van Zandt, Franklin K.Boundaries of the United States and the Several States. Geological Survey Professional Paper 909. Washington, DC; Government Printing Office, 1976. The Standard Compilation for its subject. P. 63.
^New York Colonial Laws, Chapter 1534; Section 5; Paragraph 321)
