Windsor County, Vermont | |
|---|---|
 Windsor County courthouse in Woodstock | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofVermont | |
 Vermont's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:43°33′30″N72°31′59″W / 43.55827°N 72.53299°W /43.55827; -72.53299 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Vermont |
| Founded | 1781 |
| Named after | Windsor, Vermont, which was named forWindsor, Connecticut |
| Shire Town | Woodstock |
| Largest town | Hartford |
| Area | |
• Total | 977 sq mi (2,530 km2) |
| • Land | 969 sq mi (2,510 km2) |
| • Water | 7.4 sq mi (19 km2) 0.8% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 57,753 |
| • Density | 59.6/sq mi (23.0/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | At-large |
Windsor County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofVermont. As of the2020 census, the population was 57,753.[1] The shire town (county seat) is the town ofWoodstock.[2] The county's largest municipality is the town ofHartford.
Windsor County is one of several Vermont counties created from land previously ceded by theProvince of New York and abandoned by the newly formedState of New York, established on January 15, 1777, when Vermont declared itself to be an independent state (theVermont Republic).[3][4][5] 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 the Province of New Hampshire and theProvince of 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.[6][7] On March 12, 1772, Albany County was partitioned to createCharlotte County,[8] and this situation remained until Vermont's independence from New York and Britain.
Windsor County was established on February 16, 1781, from parts ofCumberland County and organized the same year.[9]
Windsor County is notable for being the birthplace and burial site ofCalvin Coolidge, the30thU.S. President and one of two Presidents born in the state (the other beingChester A. Arthur).Joseph Smith Jr., founder of theLatter Day Saint movement, was also born in Windsor County.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 977 square miles (2,530 km2), of which 969 square miles (2,510 km2) is land and 7.4 square miles (19 km2) (0.8%) is water.[10] It is the largest county by area in Vermont.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | 15,740 | — | |
| 1800 | 26,944 | 71.2% | |
| 1810 | 34,877 | 29.4% | |
| 1820 | 38,233 | 9.6% | |
| 1830 | 40,625 | 6.3% | |
| 1840 | 40,356 | −0.7% | |
| 1850 | 38,504 | −4.6% | |
| 1860 | 37,193 | −3.4% | |
| 1870 | 36,063 | −3.0% | |
| 1880 | 35,196 | −2.4% | |
| 1890 | 31,706 | −9.9% | |
| 1900 | 32,225 | 1.6% | |
| 1910 | 33,681 | 4.5% | |
| 1920 | 36,984 | 9.8% | |
| 1930 | 37,416 | 1.2% | |
| 1940 | 37,862 | 1.2% | |
| 1950 | 40,885 | 8.0% | |
| 1960 | 42,483 | 3.9% | |
| 1970 | 44,082 | 3.8% | |
| 1980 | 51,030 | 15.8% | |
| 1990 | 54,055 | 5.9% | |
| 2000 | 57,418 | 6.2% | |
| 2010 | 56,670 | −1.3% | |
| 2020 | 57,753 | 1.9% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790–1960[12] 1900–1990[13] 1990–2000[14] 2010–2018[1] | |||
As of the2000 census,[15] there were 57,418 people, 24,162 households, and 15,729 families living in the county. The population density was 59 inhabitants per square mile (23/km2). There were 31,621 housing units at an average density of 33 units per square mile (13 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.72%White, 0.33%Black orAfrican American, 0.23%Native American, 0.63%Asian, 0.03%Pacific Islander, 0.15% fromother races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 0.82% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 20.1% were ofEnglish, 12.9%Irish, 10.9%American, 9.9%French, 7.7%German, 6.7%French Canadian and 5.5%Italian ancestry. 96.4% spokeEnglish and 1.5%French as their first language.
There were 24,162 households, out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% weremarried couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.90% were non-families. 28.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.86.In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.30% under the age of 18, 5.90% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 27.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $40,688, and the median income for a family was $59,002. Males had a median income of $42,648 versus $25,696 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $22,369. About 3.20% of families and 5.70% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 7.50% of those under age 18 and 7.60% of those age 65 or over.
In 2007, the census department estimated that Windsor had the oldest average age in the state, 44.7. This compares with the actual census in 2000 of 41.3 years.[16]
As of the2010 United States census, there were 56,670 people, 24,753 households, and 15,420 families living in the county.[17] The population density was 58.5 inhabitants per square mile (22.6/km2). There were 34,118 housing units at an average density of 35.2 units per square mile (13.6 units/km2).[18] The racial makeup of the county was 96.3% white, 0.9% Asian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population.[17]
Of the 24,753 households, 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.77. The median age was 45.8 years.[17]
The median income for a household in the county was $50,893 and the median income for a family was $63,387. Males had a median income of $44,610 versus $34,150 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,053. About 5.6% of families and 9.7% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.[19]
Since Vermont began using the popular vote in presidential elections in1828, Windsor County has voted for the statewide winner in every presidential election but1912, when it voted for former PresidentTheodore Roosevelt (theProgressive candidate) over the statewide winner,Republican nomineeWilliam Howard Taft. Mirroring the politics of the state as a whole, Windsor County was solidly Republican from its inception in the1856 election until the 1980s, voting only forDemocratLyndon B. Johnson in1964 when he faced the highly conservativeBarry Goldwater. It has supported the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since1992. While the county did not swing as hard to the Democrats as other parts of Vermont, it has given the Democrats at least 55 percent of the vote in every election since 2004.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 10,458 | 30.50% | 22,569 | 65.82% | 1,262 | 3.68% |
| 2020 | 9,971 | 28.95% | 23,376 | 67.86% | 1,099 | 3.19% |
| 2016 | 8,605 | 28.75% | 17,556 | 58.66% | 3,767 | 12.59% |
| 2012 | 8,598 | 29.96% | 19,494 | 67.93% | 607 | 2.12% |
| 2008 | 9,084 | 29.15% | 21,444 | 68.81% | 637 | 2.04% |
| 2004 | 11,491 | 37.35% | 18,561 | 60.33% | 715 | 2.32% |
| 2000 | 11,713 | 40.19% | 15,140 | 51.94% | 2,294 | 7.87% |
| 1996 | 8,015 | 30.80% | 14,070 | 54.07% | 3,938 | 15.13% |
| 1992 | 9,035 | 30.95% | 13,871 | 47.52% | 6,286 | 21.53% |
| 1988 | 12,584 | 50.48% | 12,009 | 48.17% | 337 | 1.35% |
| 1984 | 14,054 | 57.96% | 9,869 | 40.70% | 324 | 1.34% |
| 1980 | 10,470 | 45.71% | 8,067 | 35.22% | 4,366 | 19.06% |
| 1976 | 11,001 | 55.80% | 8,282 | 42.01% | 433 | 2.20% |
| 1972 | 12,421 | 63.59% | 6,989 | 35.78% | 122 | 0.62% |
| 1968 | 9,795 | 56.47% | 6,986 | 40.27% | 566 | 3.26% |
| 1964 | 5,859 | 32.51% | 12,163 | 67.49% | 1 | 0.01% |
| 1960 | 12,657 | 66.94% | 6,250 | 33.05% | 2 | 0.01% |
| 1956 | 14,157 | 78.73% | 3,820 | 21.24% | 5 | 0.03% |
| 1952 | 13,941 | 78.46% | 3,791 | 21.33% | 37 | 0.21% |
| 1948 | 9,626 | 70.95% | 3,736 | 27.54% | 206 | 1.52% |
| 1944 | 9,930 | 66.12% | 5,089 | 33.88% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 9,109 | 62.34% | 5,475 | 37.47% | 28 | 0.19% |
| 1936 | 9,489 | 64.90% | 5,084 | 34.77% | 49 | 0.34% |
| 1932 | 9,353 | 67.16% | 4,343 | 31.18% | 231 | 1.66% |
| 1928 | 10,739 | 79.46% | 2,747 | 20.33% | 29 | 0.21% |
| 1924 | 10,223 | 88.43% | 1,015 | 8.78% | 322 | 2.79% |
| 1920 | 8,400 | 82.56% | 1,714 | 16.85% | 61 | 0.60% |
| 1916 | 4,236 | 64.54% | 2,216 | 33.77% | 111 | 1.69% |
| 1912 | 2,409 | 37.48% | 1,302 | 20.26% | 2,716 | 42.26% |
| 1908 | 4,683 | 81.61% | 907 | 15.81% | 148 | 2.58% |
| 1904 | 4,830 | 83.74% | 797 | 13.82% | 141 | 2.44% |
| 1900 | 5,227 | 84.25% | 943 | 15.20% | 34 | 0.55% |
| 1896 | 6,128 | 88.02% | 674 | 9.68% | 160 | 2.30% |
| 1892 | 4,753 | 76.79% | 1,329 | 21.47% | 108 | 1.74% |
| 1888 | 5,163 | 75.48% | 1,457 | 21.30% | 220 | 3.22% |
| 1884 | 5,110 | 74.23% | 1,601 | 23.26% | 173 | 2.51% |
| 1880 | 6,122 | 77.29% | 1,740 | 21.97% | 59 | 0.74% |
In 2009, theUnited States Department of Transportation measured 113.6 miles (182.8 km) of "major arteries", the highest in the state.[21]
BecauseUS Route 4 had the "feel" of a freeway, motorists were inclined to speed. As a result, the Windsor County Sheriff's Department wrote 2,452 tickets in 2007.[22]
Villages are census divisions, but have no separate corporate existence from the surrounding towns.
Places adjacent to Windsor County, Vermont | |
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Municipalities and communities ofWindsor County, Vermont,United States | ||
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