Manchester, Vermont | |
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 Bennington County Courthouse in Manchester Village | |
 Logo | |
| Motto: "So Close. So Vermont." | |
 Manchester, Vermont | |
  Manchester, Vermont Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:43°8′27″N73°4′48″W / 43.14083°N 73.08000°W /43.14083; -73.08000 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Vermont |
| County | Bennington |
| Named after | Robert Montagu, 3rd Duke of Manchester |
| Communities | Manchester Manchester Center Manchester Depot Barnumville Richville |
| Area | |
• Total | 42.2 sq mi (109.4 km2) |
| • Land | 42.1 sq mi (109.1 km2) |
| • Water | 0.12 sq mi (0.3 km2) |
| Elevation | 922 ft (281 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 4,484 |
| • Density | 106/sq mi (41.1/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 05254 05255 (Manchester Center) |
| Area code | 802 |
| FIPS code | 50-42850[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1462142[2] |
| Website | manchester-vt |
Manchester is atown in, and one of two shire towns[3] (county seats[4]) of,Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,484 at the2020 census.[5]
Manchester Village, an incorporated village, andManchester Center, are settlement centers within the town. Manchester has become a tourist destination, especially for those fromNew York andConnecticut, offering visitorsfactory outlet stores of national chain retailers as well as many locally owned businesses and restaurants.
The town was one of several chartered in 1761 byBenning Wentworth, colonial governor ofNew Hampshire. It was his custom to name new towns after prominentEnglish aristocrats of the day, hoping they might adopt a patronly interest in their namesakes. Wentworth named Manchester forRobert Montagu, 3rd Duke of Manchester. First settled in 1764, the town was laid out in 1784. The land was better suited forgrazing thantillage, so by 1839 about 6,000sheep roamed thepastures and hillsides.
Other industries came to includeiron mines,marblequarries and mills, andlumber companies. The arrival of therailroad from industrialized centers likeNew York City brought tourists, drawn by Manchester's historic architecture and beautiful setting among mountains. Following theCivil War, the town developed into an affluent resort area, which it remains today.
Between 1812 and 1819, Manchester was made famous by the Boorn–Colvin case, called "America's first wrongful conviction murder case",[6] the subject of several books and still studied today.[7]
Orvis is a family-owned retail and mail-order business specializing in high-endfly fishing, hunting and sporting goods. Founded in Manchester in 1856 byCharles F. Orvis to sell fishing tackle, it is the oldest mail-order retailer in the United States.[8][9]
Jake Burton Carpenter, founder ofBurton Snowboards, perfectedsnowboard design in his garage in Manchester. The company operated out of Manchester until 1992, when it relocated toBurlington.[8] Nearby Stratton Mountain was among the first ski resorts to allow snowboarding.
The town has three distinct state-recognized historic districts—the Depot district located on Highland Avenue and Elm Street, Bonnet Street, just north of Main Street, and Main Street itself.[8]
Manchester is located in north-central Bennington County, lying between theGreen Mountains to the east and theTaconic Range to the west.Equinox Mountain, the highest summit in the Taconics, with an elevation of 3,850 feet (1,170 m), is in the western part of the town. Manchester is drained by theBatten Kill, Lye Brook, Munson Brook, Bromley Brook, and Bourn Brook. The Lye Brook Falls Hiking Trail, which leads to one of the highest waterfalls in Vermont, is a popular local attraction.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 42.2 square miles (109.4 km2), of which 42.1 square miles (109.1 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km2), or 0.29%, is water.[10]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | 1,276 | — | |
| 1800 | 1,397 | 9.5% | |
| 1810 | 1,502 | 7.5% | |
| 1820 | 1,508 | 0.4% | |
| 1830 | 1,525 | 1.1% | |
| 1840 | 1,599 | 4.9% | |
| 1850 | 1,782 | 11.4% | |
| 1860 | 1,688 | −5.3% | |
| 1870 | 1,897 | 12.4% | |
| 1880 | 1,928 | 1.6% | |
| 1890 | 1,907 | −1.1% | |
| 1900 | 1,955 | 2.5% | |
| 1910 | 2,044 | 4.6% | |
| 1920 | 2,057 | 0.6% | |
| 1930 | 2,004 | −2.6% | |
| 1940 | 2,139 | 6.7% | |
| 1950 | 2,425 | 13.4% | |
| 1960 | 2,470 | 1.9% | |
| 1970 | 2,919 | 18.2% | |
| 1980 | 3,261 | 11.7% | |
| 1990 | 3,622 | 11.1% | |
| 2000 | 4,180 | 15.4% | |
| 2010 | 4,391 | 5.0% | |
| 2020 | 4,484 | 2.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[11] | |||
As of thecensus[1] of 2000, there were 4,180 people, 1,819 households, and 1,156 families residing in the town. Thepopulation density was 99.0 people per square mile (38.2 people/km2). There were 2,456 housing units at an average density of 58.2 units per square mile (22.5 units/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.87%White, 0.38%Black orAfrican American, 0.17%Native American, 0.31%Asian, 0.43% fromother races, and 0.84% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 1.75% of the population.
There were 1,819 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% weremarried couples who were living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. Of all households 30.5% were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.81.
The population distribution by age for Manchester was 23.1% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $47,196, and the median income for a family was $59,191. Males had a median income of $36,453 versus $26,017 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $30,499. About 2.2% of families and 4.6% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
Manchester is crossed by four highways, including one Super-2 freeway. They are:
U.S. Route 7 (Exit 4 serves the town)
Historic VT Route 7A
Vermont Route 30
Vermont Route 11Green Mountain Community Network's Orange Line bus andMVRTD "The Bus" Manchester-Rutland Connector serve the town with public transit commuter connections toBennington andRutland, respectively.[12][13] The closest major airport isAlbany International Airport in New York, although three daily round trip flights from Rutland toBoston are available viaCape Air fromRutland – Southern Vermont Regional Airport.[14]Greyhound, the national intercity bus system, also serves Manchester through Premier Coach'sVermont Translines with an intercity bus connection betweenBurlington, Vermont andAlbany, New York.[15][16]
Manchester has severalAmtrakpassenger train connections within a one-hour drive.
VTrans andNYSDOT have shown interest in restoring passenger train service to Manchester on a newAmtrak route betweenAlbany andBurlington via Rutland, also linking up nearbyMechanicville, New York andNorth Bennington, Vermont. The new train would share much of its route with theEthan Allen Express, likely running beyond Albany toNew York City.[17][18] As of 2021, the idea is listed simply as a "potential initiative" in the Vermont Rail Plan.[19]
Hildene, the summer home ofRobert Todd Lincoln and Mary Lincoln, is a mansion in the Georgian Revival style completed in 1905 that is located southwest of Manchester Center.[20] Robert Lincoln, the only child of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln to survive into adulthood, served as Secretary of War to Presidents Garfield and Arthur, was appointed Minister (Ambassador) to Great Britain during the administration of President Benjamin Harrison, and later became general counsel and then president of the Pullman Company. The Hildene house and surrounding grounds are open to the public.
Also located in Manchester, at the base of Mount Equinox, is the Southern Vermont Arts Center (SVAC). In addition to hosting art exhibitions from its permanent collections and of visiting collections in its gallery facilities, SVAC conducts educational programs and provides facilities for performances and events in the arts. The permanent collection at SVAC includes the work of such regional artists as Ogden Pleissner, Jay Hall Conaway, Reginald Marsh, Guy Pene du Bois,Lorenzo Hatch, Luigi Lucioni, Arthur Gibbs Burton, and Robert Strong Woodward.[21]
Like the rest of Bennington County, Manchester lies in the Albany–Schenectady–Troy television and radio media market.
Manchester is home toalternative rock radio stationWEQX's studios. Their broadcast tower is on the summit ofEquinox Mountain, from which their callsign derives, enabling their signal to reach the northern and easternCapital Region of New York's radio market area,[22] while also being able to reach the remainder of southernVermont, westernMassachusetts, and southwesternNew Hampshire.
WVNK 91.1 FM, aVPR partner station, is also licensed to Manchester.
Print news is carried in theManchester Journal andBennington Banner.
Municipalities and communities ofBennington County, Vermont,United States | ||
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| Towns |  | |
| Villages | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Footnotes | § Disincorporated ‡ This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |