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35-529: The Brownington Village Historic District is a historic site in Brownington , Vermont , United States . It is located near the intersection of Hinman and Brownington Center roads. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on June 9, 1973. The district consists of five buildings within the Old Stone House Museum complex and three neighboring houses, dating from

70-463: A bell and spire for the belfry. When the classrooms of the grammar school were nearby, students climbed this hill for evening vespers . In 1898, Strong built an observatory at the top. This was recreated by the Grange in 1975 for the national bicentennial. It was rebuilt again in 1998. Built in 1815, this farmhouse was once operated as a hotel. It is privately owned today. William Baxter paid for

105-465: A certain measure of recognition to such areas, using highway signs that identify them as "villages", for example. These informal "villages" also sometimes correspond to underlying special-purpose districts such as fire or water districts, which are separately incorporated quasi-municipal entities that provide specific services within a part of a town (in Maine and New Hampshire, the term "village corporation"

140-464: A completely separate municipality. Most cities in Vermont today are actually former villages rather than former towns, and are much smaller than a typical town in terms of land area. The above process has created several instances where there are adjacent towns and cities with the same name. In all cases, the city was originally the "town center" of the town, but later incorporated as a city and became

175-536: A separate municipality. A typical town was laid out in a 6 by 6 miles (9.7 by 9.7 km) square. Each contained 36 sections, 1 mile (1.6 km) squares or 640 acres (260 ha). One section was reserved for the support of public schools. This was copied when the Continental Congress laid out Ohio 1785–7. Vermont contains some town-sized unorganized entities, referred to as "unorganized towns". Most of these are areas that were drawn up on maps in

210-541: A team of 46 oxen. The school was built in 1823. As of the census of 2000, there were 885 people, 337 households, and 239 families residing in the town. The population density was 31.3 people per square mile (12.1/km ). There were 450 housing units at an average density of 15.9 per square mile (6.1/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 97.06% White , 0.45% African American , 1.24% Native American , 0.23% Asian , 0.34% from other races , and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.45% of

245-448: A town government. There are far fewer cities in Vermont than there are towns. Across Vermont as a whole, only about 5% of all incorporated municipalities are cities. In early colonial times, all incorporated municipalities in Vermont were towns; there were no cities. Burlington , for instance, was chartered as a town as early as 1785, but the city of Burlington was not chartered until 1865, as Vermont's second city. For many years prior to

280-402: A town manager). Incorporated villages remain a part of their parent town, but assume some responsibilities for municipal services within their boundaries. They are typically regarded as less important than towns. In recent decades, many villages have disincorporated, reverting to full town control. The term "village" is sometimes used in Vermont to describe a distinct, built-up place within

315-435: A town or city. This may be a "town center" which bears the same name as the town or city (almost every town has such a place), or a name related to that of the town, or a completely unrelated name. The town of Brownington , for example, includes "villages" called Evansville, Brownington, and Brownington Center. These "villages" are not incorporated municipalities and should not be understood as such. Towns do sometimes grant

350-478: Is a constituent part of the town of Barton . But they have no existence as general-purpose municipalities separate from the town (if they even have any legal existence at all), and are usually regarded by local residents as a part of the town in which they are located, less important than the whole. It is possible for a Vermont village to become a city. In Vermont, if a village becomes a city, it does not continue to overlay its parent town, but breaks away and becomes

385-643: Is called "The Old Stone House Museum ." It is one of the best-preserved institutional buildings of its era in the United States. Operated as an historical museum, it contains collections of 18th, 19th, and early 20th-century furniture, paintings, decorative art, folk art, tools and household items. Across the road from the Old Stone House is Alexander Twilight 's own house, which he built in 1830. He and his wife accepted several boarding students at their house each year; these students slept in rooms on

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420-527: Is late Federal-style, partially remodeled in the vernacular Greek Revival style. The building has been thoroughly restored, including the cedar shake roof. It contains the archives and research collections of the Historical Society. Behind the house is a well established mid-nineteenth century perennial garden. This house was built by George West in 1831 in the Federal style . For 21 years it

455-578: Is used for a type of special-purpose district). Many villages also are recognized as places by the United States Postal Service (some villages have their own post offices , with their names used in mailing addresses) or the United States Census Bureau (which recognizes some villages as census-designated places and tabulates census data for them). For an example of the latter, see Barton Village , which

490-494: The 1860s Vermont had just one city, which was the city of Vergennes , incorporated in 1788. As in most of New England, population is not a determination in what makes a city or a town in Vermont. Rather, cities are formed when a town's residents choose to switch from a town meeting form to a city form. There are a number of towns that have larger populations than nearby cities. Local government in Vermont follows Dillon's Rule , which holds that municipal governments only have

525-448: The 18th and 19th centuries as what might be termed "future towns", but never saw enough settlement to actually commence operation of a formal town government. Essex County contains three unorganized towns which have never been actively incorporated. Their collective population in the 2000 Census was 41. There are no other unorganized towns in the state which have never been incorporated. There were two unorganized towns which were once

560-532: The OCSU to educate grades 9–12 out of its budget at Lake Region Union High School (#24). The town was named after the family Brown. Two chief grantees of Brownington were Daniel and Timothy Brown. There were six other male Browns and one woman, Sarah. Until 1816, court convened here, alternating with Craftsbury , both shire towns of the county. After that year, the legislature changed the county seat to Irasburg . Alexander Twilight built Athenian Hall, now called

595-580: The Old Stone House as a dormitory for a boarding academy in 1836. It is a museum today. Part of the museum complex is the Samuel Read Hall House, located on the Hinman Settler Road . This Federal-style building was completed in 1831. For about twenty years it was the home of Hall, a pioneer in the field of American education. The Orleans County Grammar School was moved back to its original location on August 8, 2016, by

630-407: The average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males. The median income for a household in the town

665-487: The calciferous mica schist, except in the southeastern part, where they are granite. A narrow vein of hornblende schist extends through the central part, from north to south. In 2008, the town received its fire department services from the adjacent village of Orleans in the town of Barton . The local school is part of the OSCU ( Orleans Central Supervisory Union ). The local school educates students K–8. Brownington pays

700-532: The construction of this building in 1823. It was constructed at the base of Prospect Hill. In 1869, it was moved down the road by about 1 ⁄ 3 mile (0.54 km). The building was owned by the town of Brownington and housed the Grange. In 2016, it was moved west of the church closer to the District. Simulating the work of the 19th century, 44 oxen appeared to be hitched to the historic building to tow it to

735-525: The early 19th century. In the early 19th century, Brownington was a community on the Hinman Settler Road, a primary route in the county. It was on the stagecoach route from Boston, Massachusetts to Montreal, Quebec , Canada. Prior to 1816, the village was one of two county seats. Residents developed a number of facilities to take advantage of the town's situation. Alexander Twilight alone constructed this four-story granite building which

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770-577: The new site. Brownington, Vermont Brownington is a town in Orleans County , Vermont , United States. The population was 1,042 as of the 2020 census . According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 28.4 square miles (73.6 km ), of which 28.3 square miles (73.2 km ) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.4 km ) (0.49%) is water. Brownington has three unincorporated villages: Brownington, Brownington Center, and Evansville. The lie of

805-407: The population. There were 337 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and

840-476: The powers of Vermont municipalities are narrowly construed. In most other New England states, the laws governing municipal authority are construed so broadly that they effectively have the form, if not the substance, of home rule. Over time, some of the distinctions between a town and a city have become blurred. Since the early 20th century, towns have been allowed to modify the town meeting form of government in various ways (e.g., representative town meeting, adding

875-423: The powers that are expressly granted to them by Vermont or federal law, plus any powers that are necessarily implied by the express powers and any powers essential to the municipality's existence. Vermont is one of ten states that does not grant any measure of home rule to municipalities, and one of three "strict" Dillon's Rule states which impose particularly close limits on municipal power. With few exceptions,

910-515: The second floor of the house. Students continued to board with the Twilights after Athenian Hall dormitory was built. The Orleans County Historical Society bought the house in 1999. It has been restored and serves as a visitor center for the Museum and as an office for the Historical Society. This is an English-style barn built during the first half of the 19th century. It is similar to the one that

945-452: The state are entirely incorporated (Bennington and Windham counties were also fully incorporated at one time, but lost that status when a town disincorporated). Fewer than 100 of the state's residents live in unincorporated areas. Vermont is one of two New England states to have any type of incorporated general-purpose municipality below the town level, namely incorporated villages (Connecticut has incorporated boroughs). There are about 30 in

980-481: The state. There were once nearly double that number. Early town organization in Vermont proceeded in a different manner from that of the other New England states. In these areas, towns were often "chartered" long before any settlers moved into a particular area. This was very common in the mid to late 18th century. Once there were enough residents in a town to formally organize a town government, no further action

1015-477: The town is moderate but uneven. The central part of town is somewhat elevated. The Willoughby River flows through the southern part of town. Small streams are found throughout. Brownington Pond is in the north, partly in Derby . The northeast part of town is delimited from its neighbor, the town of Charleston, by Chilafoux Road, which runs northwest-southeast, for about one-third of its length. Rocks are mostly of

1050-529: The vast majority, but not all, of the state's territory. There are some unincorporated areas in the sparsely populated mountainous regions of the state. Most of the unincorporated areas are in Essex County , in the northeastern part of the state. Bennington , Windham and Chittenden counties also contain smaller amounts of unincorporated territory. This territory includes five unincorporated townships and 4 gores and grants. The remaining ten counties in

1085-499: Was $ 29,667, and the median income for a family was $ 37,721. Males had a median income of $ 26,210 versus $ 21,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 14,004. About 10.8% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 24.8% of those under age 18 and 25.3% of those age 65 or over. Vermont municipality Vermont contains 247 incorporated towns and cities. Ten are cities and 237 are towns. Collectively, these 247 municipalities cover

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1120-538: Was necessary to incorporate. This practice can lead to inconsistencies in the dates of incorporation for towns in this region. Dates given in reference sources sometime reflect the date the town was chartered – which may have been long before it was even settled – not the date its town government actually became active. In other parts of New England, it was not unheard of for "future towns" to be laid out along these lines, but such areas would not be formally incorporated as towns until they were sufficiently settled to organize

1155-621: Was originally associated with the Twilight House. It was moved to its present site in 1997. It houses an exhibit illustrating two centuries of farming in Orleans County. This building was probably the original house on the site of the Alexander Twilight House. It was donated to the Museum in 1978 and is used as an education center. Cyrus Eaton, a friend of Twilight, built this house in 1834. The architecture

1190-591: Was the home of Samuel Read Hall , who taught at the Orleans County Grammar School. Purchased by the Historical Society in 2006, the Samuel Read Hall House is being restored. The church was completed in 1841. Both Twilight and Hall were ministers there. In 1899 Brownington native William Barstow Strong , who had attended the Orleans County Grammar School, paid for extensive remodeling of the church's interior and furnished

1225-415: Was used as a dormitory for out-of-town boarding students at the nearby Orleans County Grammar School. He called it "Athenian Hall." Granite was almost never used in building construction in the early 19th century in Orleans County. No one knows where the granite came from. The dormitory closed in 1859, two years after Twilight's death. The Orleans County Historical Society bought it in 1918 for $ 500. Today it

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