Bennington County, Vermont facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bennington County
U.S. county
Bennington County courthouse in Manchester
Location within the U.S. state of Vermont
Vermont's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Vermont
Founded	1778
Named for	Benning Wentworth
Shire Town	Bennington & Manchester
Largest town	Bennington
Area
• Total	678 sq mi (1,760 km2)
• Land	675 sq mi (1,750 km2)
• Water	2.7 sq mi (7 km2)  0.4%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	37,347
• Density	55.08/sq mi (21.268/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	At-large

Bennington County is a county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,347. The shire towns (county seats) are jointly Bennington ("The Southshire") and Manchester ("The Northshire"), and the largest municipality is Bennington. The county was created in 1778.

History

Bennington is the oldest county in Vermont still in existence, created by the first general assembly on March 17, 1778. Vermont was organized into two original counties, with Bennington in the west and Unity (a few days later renamed Cumberland) in the east. On February 16, 1781 Rutland County was created from Bennington County. On April 13, 1781, Bennington gained the gore east of the town of Bromley (now Peru) from Windham and Windsor Counties.

From June 26, 1781, until February 23, 1782, Vermont attempted to annex part of New York east of the Hudson River (the so-called West Union); inhabitants in the area favored Vermont's township form of government, while Vermont hoped to gain bargaining power through expansion. New York did not lose control of the area. For almost seven months Bennington County overlapped part of Albany County, New York.

On February 27, 1787, Windham County gained the town of Stratton from Bennington County, On October 25, 1805, Rutland County gained from the county when the town of Mount Tabor gained from the town of Peru. The county gained from Rutland County when the town of Dorset gained a small area from the town of Mount Tabor on November 17, 1825.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 678 square miles (1,760 km²), of which 675 square miles (1,750 km²) is land and 2.7 square miles (7.0 km²) (0.4%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Rutland County – north
• Windsor County – northeast
• Windham County – east
• Franklin County, Massachusetts – southeast
• Berkshire County, Massachusetts – south
• Rensselaer County, New York – southwest
• Washington County, New York – northwest

National protected areas

• Green Mountain National Forest (part)
• White Rocks National Recreation Area (part)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 37,125 people, 15,470 households, and 9,767 families living in the county. The population density was 55.0 inhabitants per square mile (21.2/km²). There were 20,922 housing units at an average density of 31.0 units per square mile (12.0 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% white, 0.8% black, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were:

• 18.8% Irish
• 17.1% English
• 14.8% French
• 13.9% German
• 9.8% Italian
• 5.9% American
• 5.5% French Canadian
• 4.2% Scottish
• 3.9% Polish
• 2.8% Scotch-Irish
• 2.3% Dutch
• 1.7% Swedish
• 1.6% Russian
• 1.3% Welsh

Of the 15,470 households, 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.9% were non-families, and 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age was 45.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,396 and the median income for a family was $60,642. Males had a median income of $40,996 versus $32,068 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,962. About 8.6% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Bennington is home to Bennington College. The Community College of Vermont and Vermont Technical College also have campuses in downtown Bennington. Southern Vermont College was located in Bennington, but closed in 2019.

Bennington County is home to these high schools:

• Mount Anthony Union High School in Bennington
• Burr & Burton Academy in Manchester
• Arlington Memorial School in Arlington
• Long Trail School in Dorset
• Grace Christian School in Bennington, Vermont

Law enforcement

Bennington County is home to these local law enforcement agencies:

• Bennington Police Department
• Manchester Police Department
• Winhall Police Department

The Bennington County Sheriff's Department and Vermont State Police are two other sources of law enforcement for the county, especially in towns without their own local police departments.

Transportation

Major highways

Bus

The main public transportation provider in Bennington County is the Green Mountain Community Network, whose Green Mountain Express bus system has five local bus routes in and around the town of Bennington and three commuter routes to Manchester; Wilmington; Williamstown, Massachusetts; and points in between as of September 29, 2014. Readsboro is served out of Wilmington by Southeast Vermont Transit's (formerly the Deerfield Valley Transit Association) fare free MOOver bus. There are also commuter buses to Rutland from Manchester and a regional bus line to Albany, New York from Bennington via Marble Valley Regional Transit District and Yankee Trails World Travel, respectively. Premier Coach's Vermont Translines (a partner of Greyhound) also stops in Bennington and Manchester on its intercity bus route between Albany and Burlington. The Shires Connector, an Amtrak Thruway intercity bus route also operated by Vermont Translines, also links Manchester and Bennington with Albany, NY's train station in Rensselaer, New York, their Greyhound bus station and airport.

Air

William H. Morse State Airport is a small public-use and state-owned airport west of downtown Bennington, serving private aviation interests. Commercial airlines are available at Albany International Airport to the west in the state of New York, and to the north at Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport in Rutland County.

Communities

Downtown Arlington

Towns

Villages

• Manchester Village
• North Bennington
• Old Bennington

Census-designated places

Other communities

• Bondville

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Bennington para niños