West Fairlee, Vermont facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
West Fairlee, Vermont
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Town
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Located in Orange County, Vermont
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 West Fairlee, Vermont
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Vermont |
| County | Orange |
| Chartered | 1797 |
| Communities |
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| Area | |
| • Total | 22.8 sq mi (59.1 km2) |
| • Land | 22.6 sq mi (58.5 km2) |
| • Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2) |
| Elevation | 752 ft (223 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 621 |
| • Density | 27/sq mi (10.6/km2) |
| • Households | 392 |
| • Families | 238 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | |
| Area code(s) | 802 |
| FIPS code | 50-79975 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1462249 |
West Fairlee is a small town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. In 2020, about 621 people lived there.
Contents
History of West Fairlee
West Fairlee used to be part of another town called Fairlee. But in 1797, it became its own separate town. That same year, a person named Nathaniel Niles was the first to settle there.
For a long time, West Fairlee was mostly a farming community. Then, in 1813, copper was found nearby in Vershire. This led to the opening of the Ely Copper Mine in 1821, and the town started to grow quickly.
In 1883, the mine was the site of a big worker protest called the 'Ely War.' The mine later faced financial problems and was sold. After a fire destroyed much of the town in 1910 and the mine closed in 1920, West Fairlee's economy struggled. Today, many people who live in West Fairlee travel to other towns for work.
In 1824, Samuel Graves started his company, Graves & Co., in West Fairlee. They made brass and woodwind musical instruments.
During the American Civil War, 98 people from West Fairlee joined the army. This was about 11% of the town's population! One of them was General Stephen Thomas, who received the Medal of Honor for his bravery.
A famous economist named Milton Friedman, who won a Nobel Prize, spent his summers in West Fairlee. He called his summer home "Capitaf." He and his wife, Rose Friedman, wrote their popular 1980 book, Free to Choose, while staying there.
Parts of the 1983 movie The Survivors, which starred Walter Matthau and Robin Williams, were filmed in West Fairlee.
Landmarks to See
- West Fairlee has two old summer camps: Camp Billings and Aloha Horizons Camp.
- West Fairlee Center Church
- Asa May House
Geography of the Town
West Fairlee covers an area of about 22.8 square miles (59.1 square kilometers). Most of this area, 22.6 square miles (58.5 square kilometers), is land. The rest, 0.2 square miles (0.6 square kilometers), is water. The Ompompanoosuc River flows through the southwestern part of the town.
Population Information
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1800 | 391 | — | |
| 1810 | 983 | 151.4% | |
| 1820 | 1,143 | 16.3% | |
| 1830 | 841 | −26.4% | |
| 1840 | 824 | −2.0% | |
| 1850 | 696 | −15.5% | |
| 1860 | 830 | 19.3% | |
| 1870 | 833 | 0.4% | |
| 1880 | 1,038 | 24.6% | |
| 1890 | 561 | −46.0% | |
| 1900 | 531 | −5.3% | |
| 1910 | 446 | −16.0% | |
| 1920 | 387 | −13.2% | |
| 1930 | 405 | 4.7% | |
| 1940 | 428 | 5.7% | |
| 1950 | 363 | −15.2% | |
| 1960 | 333 | −8.3% | |
| 1970 | 337 | 1.2% | |
| 1980 | 427 | 26.7% | |
| 1990 | 633 | 48.2% | |
| 2000 | 726 | 14.7% | |
| 2010 | 652 | −10.2% | |
| 2020 | 621 | −4.8% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2000, there were 726 people living in West Fairlee. About 278 households were in the town, and 197 of them were families. The population density was about 32 people per square mile.
Most of the people living in West Fairlee were White (98.76%). About 36% of households had children under 18 living with them. The average household had about 2.6 people.
The median age in the town was 35 years old. This means half the people were younger than 35 and half were older. About 27.8% of the population was under 18.
Education
Students in West Fairlee attend schools in the Rivendell Interstate School District. Westshire Elementary School is located right in West Fairlee.
Notable People from West Fairlee
- Asa L. Baldwin: A state assemblyman from Wisconsin.
- Chauncey C. Churchill
- Jabez William Clay: He founded the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.
- Eben Pomeroy Colton: He was the Lieutenant Governor of Vermont from 1878 to 1880.
- Milton Friedman: A Nobel Prize-winning economist. He owned a summer home called Capitaf in West Fairlee, where he and his wife, Rose Friedman, wrote their book Free to Choose.
- Nathaniel Niles: A U.S. congressman.
- Albert Southworth: A photographer famous for his early daguerreotypes.
- Stephen Thomas: He received the Medal of Honor for his bravery.
- Charlotte Geer: An Olympic rower.
Images for kids
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A view of West Fairlee Village
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Lake Fairlee
See also
In Spanish: West Fairlee (Vermont) para niños
