Charleston, Vermont
Located in Orleans County, Vermont
Location of Vermont with the U.S.A.
Coordinates: 44°50′30″N 72°0′47″W / 44.84167, -72.01306
Country	United States
State	Vermont
County	Orleans
Chartered	November 10, 1780
Area
- Total	38.6 sq mi (100.0 km²)
- Land	37.5 sq mi (97.1 km²)
- Water	1.1 sq mi (2.9 km²)
Elevation	1,196 ft (358 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	895
- Density	23.9/sq mi (9.2/km²)
- Households	362
- Families	26,123.9
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	05872
Area code(s)	802
FIPS code	50-13150[1]
GNIS feature ID	1462067[2]

Charleston is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 895 at the 2000 census. The town contains three unincorporated villages: Charleston, East Charleston and West Charleston.

Local Government

Town

• Selectman - Tom Jensen^[3]
• Town Clerk - Jeanine Bennett
• Town Budget - $413,221

The proposed budget of $435,000, $345,040 of which was allocated to road maintenance, was rejected at the town meeting March 4, 2008.

School District

• Member, North Country Union High School Board - Peter Moscovites
• School Board Chair - Nancy Tessier
• Member, School Board - Jason Brueck, East Charleston; Bill McMaster (2009)
• Number of students - 100 (current and projected)
• Number of students in 2004 - 128
• School Budget for 2008 - $1,502,600

History

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

Indians told of how a large pond "ran away" similar to Runaway Pond in the 1780s before the area was explored by the descendants of Europeans.^[4]

A series of fires destroyed East Charleston May 18, 1921, and West Charleston on the following day.^[5]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 38.6 square miles (100.0 km²), of which, 37.5 square miles (97.1 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.9 km²) of it (2.93%) is water.

The surface of the town is somewhat uneven, some portions being very low.

Tributaries

The Clyde river is the largest stream in town. It rises in Spectacle pond, in Brighton, thence flowing through Island Pond into Charleston, in a northwesterly direction nearly through its center. Falls are found on the river, especially in the western part of town, where it drops more than a hundred feet in 660 feet, but its current is generally slow.

The principal tributaries of the Clyde are

• Ferrin's river from the north
• The waters of Suke's pond through a brook
• The waters of Cole's Copper brook
• Morgan Gull brook
• The stream from Cole's pond in Brighton
• Buck's brook from Brighton
• Mad brook from Westmore
• Echo pond brook at the East village
• Fenner brook from Westmore
• The Nutting brook from Broadway pond
• Toad pond brook from Toad pond.

These all flow into Clyde river above Pensioners pond.

Echo Pond, situated in the easterly part of the township, receives the waters of Seymour pond in Morgan, and through that the waters of Holland pond. Echo Pond is one mile from East Charleston. It is one mile and a half long and one mile wide. General Whitelaw gave it the name of Echo Pond because when any sound was produced in its vicinity it was reverberated in various directions, producing a series of echoes.

Pensioners pond is the next in size, and was so named because of the pension of a revolutionary soldier who employed its water power.

Toad pond is above Pensioners pond, near the great swamp on the Brownington line. Broadway pond is near the Morgan line.^[6]

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 895 people, 362 households, and 261 families residing in the town. The population density was 23.9 people per square mile (9.2/km²). There were 587 housing units at an average density of 15.7/sq mi (6.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.42% White, 1.34% Native American, 0.34% Asian, and 1.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.45% of the population.

There were 362 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,083, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $25,938 versus $19,911 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,278. About 16.4% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.6% of those under age 18 and 23.9% of those age 65 or over.

Footnotes

External links

• Charleston, Vermont is at coordinates 44°50′30″N 72°00′49″W / 44.84167, -72.01361 (Charleston, Vermont)Coordinates: 44°50′30″N 72°00′49″W / 44.84167, -72.01361 (Charleston, Vermont)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Orleans County, Vermont Shire town: Newport City Newport Towns Albany | Barton | Brownington | Charleston | Coventry | Craftsbury | Derby | Glover | Greensboro | Holland | Irasburg | Jay | Lowell | Morgan | Newport | Troy | Westfield | Westmore Villages Albany | Barton | Derby Center | Derby Line | North Troy | Orleans Unincorporated community Beebe Plain