Saint Johnsbury

St. Johnsbury is the largest town by population in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. In 2006, the town was named "Best Small Town" in National Geographic Adventure's "Where to live and play" feature. The town was originally granted in 1760 as part of the New Hampshire Grants and named Bessborough. It was regranted by Vermont in 1786 as Dunmore, and settled the same year. In the mid-19th century the town became a minor manufacturing center, with the main products being scalesthe platform scale was invented there by Thaddeus Fairbanks in 1830 and maple syrup and related products. The former St Johnsbury Fairground was located where Interstates 91 and 93 converge, south of the town. The Third Vermont Regiment drilled there prior to joining the Union Army during the Civil War. The first air flight in Vermont occurred at the fair on April 19, 1910. It is located at 44°25N 72°01W, elevation 212.4 m (697 ft) The town has a total area of 36.8 square miles (95.2 km²), of which 36.3 km² is land and 0.35 sq miles (0.9 km²) is water. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,364. The highest point in the town is an unnamed hill in the northwest part of town, 1.594 feet (594 feet) above sea level. It lies at the confluence of the Passumpsic, Moose and Sleeper's rivers, one of the largest of the upper Connecticut River watershed.

History

Saint Johnsbury is the primary city name, but also St Johnsbury, Waterford are acceptable city names or spellings, Johnsbury, West Waterford on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The town was originally granted in 1760 as part of the New Hampshire Grants and named Bessborough. It was regranted by Vermont in 1786 as Dunmore, and settled the same year. An early settler was Jonathan Arnold, a member of the Continental Congress and author of Rhode Island's act of secession from the Kingdom of Great Britain in May 1776. In the mid-19th century, St. Johnsbury became a minor manufacturing center, with the main products being scalesthe platform scale was invented there by Thaddeus Fairbanks in 1830 and maple syrup and related products. The Third Vermont Regiment drilled there prior to joining the Union Army during the Civil War. The first air flight in Vermont occurred at the fair on April 19, 1910. The oldest occupied residence in St. John's was built in 1798 and located on the corner of Summer and Central streets, attached to the J. J. Palmer house. The town was named the shire town (county seat) in 1856, replacing Danville. It is located near where Interstates 91 and 93 converge, south of the town. It has a population of about 2,000 people, making it one of the smallest towns in the United States to have more than 1,000 residents in the early 21st century. It also has a small population of around 1,500 people, the majority of whom live in the town center and surrounding rural areas. The former St Johnsbury Fairground was located near the town's center, and was the site of the U.S. Air Force's first air test flight in April 1910.

Geography

St. Johnsbury is located at 44°25N 72°01W, elevation 212.4 m (697 ft) According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.8 square miles (95.2 km²), of which 36.4 sq miles (94.3 km²) is land and 0.35sq miles (0.9 km²") is water. The town lies at the heart of the Passumpsic River basin, one of the largest of the upper Connecticut River watershed. The highest point in the town is an unnamed hill in the northwest part of town east of Libby Road. The twin summits of the hill each rise above 1,594 feet (486 m) above sea level. St. John's is on the site of the northernmost boundary of Lake Hitchcock, the post-glacial predecessor to the Connecticut River. It includes the unincorporated villages of St. Johnsburg, East St.John's, Goss Hollow, and St. johnsbury Center. It also includes the town center, which is defined as a census-designated place (CDP) The CDP covers an area of 13.1 square miles and covers about 36% of the area of the town. It is the largest CDP in the United States, covering about 35% of its total area. It has a population of 2,816. St Johnsbury's town center is the only CDP that has more than 1,000 residents.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,604 people, 3,236 households, and 1,917 families residing in the town. The U.S. Census Bureau refers to the most developed portion of the town as a census-designated place (CDP) In the town, the population was spread out, with 12.8% under the age of 18, 19.1% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. In the CDP, the median age was 39.5 years, and the median income for a household was $20,269. The per capita income for the town was $16,807. Out of the total people living in poverty, 37.8 per cent are under 18 and 11.1 per cent of the population are 65 or older, according to the 2010 census. The town is located on the New York-Massachusetts border and is located in the New England region of the state. It is located near the New Jersey Turnpike and the New Hampshire Turnpikes. It has a population of 6,319, with 3,482 housing units, and a population density of 486.8 people per square mile (188.0/km²) In 2000, the town's population was 6,318, with 2,985 housing units at an average density of 230.0 per sq mi (88.8/ km²). The racial makeup of the C DP was 96.23% White, 0.47% Black or African American,0.74% Native American, 0.65% Asian,  0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.60% from two or more races.

Education

The town of St. Johnsbury does not operate a public school for grades 912. Vermont law requires towns not operating schools to pay tuition to other approved schools for students in the grades not provided. A majority of secondary school students choose to be educated at St. John's Academy at the town's expense. The school's founders, Fairbanks, Morse and Company, wanted to provide young people with the opportunity to learn a trade while providing them a base for earning more money and high school courses. After consolidating the local school system, the old trade school became the site of the St Johnsbury School serving students from K8th grade. Good Shepherd School is operated by St.John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church and serves pre-school through 8th grade and serves students from pre-kindergarten to 8thgrade. The St John's Middle School was opened in 1981 and now serves students in 7th through 12th grade, as well as the junior high and middle school. The high school was founded in 1842 by the Fairbanks family, including Erastus Fairbanks. It is the only private high school in the town. The town does not have a public high school, but the town does have a middle school and a junior high. The trade school opened in September 1918, offering the only four year vocational education in the area. After serving the community for over 50 years, the Trade School was closed, and the building then became the Junior High and Middle School.

Government

In 2010, the town employed ten firefighters. The department had an annual budget of $945,920. It has had a professional department since about 1910. Social services are provided in part by Northeast Kingdom Community Action located here and in other Northeast Kingdom sites. The town has a fire department that has been in existence since 1910. It also has a social services agency that provides services in part to the community. The fire department has a budget of more than $900,000 a year. It employs ten firefighters and has a professional team of about 10 people. In 2010, it employed 10 firefighters, with an annual salary of about $100,000. The city has a police force of about 40 people. It is located in the Northeast Kingdom, which is part of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It was founded in 1858. It's located in a former mining town. It had a population of about 2,000 in 1859. It now has a population in excess of 3,000 people. Its population has grown to more than 4,000 since the early 20th century, and is now in the process of becoming a state-run town. The U.N. has a mission to improve the quality of life in the region. It provides services to the people of Northeast Kingdom in part through its Community Action agency, which operates in the town and elsewhere in the state. The agency is based in New Hampshire and provides social services in the United States.

Economy

Grain wholesaler E.T. & H.K. Ide Company, a grain wholesaler founded in 1813, was the oldest continuously operating business in town when the family stopped operations in 2003. Maple Grove Farms of Vermont is the largest packer of pure maple syrup in the United States. Green Mountain Mall is a shopping mall north of downtown St. Johnsbury on U.S. Route 5. On December 16, 2020, it was announced that JCPenney would be closing as part of a plan to close 15 stores nationwide. The store closed in May 2021. The Northeast Kingdom Human Services aids mental health needs. The Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital is located in the town. The town is home to the Vermont Museum of Natural History and the Vermont State Museum of History and Science. It is also the home of the Vermont Shakespeare Festival, which is held every year in the summer. It was founded by Katharine Ide Gray in 1915. In 2006, they employed 100 and had sales of $75 million. They are a subsidiary of B&G Foods. In 2009, the town had a population of 2,827. It has a population density of 1,828. It had a GDP of $1.2 billion in 2008. It also has an unemployment rate of 0.7%. The town's economy is based on exports and imports. In 2008, the state had a economy of 1.1 percent. The state's unemployment rate was 0.8 percent.

Culture

The Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium opened in 1891 as a gift of Franklin Fairbanks, a businessman, naturalist and philanthropist, to the community. The museum is well known in Vermont for producing the "Eye on the Sky" weather forecast which is broadcast on Vermont Public Radio and Magic 97.7 FM. There has been an annual First Night community celebration of the arts on New Year's Eve since 1993. The town contains the only National Historic Landmark in the county, as well as the only one in the Northeast Kingdom - the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. It also contains 13 other places on the list of National Register of Historic Places, the most in Caledonia County or the Northeast kingdom.The town is mentioned in Hayden Carruth's classic poem "Regarding Chainsaws." Carruth lived and farmed in that area of Vermont for many years. It is also the home of the St Johnsbury Federal Fish Culture Station, which is a National Register-listed building in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It was added to the National Register in 1980. It has been listed in the U.S. Geological Survey's National Park Service database since 1976. The St. John'sbury Historic District was added in 1974. It includes the Railway Street Historic District, bounded north and south by Railroad St. and Canadian Pacific RR tracks. It's also home to the Shearer and Corser Double House, which was added September 16, 1994. There is also a St. Peter's Episcopal Church, which has been on the N.N.R.P. list since 1973.

Infrastructure

Three exits from Interstate 91 serve the town. The northern terminus of Interstate 93 is at I-91 at the southern border of the town, and I-93 Exit 1, while just over the line in the town of Waterford, serves the eastern side of St. Johnsbury. The following roads facilitate traffic: Interstate 91, Interstate 93, U.S. Route 2, and Vermont Route 2B. The town has a population of 2,856. The population of St Johnsbury is 2,744. The city has a total population of 3,854. The largest city in the state is Burlington, Vermont. The most populous city in Vermont is Champlain, Vermont, with 2,938 residents. The state's largest city is Montpelier, Vermont with 1,936 residents, and its largest county is Chittenden, with 4,836 residents. It is the state's second-largest city, after Burlington, and the largest county in New Hampshire, with 3,935 residents. Its population is 2.7 million. The county's population is 1,838. It has one of the highest rates of obesity in the United States. It also has the lowest rates of diabetes and high levels of obesity. The highest rate of obesity is in Vermont, where it is 1.8 percent. The lowest rate of diabetes is in New York, at 1.7 percent, and it is the second-lowest rate in Vermont.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Saint Johnsbury, Caledonia County, Vermont = 93.1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 60. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 89. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Saint Johnsbury = 3.1 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 7,364 individuals with a median age of 41.7 age the population dropped by -1.53% in Saint Johnsbury, Caledonia County, Vermont population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 200 residents per square mile of area (77/km²). There are average 2.11 people per household in the 2,779 households with an average household income of $32,789 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 6.60% of the available work force and has dropped -0.54% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 32.32%. The number of physicians in Saint Johnsbury per 100,000 population = 165.1.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Saint Johnsbury = 41.9 inches and the annual snowfall = 112.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 137. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 165. 79 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 3.3 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 55, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Saint Johnsbury, Caledonia County, Vermont which are owned by the occupant = 46.69%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 26.4 years with median home cost = $122,660 and home appreciation of -0.84%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $20.13 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $11,679 per student. There are 12.6 students for each teacher in the school, 295 students for each Librarian and 316 students for each Counselor. 6.18% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 12.39% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.33% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).