Bennington County, Vermont
Bennington County courthouse in Manchester
Location in the state of Vermont
Vermont's location in the U.S.
Founded	1779
Shire Town	Bennington & Manchester
Largest town	Bennington
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	678 sq mi (1,756 km²) 677 sq mi (1,753 km²) 1 sq mi (3 km²), 0.21%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	37,125 55/sq mi (21.18/km²)
Website	www.rpc.bennington.vt.us

Bennington County is a county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2010, the population was 37,125. It has the unusual distinction of having two shire towns (sometimes called county seats). Bennington is known as the South Shire and Manchester is the North Shire^[1]. Its largest town is Bennington.

  History

Bennington is the oldest county in Vermont still in existence, formed by a vote of the first general assembly in 1778. Vermont was split in two, with Bennington in the west.^[2]

  Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 678 square miles (1,756.0 km²), of which 676 square miles (1,750.8 km²) is land and 1 square mile (2.6 km²) (0.21%) is water.

  Adjacent counties

• Rutland County, Vermont - north
• Windsor County, Vermont - northeast
• Windham County, Vermont - 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

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 36,994 people, 14,846 households, and 9,917 families residing in the county. The population density was 55 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 19,403 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.75% White, 0.42% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.5% were of Irish, 16.0% English, 10.5% French, 9.1% German, 9.0% American, 8.1% Italian and 6.3% French Canadian ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.4% spoke English, 1.2% Spanish and 1.2% French as their first language.

There were 14,846 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.20% were non-families. 26.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.70% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 25.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,926, and the median income for a family was $46,565. Males had a median income of $31,982 versus $23,632 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,193. About 7.00% of families and 10.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.40% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.

  Politics

  Cities, towns, and villages*

  Downtown Arlington

• Arlington
• Bennington, home to Bennington College and Southern Vermont College
  • North Bennington (a village of Bennington)
  • Old Bennington (a village of Bennington)
• Dorset
• Glastenbury
• Landgrove
• Manchester
  • Manchester Village (a village of Manchester)
• Peru
• Pownal
• Readsboro
• Rupert
• Sandgate
• Searsburg
• Shaftsbury
  • South Shaftsbury (an unincorporated community of Shaftsbury)
• Stamford
• Sunderland
• Winhall
  • Bondville, a village in Winhall
• Woodford

* Villages are census divisions, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.

  See also

• List of counties in Vermont
• List of towns in Vermont
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Bennington County, Vermont

  References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ Vermont History Timeline
3. ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/vt190090.txt
4. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_QTPL&prodType=table
5. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
7. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/. Retrieved 2011-06-11. 

  History

• Richard Clayton Photography Hundreds of Historic Bennington County, Vermont and area photos

  External links

• Bennington County Sheriff's Department
• National Register of Historic Places listing for Bennington Co., Vermont

	Washington County, New York	Rutland County	Windsor County
			Windham County
		Bennington County, Vermont
	Rensselaer County, New York	Berkshire County, Massachusetts	Franklin County, Massachusetts

Municipalities and communities of Bennington County, Vermont, United States Shire towns: Bennington and Manchester Towns Arlington Bennington Dorset Glastenbury‡ Landgrove Manchester Peru Pownal Readsboro Rupert Sandgate Searsburg Shaftsbury Stamford Sunderland Winhall Woodford Villages Manchester North Bennington Old Bennington CDPs Arlington Bennington Manchester Center South Shaftsbury Footnotes ‡ Disincorporated

State of Vermont Montpelier (capital) Regions Champlain Valley Green Mountains Mount Mansfield Northeast Kingdom Counties Addison Bennington Caledonia Chittenden Essex Franklin Grand Isle Lamoille Orange Orleans Rutland Washington Windham Windsor Metropolitan areas Burlington-South Burlington metropolitan area Cities Barre Burlington Montpelier Newport Rutland St. Albans South Burlington Vergennes Winooski Festivals Vermont State Fair Green Mountain Film Festival Topics Delegations Constitution Culture Geography Government History Images People Politics Towns Villages Visitor Attractions

Coordinates: 43°02′N 73°07′W / 43.03°N 73.11°W / 43.03; -73.11