Barnet, Vermont

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Barnet, Vermont
settlement_type = Town
nickname =
motto =

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mapsize = 150px
map_caption = Barnet, Vermont


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Vermont
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Caledonia

government_footnotes =
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leader_title =
leader_name =
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unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 112.9
area_land_km2 = 109.8
area_water_km2 = 3.1
area_total_sq_mi = 43.6
area_land_sq_mi = 42.4
area_water_sq_mi = 1.2

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 1690
population_density_km2 = 15.4
population_density_sq_mi = 39.9

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 330
elevation_ft = 1083
latd = 44 |latm = 18 |lats = 29 |latNS = N
longd = 72 |longm = 5 |longs = 0 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 05821
area_code = 802
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 50-02875GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1462034GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Barnet is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,690 at the 2000 census. Barnet contains the locations of Barnet Center, East Barnet, McIndoe Falls, Mosquitoville, Passumpsic and West Barnet.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 43.6 square miles (112.8 km²), of which, 42.4 square miles (109.8 km²) of it is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) of it (2.71%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 1,690 people, 638 households, and 440 families residing in the town. The population density was 39.9 people per square mile (15.4/km²). There were 831 housing units at an average density of 19.6/sq mi (7.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.75% White, 0.71% African American, 1.01% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.36% of the population.

There were 638 households out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,089, and the median income for a family was $43,403. Males had a median income of $32,768 versus $23,173 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,690. About 7.0% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.4% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

History

The town of Barnet, Vermont originally got its name from the town of Barnet, now in North London, England. [cite book|last=Jones-Baker|first=Doris|title=Hertfordshire in History: Papers Presented to Lionel Munby|publisher=University of Hertfordshire Press|year=2004|pages=127] On 16 September, 1763, the town of Barnet received its charter from the royal governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth.

The first men to work the land and stay in Barnet were three brothers, Daniel, Jacob, and Elijah Hall, along with Jonathan Fowler. Their homestead was built along the Connecticut River and to the north near McIndoe Falls. Elijah Hall built the very first house in Caledonia County in Barnet up near the base of Stevens Falls. [cite book|first=WPA for the State of Vermont|last=Federal Writers Project|title=Vermont: A Guide to the Green Mountain State|publisher=The Riverside Press|location=Boston|year=1937|pages=177] Colonel Alexander Harvey came from Dundee, Scotland for those in the town that wished to find new land in the American colonies. Despite losing contact with almost all of them after the American Revolution broke out, he decided to stay, claiming convert|7000|acre|km2 of land and a lake, now known as Harvey's Lake. [cite book|last=Child|first=Hamilton|title=Gazetteer of Caledonia and Essex Counties, VT: 1764-1887|publisher=Hamilton Child|year=1887|pages=133-151]

Two governors for the State of Vermont are from Barnet- Erastus Fairbanks, who served two terms from 1852-1853 and 1860-1861, and his son, Horace Fairbanks, who served from 1876 to 1878. Horace Fairbanks is additionally known for manufacturing the very first platform scale. [cite book|last=Fairbanks|first=Lorenzo Sayles|title=Genealogy of the Fairbanks Family in America 1633-1897|publisher=American Printing and Engraving Company|location=Boston|year=1897]

Religion

On January 24, 1784, the town of Barnet voted unanimously to make the Presbyterian denomination the official one of the town, as it was "founded on the word of God as expressed in the Confession of Faith, Catechisms Longer and Shorter, with the form of church government agreed upon by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, and practiced by the Church of Scotland." The United Presbyterian Church was established by Reverend John Huston in 1786.

The Passumpsic Calvinistic Baptist church was first created by a council of neighboring churches on July 1, 1812. The village of Passumpsic was chosen due to its centralized location.

The First Congregational Church of Barnet was created by Reverend David Sutherland in September of 1829 after a new brick church had been built. Its first permanent minister was the Reverend Henry Fairbanks. The church which stands now was constructed in 1854.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church was first begun in Ryegate in October of 1798. In the early part of the 19th century, a new meeting house was built on the land formerly owned by Walter Harvey, and the property has gone by that name ever since. The longest tenured minister was Daniel C. Faris, who served the congregation from 1873 until 1923. [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vtcbarne/barnet_churches.htm#WH Ecclesiastical History of the town of Barnet, Vermont] The congregation's Barnet branch became a separate congregation on 9 July 1872, [Glasgow, W. Melancthon. [http://www.rpcna.org/assets/pdf/Glasgow%20book/Glasgow%2016.pdf "A History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America"] , part 8. Baltimore: Hill and Harvey, 1888, p. 400. Accessed on 2008-04-24.] and it continued until disorganization in 1970. [McBurney, Charles and Beth. "Reformed Presbyterian Ministers 1950-1993". Pittsburgh: Crown and Covenant, 1994, p. 225.]

Notable residents

* Jay Craven, filmmaker, Marlboro College film professor.
* Ralph Flanders, mechanical engineer, industrialist and politician.
* Benjamin Franklin Stevens, bibliographer.
* Henry Stevens, bibliographer.

References

External links

* [http://www.barnetvermont.org/ Barnet Vermont Official Town Site]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~vtcbarne/barnet.htm Barnet Genealogy page (lots of historical info here)]
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