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government, no further action was necessary to incorporate. This practice can lead to inconsistencies in the dates of incorporation for towns in this region. Dates given in reference sources sometime reflect the date the town was chartered – which may have been long before it was even settled – not the date its town government actually became active. In other parts of New
England, it was not unheard of for "future towns" to be laid out along these lines, but such areas would not be formally incorporated as towns until they were sufficiently settled to organize a town government.
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special-purpose districts such as fire or water districts, which are separately incorporated quasi-municipal entities that provide specific services within a part of a town (in Maine and New
Hampshire, the term "village corporation" is used for a type of special-purpose district). Many villages also are recognized as places by the
106:, which holds that municipal governments only have the powers that are expressly granted to them by Vermont or federal law, plus any powers that are necessarily implied by the express powers and any powers essential to the municipality's existence. Vermont is one of ten states that does not grant any measure of
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much smaller than a typical town in terms of land area. The above process has created several instances where there are adjacent towns and cities with the same name. In all cases, the city was originally the "town center" of the town, but later incorporated as a city and became a separate municipality.
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It is possible for a
Vermont village to become a city. In Vermont, if a village becomes a city, it does not continue to overlay its parent town, but breaks away and becomes a completely separate municipality. Most cities in Vermont today are actually former villages rather than former towns, and are
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proceeded in a different manner from that of the other New
England states. In these areas, towns were often "chartered" long before any settlers moved into a particular area. This was very common in the mid to late 18th century. Once there were enough residents in a town to formally organize a town
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counties also contain smaller amounts of unincorporated territory. This territory includes five unincorporated townships and 4 gores and grants. The remaining ten counties in the state are entirely incorporated (Bennington and
Windham counties were also fully incorporated at one time, but lost that
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The term "village" is sometimes used in
Vermont to describe a distinct, built-up place within a town or city. This may be a "town center" which bears the same name as the town or city (almost every town has such a place), or a name related to that of the town, or a completely unrelated name. The
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These "villages" are not incorporated municipalities and should not be understood as such. Towns do sometimes grant a certain measure of recognition to such areas, using highway signs that identify them as "villages", for example. These informal "villages" also sometimes correspond to underlying
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to municipalities, and one of three "strict" Dillon's Rule states which impose particularly close limits on municipal power. With few exceptions, the powers of
Vermont municipalities are narrowly construed. In most other New England states, the laws governing municipal authority are construed so
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Vermont contains some town-sized unorganized entities, referred to as "unorganized towns". Most of these are areas that were drawn up on maps in the 18th and 19th centuries as what might be termed "future towns", but never saw enough settlement to actually commence operation of a formal town
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contains 247 incorporated towns and cities. Ten are cities and 237 are towns. Collectively, these 247 municipalities cover the vast majority, but not all, of the state's territory. There are some unincorporated areas in the sparsely populated mountainous regions of the state. Most of the
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As in most of New
England, population is not a determination in what makes a city or a town in Vermont. Rather, cities are formed when a town's residents choose to switch from a town meeting form to a city form. There are a number of towns that have larger populations than nearby cities.
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A typical town was laid out in a 6 by 6 miles (9.7 by 9.7 km) square. Each contained 36 sections, 1 mile (1.6 km) squares or 640 acres (260 ha). One section was reserved for the support of public schools. This was copied when the
Continental Congress laid out Ohio 1785–7.
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Incorporated villages remain a part of their parent town, but assume some responsibilities for municipal services within their boundaries. They are typically regarded as less important than towns. In recent decades, many villages have disincorporated, reverting to full town control.
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Vermont is one of two New
England states to have any type of incorporated general-purpose municipality below the town level, namely incorporated villages (Connecticut has incorporated boroughs). There are about 30 in the state. There were once nearly double that number.
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Over time, some of the distinctions between a town and a city have become blurred. Since the early 20th century, towns have been allowed to modify the town meeting form of government in various ways (e.g., representative town meeting, adding a town manager).
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There are far fewer cities in Vermont than there are towns. Across Vermont as a whole, only about 5% of all incorporated municipalities are cities. In early colonial times, all incorporated municipalities in Vermont were towns; there were no cities.
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on opposite sides of the Bennington-Windham County line, disincorporated in 1937. In the 1940 Census, Glastenbury reported five residents, Somerset four. In only one census since then has the population of either reached double digits.
86:, for instance, was chartered as a town as early as 1785, but the city of Burlington was not chartered until 1865, as Vermont's second city. For many years prior to the 1860s Vermont had just one city, which was the city of
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contains three unorganized towns which have never been actively incorporated. Their collective population in the 2000 Census was 41. There are no other unorganized towns in the state which have never been incorporated.
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There were two unorganized towns which were once a town, but have disincorporated and reverted to unorganized territory, due to population loss.
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status when a town disincorporated). Fewer than 100 of the state's residents live in unincorporated areas.
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Vermont State Archives. Vermont Secretary of State. (No Date) (Retrieved February 22, 2008.)
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broadly that they effectively have the form, if not the substance, of home rule.
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and tabulates census data for them). For an example of the latter, see
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421:, Vermont Secretary of State (No date). Retrieved February 22, 2008.
362:(2). William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository.: 269–314
386:. Vermont League of Cities and Towns. October 2014. Archived from
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304:. National Association of Counties. Archived from
162:, which is a constituent part of the town of
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329:West's Encyclopedia of American Law (2005).
27:. It is the basic unit of local government.
352:"Municipal Home Rule in the United States"
43:, in the northeastern part of the state.
436:The Oxford History of the American People
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16:Municipalities in Vermont, New England
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102:Local government in Vermont follows
154:(which recognizes some villages as
350:Vanlandingham, Kenneth E. (1968).
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297:Coester, Adam (January 2004).
146:(some villages have their own
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264:List of Incorporated Villages
276:vergennes.org "History" page
144:United States Postal Service
90:, incorporated in 1788.
39:unincorporated areas are in
479:Local government in Vermont
234:List of villages in Vermont
152:United States Census Bureau
73:Early town organization in
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229:List of cities in Vermont
281:August 24, 2011, at the
156:census-designated places
25:New England municipality
23:is a particular type of
331:"Municipal Corporation"
299:"Dillon's Rule or Not?"
432:Morison, Samuel Eliot
356:Wm. & Mary L. Rev
199:Disincorporated towns
60:Incorporated villages
21:Vermont municipality
412:Villages and Cities
442:. pp. 388–9.
417:2007-09-25 at the
469:New England towns
438:. New York City:
381:"Self-Governance"
253:Village (Vermont)
214:, located in the
183:Unorganized towns
125:Village (Vermont)
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474:New England
208:Glastenbury
136:Brownington
463:Categories
397:2016-12-27
366:2014-01-01
336:2009-12-14
315:2010-09-07
240:References
84:Burlington
53:Chittenden
45:Bennington
31:Background
108:home rule
98:Structure
88:Vergennes
434:(1972).
415:Archived
279:Archived
223:See also
212:Somerset
134:town of
119:Villages
75:Vermont
69:History
49:Windham
36:Vermont
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440:Mentor
164:Barton
391:(PDF)
384:(PDF)
309:(PDF)
302:(PDF)
444:ISBN
410:See
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210:and
174:Size
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