History and Facts of Vermont Counties
Vermont Counties – There were only four Vermont counties from 1772 to 1777, Cumberland, Charlotte, Albany and Gloucester. Although there were many New Hampshire towns in those counties, they were considered to be part of New York, politically. The records for Gloucester County have been published.
Bennington and Cumberland counties were founded in 1777, but Cumberland county ceased to exist in 1781. At that time, it was split into Orange, Windsor and Windham counties. Meanwhile, Rutland County was formed in part of what was Bennington County.
Today, Vermont is divided into 14 counties. Counties don’t have much meaning in Vermont politically.
List of Vermont Counties
Vermont is divided into 14 counties.
|County||Created||Created From||Named For||County Seat||Notes|
|Addison County||18 Oct 1785||Rutland and Orange Counties||In honor of Joseph Addison (1672–1719), an English politician and writer||Middlebury|
|Bennington County||11 Feb 1779||One of the original two counties||In honor of Benning Wentworth (1696–1770), the colonial governor of New Hampshire (1741–1766||Bennington|
|Caledonia County||05 Nov 1792||Orange County||Latin name for Scotland||St. Johnsbury|
|Chittenden County||22 Oct 1787||Addison County||In honor of Thomas Chittenden (1730–1797), the first governor of Vermont (1791–1797)||Burlington|
|Essex County||05 Nov 1792||Orange County||Essex, a county in England||Guildhall|
|Franklin County||05 Nov 1792||Chittenden County||In honor of Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), one of the most critical Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat||St. Albans|
|Grand Isle County||09 Nov 1802||Chittenden and Franklin Counties||The largest island in Lake Champlain||North Hero|
|Lamoille County||26 Oct 1835||Chittenden, Franklin, Orleans, and Washington Counties||French word "lamoille", meaning "the seagull", named by French explorer Samuel de Champlain (1570–1635)||Hyde Park|
|Orange County||22 Feb 1781||Cumberland County||In honor of William of Orange (1650–1702), Prince of Orange. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II.||Chelsea|
|Orleans County||05 Nov 1792||Chittenden and Orange Counties||City of Orléans, France||Newport|
|Rutland County||22 Feb 1781||Bennington County||Rutland, Massachusetts||Rutland|
|Washington County||22 Feb 1781||Orange, Caledonia, and Chittenden Counties||In honor of George Washington (1732–1799); commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a Founding Father, and the first President of the United States (1789–1797)||Montpelier|
|Windham County||01 Nov 1810||One of the original two counties||The town of Windham, Connecticut||Newfane|
|Windsor County||22 Feb 1781||Cumberland County||The town of Windsor, Connecticut||Woodstock|
List of Old Former / Extinct Vermont Counties
Vermont has counties that no longer are in existence. A lot of these counties were established and disbanded within the 19th century; county borders have modified very little since 1900 in the vast most of states.
At least thirty-two counties that were established by Vermont law no longer exist. These defunct counties were either (1) Judicial counties, (2) Counties established by declaration of the Constitutional Convention of 1868-69, (3) Counties established by legislative act but never organized and later abolished by legislative act (4) Counties established outside the present boundaries of Vermont or (5) Counties whose names have been changed.
The below Vermont counties no longer exist:
?? County, Vermont
- Cumberland County: Originally a New York county, it went out of existence as a New York entity in 1777 when Vermont became independent. Land that had been in Cumberland and Gloucester counties, N.Y., then fell under Cumberland County, Vermont, jurisdiction. Cumberland County, Vermont, was abolished in 1781 when Windham, Windsor, and Orange counties were formed.
- Jefferson County: Formed in 1810; renamed Washington, 1814.
Map of Vermont County Boundary Changes from 1764 to 1895
This Interactive Map of Vermont Counties show the historical boundaries, names, organization, and attachments of every county, extinct county and unsuccessful county proposal from the creation of Vermont from 1764-1895.
Fun Facts about Vermont Counties
County Name Facts
The County names:
- 0 of them named for Native American words or people,
Counties by Year
The last county to be formed was Daggett County on March 04, 1919.
Facts for County Size
- ? County (000 sq mi) is the largest county in Vermont.
- ? County (000 sq mi) is the smallest county in Vermont.
Facts for County Population (2017 Est.)
- ? County (000) is the most populated county in Vermont.
- ? County (000) is the least populated county in Vermont.
Facts for Vermont Counties and Cities
Vermont’s 10 largest cities (2010) are: