Benson, Vermont
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Benson is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,039 at the 2000 census. Its primary makeup is rural houses, farms, and farmland. It also has the general store in the center of town owned by Loretta and Dennis Clark, a custom jewelry store owned by Sandra and Bill Owens, an Eatery, antiquarian book shop, Lowell Country Gifts owned by Gloria Lowell, a full service garden/greenhouse nursery, a museum and historical society, one public school offering preschool through eighth grade classes, a community hall and part-time town library, a nursing home, a boat launch ramp on Lake Champlain, and several acres of wooded land, most of it privately owned. Like most small New England towns, it is predominantly self governed, and employs only a town clerk, a part-time road crew for the winter, and a handful of other part-time employees. Most daily administration is handled by small committees and during the annual town meeting. Due to an idiosyncrasy in the redistricting process, it is also the only town in the state of Vermont to share an elected representative in the state legislature (Republican Mark Young of Orwell) with another town.
Though the town also employs a town constable, this post is largely a formality left over from frontier days, and most law enforcement is handled by the Rutland county sheriff's department and/or the Vermont State Police. A small, entirely volunteer local EMT team called Benson First Response provides ambulance and paramedical services, though the nearest hospital is Rutland Regional Medical Center, some thirty miles away. Benson also operates a small, entirely volunteer fire department consisting of a handful of particularly dedicated community members and a single pumper truck. Assistance in fighting particularly large fires is occasionally provided by other neighboring volunteer fire departments, including Fair Haven, Castleton, Hubbardton, and Orwell. Similarly, Benson's volunteer firefighters occasionally respond to large blazes in other local towns, when needed.
Politically, most residents of Benson identify as Republican, albeit Republican by Vermont rather than national standards, or as registered independents. The town's Democratic party is extremely small, and only a handful of the town's residents are registered Democrats. In spite of this seemingly conservative trend, a majority of Benson's residents voted against George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, according to the Rutland Herald, while simultaneously voting for Republican Governor Jim Douglas, Young (who usually runs unopposed), and all incumbent Republican state senators, all of whom won the town (and their respective elections) by large margins. It could be argued that this shows the same trends of wide-mindedness for which Vermonters are frequently praised by the local media.
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[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 117.8 km² (45.5 mi²). 113.9 km² (44.0 mi²) of it is land and 4.0 km² (1.5 mi²) of it (3.36%) is water.
[edit] History
While nobody seems to be quite sure as to the precise origin of the town's name, most historians over the years have speculated that it was named for Egbert Benson, a respected lawyer and Revolutionary War officer, who was instrumental in negotiating the land claim which New York had made to Vermont -a congressionally mandated prerequisite for Vermont joining the Union as a state of its own, rather than being divided between New York and New Hampshire.
In 1994, the town became briefly infamous for failing to approve its school budget eighteen times before it finally passed, a national record at the time.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 1,039 people, 391 households, and 272 families residing in the town. The population density was 9.1/km² (23.6/mi²). There were 519 housing units at an average density of 4.6/km² (11.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.92% White, 0.67% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.
There were 391 households out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% 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 3.05.
In the town the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 104.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $38,224, and the median income for a family was $40,833. Males had a median income of $31,488 versus $21,146 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,931. About 8.3% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Notable residents
- Stephen Wallace Dorsey, U.S. Senator from Arkansas.
- Rufus Wilmot Griswold, anthologist, editor and critic, famous for his enmity with Edgar Allan Poe.
[edit] External links
- Virtual Vermont Entry on Benson, Vermont
- The Logical Tragedy of Benson Vermont (MP3) John Taylor Gatto speaking about the school budget
- The Logical Tragedy of Benson Vermont Essay on the school budget issue
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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