Island Pond, Vermont
Encyclopedia
Island Pond is a census-designated place
(CDP) in the town
of Brighton
in Essex County
, Vermont
, United States
. The population was 849 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Berlin
, NH
–VT Micropolitan Statistical Area
.
, the CDP has a total area of 4.5 mi² (11.7 km²), of which 4.2 mi² (10.8 km²) is land and 0.3 mi² (0.9 km²) (7.32%) is water.
Bluff Mountain overlooks the lake and the island.
The Clyde River
flows from into Island Pond after which the town is named The river exits from the north end of the pond to the west.
of 2000, there were 849 people, 374 households, and 228 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 202.9/mi² (78.4/km²). There were 556 housing units at an average density of 132.9/mi² (51.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.23% White, 0.12% African American, 1.06% Native American, 0.59% Asian, and 4.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.12% of the population.
There were 374 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples
living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $25,547, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $25,577 versus $23,542 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $13,207. About 14.9% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.8% of those under age 18 and 18.0% of those age 65 or over.
established international connections between Montreal
, Canada
, and Portland
, Maine
. The half-way point in the Portland-Montreal railroad line, this town became a booming railroad center with a roundhouse
, shops, and all the facilities associated with train operations. In 1923 the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada was bankrupt and taken over by the Canadian government and operated as the Canadian National Railways. With the Canadian government directing the railroad, political considerations soon outweighed the economics of the railroad; commerce was displaced from the Port of Portland, Maine to the Canadian ports of Halifax
and St. John. The importance of the Portland line then began a decline which was never to be reversed. Island Pond's days as a major railroad town were over by the late 1950s due to the elimination of steam locomotive
s. By 1960 passenger train service to Portland had ended, and three years later the diesel locomotive
shop was closed. In 1966 the roundhouse closed, and barely a skeleton staff of people worked in Island Pond. Canadian National continued to operate freight service to Portland until 1988; the following year the line was sold to a short line operator, the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad, which provides service to this day .
Today, only the passenger station remains and is used by a bank. An historical society is housed on the upper floors.
when the religious movement relocated to Island Pond from Tennessee in 1977. Though the group sought shelter from the opposition it met elsewhere, it continually faced opposition, which culminated in the Island Pond raid in 1984, where State Police and state social workers seized 112 children due to allegations of child abuse
. The children were returned the same day upon a determination that the raid was unconstitutional, and no evidence of child abuse was found. Nevertheless, the Island Pond Raid retains its notoriety.
located here and in other Northeast Kingdom sites.
broadcasts from Island Pond.
The town was the setting of the memoir A Dresser of Sycamore Trees, by Garret Keizer
.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) in the town
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...
of Brighton
Brighton, Vermont
Brighton is a town in Essex County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,260 at the 2000 census. The town was named Gilead in its original grant in 1780. The town was sold to a group consisting primarily of soldiers commanded by Colonel Joseph Nightingale and subsequently named Random. The...
in Essex County
Essex County, Vermont
Essex County is the county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2010, the population was 6,306, making it the least-populous county in both Vermont and New England...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 849 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Berlin
Berlin, New Hampshire
Berlin is a city along the Androscoggin River in Coos County in northern New Hampshire, United States. The population was 10,051 at the 2010 census. It includes the village of Cascade. Located on the edge of the White Mountains, the city's boundaries extend into the White Mountain National Forest...
, NH
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
–VT Micropolitan Statistical Area
Berlin micropolitan area
The Berlin Micropolitan Statistical Area is the core based statistical area centered on the urban cluster associated with the city Berlin, New Hampshire in the United States...
.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 4.5 mi² (11.7 km²), of which 4.2 mi² (10.8 km²) is land and 0.3 mi² (0.9 km²) (7.32%) is water.
Bluff Mountain overlooks the lake and the island.
The Clyde River
Clyde River (Vermont)
The Clyde River is a tributary of Lake Memphremagog, over long, in northern Vermont in the United States. It is the easternmost of the four major rivers in Orleans County. It is the most powerful of the four within Orleans County, powering several turbines at damsites...
flows from into Island Pond after which the town is named The river exits from the north end of the pond to the west.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 849 people, 374 households, and 228 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 202.9/mi² (78.4/km²). There were 556 housing units at an average density of 132.9/mi² (51.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.23% White, 0.12% African American, 1.06% Native American, 0.59% Asian, and 4.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.12% of the population.
There were 374 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $25,547, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $25,577 versus $23,542 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $13,207. About 14.9% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.8% of those under age 18 and 18.0% of those age 65 or over.
The railroad
Island Pond became an important railroad center in 1853 when the Grand Trunk RailwayGrand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
established international connections between Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. The half-way point in the Portland-Montreal railroad line, this town became a booming railroad center with a roundhouse
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
, shops, and all the facilities associated with train operations. In 1923 the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada was bankrupt and taken over by the Canadian government and operated as the Canadian National Railways. With the Canadian government directing the railroad, political considerations soon outweighed the economics of the railroad; commerce was displaced from the Port of Portland, Maine to the Canadian ports of Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
and St. John. The importance of the Portland line then began a decline which was never to be reversed. Island Pond's days as a major railroad town were over by the late 1950s due to the elimination of steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s. By 1960 passenger train service to Portland had ended, and three years later the diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
shop was closed. In 1966 the roundhouse closed, and barely a skeleton staff of people worked in Island Pond. Canadian National continued to operate freight service to Portland until 1988; the following year the line was sold to a short line operator, the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad, which provides service to this day .
Today, only the passenger station remains and is used by a bank. An historical society is housed on the upper floors.
The Twelve Tribes
Island Pond became the home of the Twelve TribesThe Twelve Tribes (New religious movement)
The Twelve Tribes , formerly known as The Vine Christian Community Church, Northeast Kingdom Community Church, The Messianic Communities, and the Community Apostolic Order is an international confederation of religious communities founded by Gene Spriggs that sprang out of the Jesus Movement in...
when the religious movement relocated to Island Pond from Tennessee in 1977. Though the group sought shelter from the opposition it met elsewhere, it continually faced opposition, which culminated in the Island Pond raid in 1984, where State Police and state social workers seized 112 children due to allegations of child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
. The children were returned the same day upon a determination that the raid was unconstitutional, and no evidence of child abuse was found. Nevertheless, the Island Pond Raid retains its notoriety.
Traffic enforcement
In 2007, the Brighton Constable's strict enforcement of traffic regulations became the subject of nationwide coverage. In 2006 alone, 1,224 tickets and 1,662 warnings were issued.Social services
Social services are provided in part by the Northeast Kingdom Community ActionNortheast Kingdom Community Action
Northeast Kingdom Community Action or NEKCA is a non-profit 5013 government community agency in the Northeast Kingdom area of the U.S. state of Vermont founded in 1964 to address the needs of disadvantaged residents. It has Executive Offices in the historic US Customs House Building at 70 Main...
located here and in other Northeast Kingdom sites.
Media
WVTI 106.9Vermont Public Radio
-WVPR:-WRVT:-VPR Classical:Since 2007, VPR has broadcast classical music on a separate network. The main station is WOXR , which is licensed to Schuyler Falls, New York and serves the Burlington/Plattsburgh area....
broadcasts from Island Pond.
The town was the setting of the memoir A Dresser of Sycamore Trees, by Garret Keizer
Garret Keizer
Garret Keizer is an American author, writer and essayist. He has written numerous critically acclaimed books including: Help: The Original Human Dilemma, The Enigma of Anger, and A Dresser of Sycamore Trees. He is also a regular contributor to Harper's Magazine. He has served as an Episcopal priest...
.
Notable natives
- Porter H. DalePorter H. DalePorter Hinman Dale was a member of both the United States House of Representatives and later the United States Senate from Vermont.-Early life and career:Dale was born in Island Pond, Vermont in 1867....
, U.S. Representative and Senator from Vermont. - Rudy ValléeRudy ValléeRudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
, popular American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.