Pownal, Vermont
Encyclopedia
Pownal is a town
in Bennington County, Vermont
, United States
. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 3,560. The town of Pownal includes the villages of Pownal, North Pownal, and Pownal Center.
, the area was settled by the Mahican
people, with others, such as the Mohawks
, traveling across it. By the late 17th century, Europeans may have entered the area as a result of the establishment of the Dutch patroonship owned by Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, which extended west and east out of Albany
and the fur trading community of Beverwyck
. The southwestern corner of Pownal was part of the patroonship. Rensselaerswyck passed into English
control in 1664. The first European settlers may have entered the area in the 1730s. Those first European settlers may have been Dutch or other Europeans who leased land within Rensselaerwyck. On January 28, 1760, New Hampshire
Governor Benning Wentworth
chartered Pownal, which he named after his fellow royal governor, Thomas Pownall
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
.
Thereafter, Settlers, primarily of English descent, began to arrive from Massachusetts
, Connecticut
and Rhode Island
. In 1766, 185 male heads of households in Pownal sent a petition to George III, asking that their land claims be recognized and that the fees required to do so be waived. Since Wentworth had granted to settlers land that the Province of New York
also claimed, legal and physical conflicts broke out between "Yorkers" and settlers in the New Hampshire Grants
(or "The Grants"). As a result, a number of Pownal residents joined the Green Mountain Boys
under Ethan Allen
.
By the Revolution
, the town was deeply divided between “Yankees” and the Tories, those sympathetic to England, each of whom considered himself or herself a Loyalist
. Tories were often arrested and imprisoned. By the end of the Revolution, most Tories had fled Pownal for safety among the United Empire Loyalists
who resettled in Canada
. As noted, however, that was not always the case. William Card (1710–1784), born in Rhode Island, settled in Pownal perhaps as late as 1773 (though his sons settled there between 1762–1766) fought for the British at the Battle of Bennington on 16 August 1777, along with four of his sons: Jonathan (1734–1818), Elisha (1738–1805), Philo (1754–1837) , Stephen (1748–1798) -- (Source: National Archives of Canada, WO 28/10, Reel B-2867, pp. 17–18. Found on the NY GenWeb Rensselaer County, The Loyalist Muster Roll of 1777 by Capt Samuel McKay at Chateauguay, Quebec, 20TH DECEMBER 1777.) The battle, a virtually complete American victory, was actually fought in Hoosick Falls (Walloomsac), NY. The elder Card and all four of his sons were captured, but soon released.
Three years later, William Card's grandsons (Jonathan Card's [1734-1818] two young sons), Thomas (1762–1850) and Jonathan (1764–1836), would serve in Colonel Herrick's Vermont regiment on the "Yankee" or Patriot lines during 1780/1. Their service was documented in their Revolutionary War pension papers as men who fought against the British (HeritageQuest Revolutionary War Papers Series: M805 Roll: 160 Image: 31 File: S12447 Pages: 1-7 and Series: M805 Roll: 160 Image: 89 File: S10430 Pages: 1-8). Wm Card died in Pownal in 1784, seven years later. The War, in New England, was over well before that.
The novel Memoir of a Green Mountain Boy starts and ends in Pownal during the early years of the Revolution.
The oldest house in both Pownal and Vermont is the Mooar-Wright House, possibly built in the 1750s. Some think it may have been built by John Defoe (or DeVoet), a Tory who was imprisoned in 1776, escaped, fought on the side of the British and Hessian forces at the Battle of Bennington
, was captured, escaped again, and settled in Canada. Others believe the Mooar-Wright house was built by Charles Wright in 1765.
Pownal citizens have long prided themselves on their independent spirit. In 1789, a touring minister, the Rev. Nathan Perkins, described the town this way: “ . . . Pawnal ye first town, poor land – very unpleasant – very uneven – miserable set of inhabitants – no religion, Rhode Island haters of religion – Baptists, quakers, & some Presbyterians – no meeting house.”
Today Pownal has five churches. The Pownal Center Community Church was organized in 1794 as the Union Church, serving both Baptists and Methodists, and open to any denomination. The first church was a log structure. It was replaced in 1849 by the present church, jointly owned by the town and church.
In 1851, Chester Arthur (later to become President of the United States), was appointed principal to an academy for boys. The academy prepared boys for college (and became the foundation for Arthur's future path to study law).
Both cotton mills
and woolen mills operated during the 19th century. The wool industry reached its peak between 1820 and 1840, though farmers continued to raise sheep until the 20th century. On the Hoosic River
in North Pownal, an 18th-century gristmill
was replaced by a woolen mill that operated from 1849 until 1863, when it burned. The Plunkett & Baker Co. Mill, built in 1866, served as a cotton mill until 1930, becoming a tannery
in 1937. It closed in 1988. Remediated as a superfund
site, the mill site is planned to become a recreation area.
During the early part of the 20th century, Lewis Hine
documented child labor
in the mills. His photograph of twelve-year old Addie Card, entitled “Anemic Little Spinner in North Pownal Cotton Mill, North Pownal, Vermont, August 1910,” was featured on the U.S. stamp commemorating the passage of the first child labor laws (see the Keating-Owen Act
). Elizabeth Winthrop
has written a novel, Counting on Grace, inspired by Addie’s photograph and life.
An electric railroad
came to Pownal on June 7, 1907, and linked Pownal to The Berkshires
and to Bennington. The brick power station still stands along Route 7. Schools were built in locations to which children could easily walk, and at one point Pownal had 11 schools, with four men and eleven women teaching in them. Two presidents of the United States once taught in North Pownal: James Garfield
and Chester A. Arthur
. Some children who attended high school in Bennington commuted on the electric railroad. Others rode wagons or horses to their schools.
Lime
quarries operated in North Pownal until 1936. A rail car line extended from the southernmost quarry to the mill on the west side of Route 346, where the stone was crushed and packaged for shipment.
and standardbred horse racing
until 1976, when thoroughbred racing ceased, replaced by greyhound racing
. One year later, standardbred racing was discontinued, and the track thereafter featured only greyhound racing until closing altogether in 1992 amid pressure from animal rights
activists, who objected to greyhound racing as cruel (Vermont banned the sport in 1995). Since closing as a racetrack, the site has hosted live events occasionally, including a rock concert
in the Lollapalooza
series in 1996, and antique car shows from 2005 to 2008. The 144 acre (0.58274784 km²) property has been purchased by commercial developers, whose plans for it have not yet been finalized, but are believed to include a mix of energy-efficient companies, a farmers' market
facility, and facilities to accommodate large events.
The year 2010 will mark the 250th anniversary of Pownal's charter, and organizers are scheduling commemorative events throughout the year.
to the south and Petersburgh, New York
to the west. Pownal also borders the towns of Stamford
to the east, Woodford
to the northeast, and Bennington to the north.
Like many towns in Bennington County, Pownal is much closer to New York's state capital of Albany
than to its own state capital of Montpelier
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 46.7 square miles (121.0 km2), of which 46.7 square miles (120.8 km2) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km2) (0.17%) is water. Pownal is drained by the Hoosic River
.
The town is crossed by two state-maintained highways: U.S. Route 7
, which is the town's main road; and Vermont Route 346, a short route that begins at U.S. 7 at the village of Pownal and runs northwestward (along the Hoosic River) to the New York state line.
of 2000, there were 3,560 people, 1,373 households, and 1,010 families residing in the town. The population density
was 76.3 people per square mile (29.5/km2). There were 1,563 housing units at an average density of 33.5 per square mile (12.9/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.84% White, 0.28% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.20% from other races
, and 0.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.
There were 1,373 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couples
living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $39,149, and the median income for a family was $41,006. Males had a median income of $30,753 versus $24,212 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $17,669. About 8.5% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.
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...
in Bennington County, 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...
. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 3,560. The town of Pownal includes the villages of Pownal, North Pownal, and Pownal Center.
History
During the Woodland periodWoodland period
The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...
, the area was settled by the Mahican
Mahican
The Mahican are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe, originally settling in the Hudson River Valley . After 1680, many moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. During the early 1820s and 1830s, most of the Mahican descendants migrated westward to northeastern Wisconsin...
people, with others, such as the Mohawks
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
, traveling across it. By the late 17th century, Europeans may have entered the area as a result of the establishment of the Dutch patroonship owned by Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, which extended west and east out of Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
and the fur trading community of Beverwyck
Beverwyck
Beverwijck was a fur-trading community north of Fort Orange on the Hudson River in New Netherland that was to become Albany, New York, when the English took control of the colony in 1664....
. The southwestern corner of Pownal was part of the patroonship. Rensselaerswyck passed into English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
control in 1664. The first European settlers may have entered the area in the 1730s. Those first European settlers may have been Dutch or other Europeans who leased land within Rensselaerwyck. On January 28, 1760, New Hampshire
Province of New Hampshire
The Province of New Hampshire is a name first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America. It was formally organized as an English royal colony on October 7, 1691, during the period of English colonization...
Governor Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth was the colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766.-Biography:The eldest child of the John Wentworth who had been Lieutenant Governor, he was born and died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Wentworth graduated from Harvard College in 1715...
chartered Pownal, which he named after his fellow royal governor, Thomas Pownall
Thomas Pownall
Thomas Pownall was a British politician and colonial official. He was governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1758 to 1760, and afterward served in the British Parliament. He traveled widely in the North American colonies prior to the American Revolutionary War, and opposed...
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
.
Thereafter, Settlers, primarily of English descent, began to arrive from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. In 1766, 185 male heads of households in Pownal sent a petition to George III, asking that their land claims be recognized and that the fees required to do so be waived. Since Wentworth had granted to settlers land that the Province of New York
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
also claimed, legal and physical conflicts broke out between "Yorkers" and settlers in the New Hampshire Grants
New Hampshire Grants
The New Hampshire Grants or Benning Wentworth Grants were land grants made between 1749 and 1764 by the provincial governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. The land grants, totaling about 135 , were made on land claimed by New Hampshire west of the Connecticut River, territory that was also...
(or "The Grants"). As a result, a number of Pownal residents joined the Green Mountain Boys
Green Mountain Boys
The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization first established in the 1760s in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants...
under Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen was a farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, and American Revolutionary War patriot, hero, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of the U.S...
.
By the Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, the town was deeply divided between “Yankees” and the Tories, those sympathetic to England, each of whom considered himself or herself a Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
. Tories were often arrested and imprisoned. By the end of the Revolution, most Tories had fled Pownal for safety among the United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
who resettled in 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...
. As noted, however, that was not always the case. William Card (1710–1784), born in Rhode Island, settled in Pownal perhaps as late as 1773 (though his sons settled there between 1762–1766) fought for the British at the Battle of Bennington on 16 August 1777, along with four of his sons: Jonathan (1734–1818), Elisha (1738–1805), Philo (1754–1837) , Stephen (1748–1798) -- (Source: National Archives of Canada, WO 28/10, Reel B-2867, pp. 17–18. Found on the NY GenWeb Rensselaer County, The Loyalist Muster Roll of 1777 by Capt Samuel McKay at Chateauguay, Quebec, 20TH DECEMBER 1777.) The battle, a virtually complete American victory, was actually fought in Hoosick Falls (Walloomsac), NY. The elder Card and all four of his sons were captured, but soon released.
Three years later, William Card's grandsons (Jonathan Card's [1734-1818] two young sons), Thomas (1762–1850) and Jonathan (1764–1836), would serve in Colonel Herrick's Vermont regiment on the "Yankee" or Patriot lines during 1780/1. Their service was documented in their Revolutionary War pension papers as men who fought against the British (HeritageQuest Revolutionary War Papers Series: M805 Roll: 160 Image: 31 File: S12447 Pages: 1-7 and Series: M805 Roll: 160 Image: 89 File: S10430 Pages: 1-8). Wm Card died in Pownal in 1784, seven years later. The War, in New England, was over well before that.
The novel Memoir of a Green Mountain Boy starts and ends in Pownal during the early years of the Revolution.
The oldest house in both Pownal and Vermont is the Mooar-Wright House, possibly built in the 1750s. Some think it may have been built by John Defoe (or DeVoet), a Tory who was imprisoned in 1776, escaped, fought on the side of the British and Hessian forces at the Battle of Bennington
Battle of Bennington
The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place on August 16, 1777, in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake Bennington, Vermont...
, was captured, escaped again, and settled in Canada. Others believe the Mooar-Wright house was built by Charles Wright in 1765.
Pownal citizens have long prided themselves on their independent spirit. In 1789, a touring minister, the Rev. Nathan Perkins, described the town this way: “ . . . Pawnal ye first town, poor land – very unpleasant – very uneven – miserable set of inhabitants – no religion, Rhode Island haters of religion – Baptists, quakers, & some Presbyterians – no meeting house.”
Today Pownal has five churches. The Pownal Center Community Church was organized in 1794 as the Union Church, serving both Baptists and Methodists, and open to any denomination. The first church was a log structure. It was replaced in 1849 by the present church, jointly owned by the town and church.
Both cotton mills
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
and woolen mills operated during the 19th century. The wool industry reached its peak between 1820 and 1840, though farmers continued to raise sheep until the 20th century. On the Hoosic River
Hoosic River
The Hoosic River, also known as the Hoosac, the Hoosick and the Hoosuck , is a tributary of the Hudson River in the northeastern United States. The different spellings are the result of varying transliterations of the river's original Algonquian name...
in North Pownal, an 18th-century gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
was replaced by a woolen mill that operated from 1849 until 1863, when it burned. The Plunkett & Baker Co. Mill, built in 1866, served as a cotton mill until 1930, becoming a tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
in 1937. It closed in 1988. Remediated as a superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
site, the mill site is planned to become a recreation area.
During the early part of the 20th century, Lewis Hine
Lewis Hine
Lewis Wickes Hine was an American sociologist and photographer. Hine used his camera as a tool for social reform. His photographs were instrumental in changing the child labor laws in the United States.-Early life:...
documented child labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
in the mills. His photograph of twelve-year old Addie Card, entitled “Anemic Little Spinner in North Pownal Cotton Mill, North Pownal, Vermont, August 1910,” was featured on the U.S. stamp commemorating the passage of the first child labor laws (see the Keating-Owen Act
Keating-Owen Act
The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 also known as Wick's Bill, was a statute enacted by the U.S. Congress which sought to address the perceived evils of child labor by prohibiting the sale in interstate commerce of goods manufactured by children in the United States, thus giving an expanded...
). Elizabeth Winthrop
Elizabeth Winthrop
Elizabeth Winthrop is a female author whose work is largely children's fiction. She is the daughter of Stewart Alsop and currently resides in New York CityHer book The Castle in the Attic was awarded the 1987 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award...
has written a novel, Counting on Grace, inspired by Addie’s photograph and life.
An electric railroad
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
came to Pownal on June 7, 1907, and linked Pownal to The Berkshires
The Berkshires
The Berkshires , is a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut.Also referred to as the Berkshire Hills, Berkshire Mountains, and Berkshire Plateau, the region enjoys a vibrant tourism industry based on music, arts, and recreation.-Definition:The term...
and to Bennington. The brick power station still stands along Route 7. Schools were built in locations to which children could easily walk, and at one point Pownal had 11 schools, with four men and eleven women teaching in them. Two presidents of the United States once taught in North Pownal: James Garfield
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
and Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
. Some children who attended high school in Bennington commuted on the electric railroad. Others rode wagons or horses to their schools.
Lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
quarries operated in North Pownal until 1936. A rail car line extended from the southernmost quarry to the mill on the west side of Route 346, where the stone was crushed and packaged for shipment.
Green Mountain Race Track
Pownal was formerly the home of Green Mountain Race Track. Opened in 1963, the track offered both thoroughbredThoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
and standardbred horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
until 1976, when thoroughbred racing ceased, replaced by greyhound racing
Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
. One year later, standardbred racing was discontinued, and the track thereafter featured only greyhound racing until closing altogether in 1992 amid pressure from animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
activists, who objected to greyhound racing as cruel (Vermont banned the sport in 1995). Since closing as a racetrack, the site has hosted live events occasionally, including a rock concert
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
in the Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
series in 1996, and antique car shows from 2005 to 2008. The 144 acre (0.58274784 km²) property has been purchased by commercial developers, whose plans for it have not yet been finalized, but are believed to include a mix of energy-efficient companies, a farmers' market
Farmers' market
A farmers' market consists of individual vendors—mostly farmers—who set up booths, tables or stands, outdoors or indoors, to sell produce, meat products, fruits and sometimes prepared foods and beverages...
facility, and facilities to accommodate large events.
The year 2010 will mark the 250th anniversary of Pownal's charter, and organizers are scheduling commemorative events throughout the year.
Geography
Pownal is the southwesternmost town in Vermont; it is bordered by Williamstown, MassachusettsWilliamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,754 at the 2010 census...
to the south and Petersburgh, New York
Petersburgh, New York
Petersburgh is a town located in the northeast section of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 1,563 at the 2000 census. The town was named after an early settler.- History :...
to the west. Pownal also borders the towns of Stamford
Stamford, Vermont
Stamford is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 813 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Stamford is located near the southwestern corner of Vermont, on the Massachusetts state line. To the south of Stamford lie Clarksburg, Massachusetts and Florida, Massachusetts...
to the east, Woodford
Woodford, Vermont
Woodford is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 414 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 47.6 square miles , of which 47.5 square miles is land and 0.1 square mile is...
to the northeast, and Bennington to the north.
Like many towns in Bennington County, Pownal is much closer to New York's state capital of Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
than to its own state capital of Montpelier
Montpelier, Vermont
Montpelier is a city in the U.S. state of Vermont that serves as the state capital and the shire town of Washington County. As the capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the site of the Vermont State House, seat of the legislative branch of Vermont government. The population was 7,855 at the 2010...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United 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 town has a total area of 46.7 square miles (121.0 km2), of which 46.7 square miles (120.8 km2) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km2) (0.17%) is water. Pownal is drained by the Hoosic River
Hoosic River
The Hoosic River, also known as the Hoosac, the Hoosick and the Hoosuck , is a tributary of the Hudson River in the northeastern United States. The different spellings are the result of varying transliterations of the river's original Algonquian name...
.
The town is crossed by two state-maintained highways: U.S. Route 7
U.S. Route 7 in Vermont
U.S. Route 7 is a mostly rural two-lane road running along the western side of the state, with a few, short expressway sections. It is known as the Ethan Allen Highway for much of its path through the state. US 7 ends at I-89 in the northern part of the town of Highgate, just south of the Canadian...
, which is the town's main road; and Vermont Route 346, a short route that begins at U.S. 7 at the village of Pownal and runs northwestward (along the Hoosic River) to the New York state line.
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 3,560 people, 1,373 households, and 1,010 families residing in the town. 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 76.3 people per square mile (29.5/km2). There were 1,563 housing units at an average density of 33.5 per square mile (12.9/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.84% White, 0.28% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.20% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.
There were 1,373 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% 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, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $39,149, and the median income for a family was $41,006. Males had a median income of $30,753 versus $24,212 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 town was $17,669. About 8.5% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.