VERGENNES

A short history of Vergennes

Vergennes was settled in 1766 by Donald MacIntosh. It was established as a city in 1788, the only one in Vermont not to have been first chartered as a town or independent village. Instead, intersecting portions of the pre-existing towns of New Haven, Panton, and Ferrisburg at the Otter Creek Falls were combined to form Vergennes. It is the smallest city by population in Vermont.

The city is named for Frenchman Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, who greatly aided the rebel colonial effort in the American Revolutionary War.

Here, Thomas Macdonough built and armed the fleet that defeated the British on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. The Monkton Iron Company (which was at the time the largest iron works in the nation) manufactured the fittings for Macdonough's fleet, as well as most of the cannon shot used by the United States Army in the north. The ore used was mined in nearby Monkton. USS Saratoga, USS Eagle, USS Ticonderoga, and USS Preble were built or refitted in Vergennes as a part of that fleet.

Organizers chose a city form of municipal government in anticipation of developing the area as an industrial center. The Otter Creek Falls provided power for mills and factories, and the close access to the Lake Champlain waterway was ideal for transportation both north and south. Industry boomed in the late 19th century; in particular, shipping connected to the Champlain Canal and wood-finishing related to lumber imported from Canada. As railways supplanted and bypassed the canal system, manufacturing declined in the city. A railroad spur from Ferrisburgh to the base of the falls proved a failure, as the grades were too steep for practical operations. Commercial decline continued in the 20th century, narrowing down to a few surviving companies. In the early years of the 21st century, a group of civic boosters and merchants improved the downtown area along Main Street and reconnected the city to its waterways. The resulting development, catering to tourists and transients, is hampered by centralization of land ownership and escalation of commercial rents.

In July 2022, Vergennes was reconnected to the national passenger rail network when Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express began serving Ferrisburgh–Vergennes station. The city had last seen passenger service in 1953, when the Rutland Railroad discontinued the Green Mountain Flyer (New York City - Montreal).

Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Vergennes, Vermont, revision 1379301566 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.