Barnard, Vermont

Coordinates: 43°44′9″N 72°36′9″W / 43.73583°N 72.60250°W / 43.73583; -72.60250
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Barnard, Vermont
Barnard Town Hall
Barnard Town Hall
Location in Windsor County and the state of Vermont
Location in Windsor County and the state of Vermont
Map
Coordinates: 43°44′9″N 72°36′9″W / 43.73583°N 72.60250°W / 43.73583; -72.60250
CountryUnited States
StateVermont
CountyWindsor
Area
 • Total48.9 sq mi (126.6 km2)
 • Land48.7 sq mi (126.1 km2)
 • Water0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)
Elevation
1,181 ft (360 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total992
 • Density20/sq mi (7.8/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
05031
Area code802
FIPS code50-02725[1]
GNIS feature ID1462033[2]

Barnard /ˈbɑːrnərd/ is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 992 at the 2020 census.[3]

The town has two unincorporated villages: Barnard and East Barnard, along with the hamlets of Newcombsville, Mountain Meadows, and Fort Defiance.[4]

History[edit]

The town was chartered on July 17, 1761 by a New Hampshire Grant. It was named "Bernard" after one of the five grantees of the town, Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet, who was governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1760 to 1769. The town's name was changed to Barnard some time before 1810.[5]

In 1928, Nobel Prize–winning novelist Sinclair Lewis bought Connett Place with a total 300 acres (1.2 km2) and adjacent Chase Farm. He named the property Twin Farms and used it as a vacation house during the 1930s and 1940s with his wife Dorothy Thompson.[6]

In 1941, German playwright Carl Zuckmayer, a refugee from Nazi Germany whom Dorothy Thompson had helped to get into the US, rented Backwoods Farm, with its farmhouse from 1783 nowadays owned by Hannah Kahn[7] and a total 180 acres (0.73 km2), from Joseph Ward (of Maynes & Ward hardware store on Main Street in Woodstock, Vermont) for 50 dollars a month. Zuckmayer worked this property as a farmer until 1946 and wrote the play Des Teufels General (The Devil's General) there. His autobiography A Part of Myself (1966) deals extensively with these years. Zuckmayer's wife Alice Herdan-Zuckmayer also wrote a memoir of their time in Barnard: The Farm in the Green Mountains (Die Farm in den grünen Bergen).[8]

Geography[edit]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 48.9 sq mi (127 km2), of which 48.7 are land and 0.2 is water.

Demographics[edit]

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1790673
18001,23683.7%
18101,64833.3%
18201,6912.6%
18301,88111.2%
18401,774−5.7%
18501,647−7.2%
18601,487−9.7%
18701,208−18.8%
18801,191−1.4%
1890918−22.9%
1900840−8.5%
1910737−12.3%
1920653−11.4%
1930584−10.6%
1940486−16.8%
1950439−9.7%
1960435−0.9%
197056930.8%
198079038.8%
199087210.4%
20009589.9%
2010947−1.1%
20209924.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]

As of the census of 2000, there were 958 people, 383 households, and 276 families residing in the town. The population density was 19.7 people per square mile (7.6/km2). There were 629 housing units at an average density of 12.9 per square mile (5.0/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.43% White, 0.42% Hispanic or Latino, 0.31% Asian and 1.04% from two or more races.[1]

There were 383 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.4% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 32.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $45,787, and the median income for a family was $48,125. Males had a median income of $29,485 versus $25,385 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,354. About 4.7% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

Silver Lake State Park[edit]

Silver Lake State Park, encompassing the northern shoreline of Silver Lake, was established in 1955 when some land with shore frontage was donated to the state by John McDill of Woodstock, Margaret Crosby of Barnard, and Richard H. Field of Boston. Silver Lake had originally been called Stebbings' Pond after Benjamin Stebbings who owned land at the outlet where the village now stands. Later the lake became known as Barnard Pond. In 1869, it was renamed Silver Lake.[10]

Education[edit]

Barnard Academy is a public elementary school located on Route 12. It has educational programs from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. Barnard Academy is part of the Windsor Central Supervisory Union.

Notable people[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Barnard town, Windsor County, Vermont". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  4. ^ "Barnard Town Plan" (PDF). trorc.org. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  5. ^ About Barnard, Vermont, Virtual Vermont website, accessed January 23, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Bushnell, Mark (August 27, 2017). "Then Again: Barnard farm lured famous couple, but couldn't bind them". VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.
  7. ^ "45-Year Wait Ends at the Zuckmayer Farm | the Vermont Standard". Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  8. ^ a b Bittinger, Cindy (March 27, 2008). "Vermont Women: Alice Herdan-Zuckmayer". Colchester, VT: Vermont Public Radio.
  9. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  10. ^ "Vermont State Parks - Silver Lake State Park". Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  11. ^ "Andrew J. Aikens: Born 1828, Died 1909". Hinds County Gazette. Raymond, MS. April 16, 1909. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Wiley, Edgar J. (1917). Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College. Middlebury, VT: Middlebury College. p. 10.
  13. ^ "Obituary, Mark Mitchell". White River Valley Herald. Randolph, VT. November 10, 2011.
  14. ^ a b Nolan, Sarah (January 25, 2014). "Two University of Chicago faculty members win India's prestigious Padma Bhushan Award". U Chicago News. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago.
  15. ^ Newton, William Monroe (1928). History of Barnard, Vermont: With Family Genealogies, 1761-1927. Vol. II. Burlington, VT: Free Press Printing. p. 402 – via Google Books.

External links[edit]