Essex County
County
Essex County Courthouse in Guildhall
Location within the U.S. state of Vermont
Vermont's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°43′15″N 71°44′42″W / 44.720894°N 71.745018°W / 44.720894; -71.745018
Country	United States
State	Vermont
Founded	1800
Named for	Essex
Shire Town	Guildhall
Largest town	Lunenburg
Area
• Total	675 sq mi (1,750 km2)
• Land	664 sq mi (1,720 km2)
• Water	12 sq mi (30 km2)  1.7%
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,920
• Density	8.8/sq mi (3.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	At-large

Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,920,^[1] making it the least-populous county in both Vermont and New England. Its shire town (county seat) is the municipality of Guildhall.^[2] The county was created in 1792 and organized in 1800.^[3] Bordered by the Connecticut River next to New Hampshire, Essex County is south of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is the county with the lowest household-income in Vermont.^{[citation needed]}

History

Prior to the arrival of colonists of European descent, the area was populated by the Abenakis. They used the Connecticut and Nulhegan rivers as primary means of travel through the area along with many subsidiary rivers and streams. The culture was mostly hunter-gatherer with a combination of agriculture, hunting and fishing. While the rivers provided good fishing the primary food animal was moose.^[4]

Vermont was divided into two counties in March 1778. In 1781 the legislature divided the northernmost county, Cumberland, into three counties: Windham and Windsor, in approximately the modern location for those counties. The northern remainder was called Orange County. This latter tract nearly corresponded with the old New York county of Gloucester, organized by that province March 16, 1770, with Newbury as the shire town.^[5]

On September 3, 1783, as a result of the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the Revolutionary War ended with Great Britain recognizing the independence of the United States. Vermont's border with Quebec was established at 45 degrees north latitude.^[6][7]

On November 5, 1792, the legislature divided Chittenden and Orange counties into six separate counties, as follows: Chittenden, Orange, Franklin, Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans.^[5] No reason is given for the county being named after the county of Essex in England.^[8]

In 1999, a group of investors bought 86,212 acres (34,889 ha) from Champion International Paper for $7.5 million, covering parts of fourteen towns in the county. The state of Vermont and the Freeman Foundation purchased easements for $8.5 million to guarantee traditional uses of the land for logging and recreation. In 2008, Plum Creek Timber company announced plans to purchase this property.^[9]

The last murder trial held at the county courthouse took place in 1923. In 1973, a non-resident murdered another non-resident.^[10] In 2008, two residents died by homicide – the first in 85 years – when police said a young woman was shot by her boyfriend and a 59-year-old man shot his mother.^[11]

In 2012, a study indicated that county residents, overall, were the least healthy in the state. The rating was based on premature death, low birth weight, smoking, obesity, inactivity, excessive drinking, car crashes, sexually transmitted diseases, graduation rates, poverty, violent crime rates, air pollution, limited access to healthy food, unemployment, and the number of single parent households.^[12]

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 6,306 people, 2,818 households, and 1,814 families residing in the county.^[17] The population density was 9.5 inhabitants per square mile (3.7/km²). There were 5,019 housing units at an average density of 7.6 per square mile (2.9/km²).^[18]

Of the 2,818 households, 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.6% were non-families, and 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.70. The median age was 47.4 years.^[17]

The median income for a household in the county was $37,734 and the median income for a family was $46,263. Males had a median income of $37,021 versus $28,710 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,040. About 13.0% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.8% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.^[19]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 675 square miles (1,750 km²), of which 664 square miles (1,720 km²) is land and 12 square miles (31 km²) (1.7%) is water.^[20]

In the north central portion of the county the Nulhegan Basin is a circular area roughly 10 miles (16 km) in diameter. While the origin of this basin may be either an asteroid hit or ancient volcano it has not been proven as either one so far. Within the basin is a bog and the Silvio O. Conte Fish and Wildlife Refuge Archived August 5, 2020, at the Wayback Machine with a visitor center, hiking trails, and viewing platforms where one can wait under shelter.

The county has many mountains and waterways. The Northern Forest Canoe Trail passes through this area along the Clyde, Nulhegan, and Connecticut rivers.

Adjacent counties

• Coös County, New Hampshire – east
• Grafton County, New Hampshire – south
• Caledonia County – southwest
• Orleans County – west
• Coaticook Regional County Municipality, Quebec – north

Major roads

• US 2
• VT 102
• VT 105
• VT 114

Fauna

In 2011, there were about 1,000 moose in the county. State officials estimated that this was about the "correct number" for a sustainable herd, with the moose not showing signs of starvation, nor the feeding grounds showing signs of overgrazing.^[4] In recent years the moose population has been suffering from infestations by ticks. Some moose have been found having as many as 10,000 ticks on one moose, thus causing death from anemia. Warmer winter weather in recent years has prevented the normal die-off of ticks from freezing.

National protected area

• Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (part)

Government

The Essex Senate district includes all of Essex County, as well as parts of Orleans County and Caledonia County. It is represented in the Vermont Senate by Russ Ingalls, a Republican.

The elected officials of the county as of the 2018 elections are as follows:

Justices of the Peace^[22]

Town	Name	Party	First elected
Bloomfield 5	Sharon Belknap	Republican	2014
	Martin Lomansey	Independent	2012
	Raymond Bowen Jr.	Independent	2014
	Steven Bunnell	Republican	2016
	Suzanne Routhier	Independent	2006
Brighton 7	Krystyna Kurzej	Democratic	2016
	Stephanie Nagle	Democratic	2012
	Janet Osborne	Democratic	2014
	Peder Pederson	Independent	2014
	Susan Pederson	Independent	2012
	David Robbins	Republican	2014
	Dolores Robbins	Republican	2014
Brunswick 5	Sharon Graham	Independent	2008
	Claudette Hook	Independent	2012
	June Hook	Independent	2012
	Deborah Tetreault	Independent	2010
	Janet Washburn	Independent	2016
Canaan 7	Martha Allen	Democratic	2012
	Irving Cullivan	Democratic	2012
	Michael Daley	Democratic	2014
	Renee Marchesseault	Republican	2004
	Judith Masson	Democratic	2008
	Fern Owen Brown	Democratic	2016
	Vacant	N/A
Concord 5	Linda Blakslee	Republican	2012
	Paula N. Christopher	Republican	2018
	Mary Gochie	Republican	2010
	Nancy Goodwin	Republican	2008
	Arlene Hovey	Republican	2012
East Haven 5	Robert J. Burke	Democratic	2008
	Franklin Higgins	Independent	2014
	Michael Masure	Republican	2012
	Delbert Reed	Republican	2016
	Bonnie Ricci	Democratic	2014
Granby 5	Bruce Berryman	Republican	2016
	Reginald Bunnell	Republican	2012
	Calvin Noble	Republican	2006
	John Noble	Republican	2008
	Sonia Peters	Republican	2008
Guildhall 5	Casey Dowland	Republican	2014
	Valerie Foy	Democratic	2010
	Kelly McLain	Republican	2016
	Alfred McVetty	Republican	2014
	Jacqueline Spillane	Republican	2018
Lemington 5	Myra Ellingwood	Democratic	2012
	Walter Noyes	Independent	2010
	Michelle Thibault	Republican	2018
	Mary Jane Walker	Republican	2016
	Linda Young	Democratic	2016
Lunenburg 5	Maren Downing	Republican	2014
	Gisele Hallee	Independent	2016
	Patricia Kenny	Republican	2008
	James Peyton	Independent	2016
	Barbara Willson	Independent	2016
Maidstone 3	Bruce Hobaugh	Independent	2012
	Cheryl McVetty	Independent	2016
	Gail Tattan Giampalo	Independent	2016
Norton 5	Janice Daniels	Republican	2016
	Betsy Fontaine	Republican	2018
	Andre Gagnon	Republican	2016
	Franklin Henry	Republican	2012
	Kenneth Stransky	Republican	2016
Victory 5	Zane Cooke	Independent	2014
	Laurie Gilman	Republican	2018
	Howard Lynaugh	Independent	2016
	Sylvia McKinstry	Republican	2016
	Lori Miller	Independent	2016

Elections

Essex County is a historically Republican county in presidential elections, supporting the party in all but seven elections since its founding.

In 1828, Essex County voted for National Republican Party candidate John Quincy Adams. Democrats would win the county in 1832 and 1836, then Whigs from 1840 to 1852, and Republicans from John C. Frémont in 1856 to Alf Landon in 1936. Since the latter election, the Democrats carried the county in 1940, 1944, 1964, 1992, 1996, 2008, and 2012, all amidst national Democratic victories. In 2016 and 2020, Essex County was the only county in the state to vote for Republican Donald Trump.

From 1980 to 2016, Essex County was a bellwether county, consistently backing the national winner.