Grand Isle County, Vermont

Infobox U.S. County
county = Grand Isle County
state = Vermont


map size = 125
founded = January 15, 1777 from New York's Charlotte County
seat = North Hero | area_total_sq_mi =195
area_land_sq_mi =83
area_water_sq_mi =112
area percentage = 57.56%
census yr = 2000
pop = 6901
density_km2 =32
web =
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Grand Isle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is the smallest county in the state by area. As of 2000, the population was 6,901. Its shire town is North Hero.GR|6

Grand Isle County is part of the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 195 square miles (504 km²), of which, 83 square miles (214 km²) of it is land and 112 square miles (290 km²) of it (57.56%) is water. By area, Grand Isle County is the smallest in the state. Four of its five towns (North Hero, South Hero, Grand Isle and Isle La Motte) are situated entirely on islands in Lake Champlain, while Alburgh is on a peninsula (known as the Alburgh Tongue) extending south into the lake from Quebec .

Adjacent counties

*Franklin County, Vermont - east
*Chittenden County, Vermont - south
*Clinton County, New York - west
*Le Haut-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec - north

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 6,901 people, 2,761 households, and 1,954 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile (32/km²). There were 4,663 housing units at an average density of 56 per square mile (22/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.41% White, 0.14% Black or African American, 0.87% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.03% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 0.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.8% were of French, 14.6% French Canadian, 14.3% English, 10.6% American, 8.9% Irish and 7.4% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.0% spoke English and 3.8% French as their first language.

There were 2,761 households out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couples living together, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.20% were non-families. 22.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.20% 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 2.93.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.80% under the age of 18, 5.60% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 28.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,033, and the median income for a family was $48,878. Males had a median income of $35,539 versus $26,278 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,207. About 5.90% of families and 7.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.20% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.

History

Grand Isle County, Vermont, is one of several Vermont counties created from land ceded by the state of New York on January 15, 1777 when Vermont declared itself to be a distinct state from New York [Slade, William, Jr., comp. "Vermont State Papers: Being a collection of Records and Documents Connected with the Assumption and Establishment of Government by the People of Vermont, Together with the Journal of the Council of Safety, the First Constitution, the Early Journals of the General Assembly, and the Laws from the Year 1779 to 1786, Inclusive." Middlebury, 1823. P. 70-73.] [Van Zandt, Franklin K. "Boundaries of the United States and the Several States." Geological Survey Professional Paper 909. Washington, DC; Government Printing Office, 1976. The Standard Compilation for its subject. P. 64.] [Williamson, Chilton. "Vermont in Quandary: 1763-1825." Growth of Vermont series, Number 4.Montperler: Vermont Historical Series, 1949. PP. 82-84; map facing 95, 100-102, 112-113.] . The land originally was contested by Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Netherlands, but it remained undelineated until July 20, 1764 when King George III established the boundary between New Hampshire and New York along the west bank of the Connecticut River, north of Massachusetts and south of the parallel of 45 degrees north latitude. New York assigned the land gained to Albany County [Slade, William, Jr., comp. "Vermont State Papers: Being a collection of Records and Documents Connected with the Assumption and Establishment of Government by the People of Vermont, Together with the Journal of the Council of Safety, the First Constitution, the Early Journals of the General Assembly, and the Laws from the Year 1779 to 1786, Inclusive." Middlebury, 1823. P. 13-19.] [Van Zandt, Franklin K. "Boundaries of the United States and the Several States." Geological Survey Professional Paper 909. Washington, DC; Government Printing Office, 1976. The Standard Compilation for its subject. P. 63.] . On March 12, 1772 Albany County was partitioned to create Charlotte County ["'New York Colonial Laws, Chapter 1534; Section 5; Paragraph 321)] , and this situation remained until Vermont's independence from New York and Britain. However, this did not end the contest.

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 [Van Zandt, Franklin K. "Boundaries of the United States and the Several States." Geological Survey Professional Paper 909. Washington, DC; Government Printing Office, 1976. The Standard Compilation for its subject. P. 12.] [Parry, Clive, ed. "Consolidated Treaty Series." 231 Volumes. Dobbs Ferry, New York; Oceana Publications, 1969-1981. Volume 48; pp. 481; 487; 491-492.] , which explains why this county has no dry-land connection to the rest of the United States.

Massachusetts did not formally withdraw its claim to the region, first made in 1629, until December 16, 1786 [Van Zandt, Franklin K. "Boundaries of the United States and the Several States." Geological Survey Professional Paper 909. Washington, DC; Government Printing Office, 1976. The Standard Compilation for its subject. P. 75.] . New York, still not satisfied with the relinquishment of its land to Vermont, asked the U.S. Congress to arbitrate the matter. Congress ruled against New York on March 7, 1788 ["'New York Laws, 1788, 11th Session, Chapter 63, pp. 746-747.]

Subsequently, when Vermont petitioned for Statehood, Congress ordered a joint commission to settle the border between New York and Vermont. This commission ruled prior to Vermont's admission, which took place on March 4, 1791 but a small change they permitted has never been acted upon [United States. "Statutes at Large of the United States of America, 1789-1873. volume 1, Chapter 7 (1791); Page 191."] [Slade, William, Jr., comp. "Vermont State Papers: Being a collection of Records and Documents Connected with the Assumption and Establishment of Government by the People of Vermont, Together with the Journal of the Council of Safety, the First Constitution, the Early Journals of the General Assembly, and the Laws from the Year 1779 to 1786, Inclusive." Middlebury, 1823. P. 193.] [Thorne, Kathryn Ford, Compiler & Long, John H., Editor: "New York Atlas of Historical County Boundaries"; The Newbury Library; 1993.] .

Politics

In the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election, Grand Isle County chose John Kerry over George W. Bush by 12 points, with Kerry carrying all six municipalities. [http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/statesub.php?year=2004&fips=50013&f=0&off=0&elect=0

Cities and towns

*Alburg
**Alburg Village
*Grand Isle
*Isle La Motte
*North Hero
*South Hero

See also

* List of counties in Vermont
* List of towns in Vermont

References

External links

* [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/VT/Grand+Isle/districts.html National Register of Historic Places listing for Grand Isle Co., Vermont]