Ryegate, Vermont

Ryegate is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,174 at the 2010 census. The town contains the villages of South Ryegate, East Ryegate, and Ryegate Corner.

History

One of the New Hampshire Grants, it was chartered by Governor Benning Wentworth on September 8, 1763. Granted to Richard Jenness and 93 others, it was named Ryegate, a variant spelling of Reigate in Surrey, England. The first settlers were Aaron Hosmer and his family. Sold to John Witherspoon and others, the southern half of town was purchased in 1773 by two agents for the Scotch American Company of Farmers from Renfrew and Lanark, Scotland, whose members began settlement in 1774.

The town had excellent soil for the cultivation of grains, vegetables and orchards. Streams teemed with salmon and trout. Hills and valleys provided pasturage for grazing sheep and cattle. Connected in 1847 to the Connecticut & Passumpsic Rivers Railroad, the town by 1859 was noted for producing butter and leather. The Wells River supplied water power for one gristmill and five sawmills. In 1873, the Montpelier & Wells River Railroad was completed. In 1890, a big brickyard opened; then in 1906, the Ryegate Paper Company began operation. But the town's dominant industry was six granite quarries at Blue Mountain.

Vermont

Vermont (ⁱ/vərˈmɒnt/ or /vɜːrˈmɒnt/,locally: [vɚˈmɑ̟̃(ʔ)]) is a state in the New England region of the northeastern part of the United States. It is bordered to the west by New York, the south by Massachusetts, the east by New Hampshire and to the north by the Canadian province of Quebec. Vermont is the 6th smallest in area and the 2nd least populous of the 50 United States. It is the least populous of the six New England states and the only one not bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Champlain covers half of Vermont's western border, while the Connecticut River forms most of Vermont's eastern boundary with New Hampshire. The Green Mountains run north-south the length of the state.

With a population of 7,671, the state capital of Montpelier is the least populous state capital in the US. Vermont's most populous city is Burlington. With a 2013 population of 42,284, Burlington is the least populous city in the United States to be the largest city within a state. Burlington's metropolitan area has a population of 214,796. Vermont is one of the most racially homogeneous states; 94.3% of its population identified as non-Hispanic white in 2010.

Vermont wine

Vermont wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Vermont. The first commercial winery in Vermont, Snow Farm Winery, opened in 1997. Vermont is a very cold climate for viticulture. Vermont wineries have focused on using cold-hardy French hybrid grapes, but have been experimenting with some Vitis vinifera varieties. Some Vermont wineries produce wine made from grapes grown in other states, especially New York.

See also

References

Vermont (band)

Vermont was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based indie rock band and collaboration between Davey von Bohlen and Dan Didier of The Promise Ring and Chris Roseanau of Pele. The band released two albums on Kindercore Records and broke up in 2001, before von Bohlen founding the band Maritime.

Discography