Date Visited: July
2, 2019
Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockingham,_Vermont
Website:
https://www.rockbf.org/
So one thing that
often puzzles us in our quest is the appearance of signs directing us
or welcoming us to “towns” that do not appear on the list of 251
towns in Vermont. I mean clearly there is a Felchville, Perkinsville,
Downers, etc. Are they not towns? Why aren’t they on the list.
We were especially
intrigued yesterday when we went in search of Rockingham which is on
the list. Having lived in Vermont for so many years we were amazed
that Bellows Falls is not considered one of Vermont’s 251 towns. So
today I decided to unravel this mystery and I needed to go no farther
than the Wikipedia page for Rockingham. I usually don’t quote
heavily from those pages but in this case I think it’s warrented.
Wikipedia says: “Rockingham is a town
in Windham
County, Vermont,
United States, along the Connecticut
River. The population was 5,282 at the 2010
census. Rockingham includes the incorporated villages of Bellows
Falls and Saxtons
River, as well as a large rural area west of Interstate
91. Rockingham has no formal town center, instead town offices
and the Rockingham Public Library are located in the village of
Bellows Falls. The approximate center is the Rockingham
Meeting House on Route 103, a popular east-west route across the
state. The Meeting House was built in Rockingham Village, once the
main settlement in the town, but with the increased use of water
power, population shifted to other villages located on the two rivers
in town. Most of what was left of Rockingham Village (over a dozen
buildings, also called the Old Town) burned in a fire on April 14,
1908; the fire came close to the Meeting House but it was saved.[3]
The houses, hotel and store that burned were not rebuilt.[4]
“
No wonder we
couldn’t “find” Rockingham. It was hiding in plain site.
I am also now more
knowledgeable about the subject of Incorporated Villages in Vermont.
An absolutely exhaustive history of incorporated villages can be
found here: https://bit.ly/2JzeJyX
and a list of those village can be found here:
https://bit.ly/2Xp5wmu.
So that settles that! Or at least I thought so. The first three towns on the above referenced list: Albany, Alburgh and Barton are….well….on the list of Vermont’s 251 towns. So stay tuned. We’ll get this sorted out.
