Norwich is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States, located along the Connecticut River opposite Hanover, New Hampshire. The population was 3,544 at the 2000 census.
The town was named after Norwich, Connecticut, the state from which the first settlers originated. In the original charter, the name was spelled "Norwhich", but the additional 'h' was dropped shortly after the town was chartered.[3] Originally pronounced Norritch (similar to the English pronunciation of the city of Norwich) the town name has in more recent times become more commonly pronounced Nor-wich.
Norwich was the original home of Norwich University, which moved to Northfield in 1866 after a fire devastated the campus. Norwich is also the current home of the Montshire Museum of Science and King Arthur Flour.
Norwich maintains one of the few interstate public school systems, the Dresden School District, commissioned by President John F. Kennedy, which is shared by the towns of Norwich and Hanover, New Hampshire.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 44.8 square miles (116 km2), of which, 44.7 square miles (116 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (0.31%) is water. The Ompompanoosuc River flows into the Connecticut River in the northeastern part of the town.[4]
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 3,544 people, 1,367 households, and 944 families residing in the town. The population density was 79.3 people per square mile (30.6/km²). There were 1,505 housing units at an average density of 33.7/sq mi (13.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.97% White, 0.48% African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.62% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.79% of the population.
There were 1,367 households out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 31.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $66,000, and the median income for a family was $78,178. Males had a median income of $49,350 versus $33,871 for females. The per capita income for the town was $35,285. About 1.5% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
- Paul Brigham, 2nd Governor of Vermont
- Heinrich Brüning, German Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- Daniel Azro Ashley Buck, U.S. Representative from Vermont
- George A. Converse, Rear Admiral, United States Navy; served in the Spanish-American War
- Hannah Kearney, professional mogul skier
- Laurence G. Leavitt, longtime headmaster of Vermont Academy, Saxtons River
- Tony Lupien, first baseman in Major League Baseball
- Freya von Moltke, author and lecturer
- David Macaulay, author and illustrator[5][6]
- Alden Partridge, founder of Norwich University
- Kevin Pearce, professional snowboarder
- Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, (1888-1959)
- George Sylvester Morris, educator and philosophical writer
- Walter H. Stockmayer, internationally known chemist and university teacher
- Andrew Wheating, 2008 Olympic 800-meter runner
References
External links
