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BURLINGTON, VERMONT - USA
Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont of which it is the county
seat. As of the 2000 census, Burlington has the largest population of any
city in Vermont. The city is the core of one of the nation's smaller
metropolitan areas. The urbanized area consists of the cities of Burlington,
South Burlington, and Winooski; the towns of Colchester, Essex, and
Williston; and the village of Essex Junction. As of the 2000 census, the
population of the Burlington metropolitan area was approximately 150,000.
Burlington lies roughly 55 km (30 mi) west of the state capital in
Montpelier, about 80 km (45 mi) north of Rutland, and 100 km (60 mi)
southeast of Montreal, Quebec. Burlington is a college town, home to the
University of Vermont, Burlington College and to Champlain College. St.
Michael's College is in nearby Colchester. The only large industrial
facility in Vermont is IBM's semiconductor plant a few kilometers east in
Essex Junction, but many small industrial and service companies are located
in the Burlington area.
Downtown Burlington is situated on a hillside overlooking Lake Champlain
-- the sixth-largest lake in the U.S. The Winooski River lies along the
city's northern boundary. Burlington has regular ferry service to New York
State during the summer and autumn and an international airport with
commercial service to major regional hubs. Train service to Boston and New
York is available from Essex Junction.
Burlington also has a thriving cultural and music scene. The most famous
local band is Phish, an eclectic "jam band" originating from the University
of Vermont circa 1983. They are also donating all profits from the sale of
Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream to the cleaning up of Lake Champlain.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
40.1 km˛ (15.5 mi˛). 27.4 km˛ (10.6 mi˛) of it is land and 12.7 km˛ (4.9 mi˛)
of it is water. The total area is 31.78% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 38,889 people, 15,885 households, and
7,052 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,421.9/km˛
(3,682.0/mi˛). There are 16,395 housing units at an average density of
599.4/km˛ (1,552.3/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city is 92.27% White,
1.78% African American, 0.47% Native American, 2.65% Asian, 0.02% Pacific
Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 2.27% from two or more races. 1.40% of
the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 15,885 households out of which 21.3% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 31.4% are married couples living together, 10.0%
have a female householder with no husband present, and 55.6% are non-families.
35.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.2% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.19 and the average family size is 2.86.
In the city the population is spread out with 16.3% under the age of 18,
25.4% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 29 years. For every 100
females there are 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 90.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $33,070, and the median
income for a family is $46,012. Males have a median income of $30,144 versus
$25,270 for females. The per capita income for the city is $19,011. 20.0% of
the population and 10.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 19.4% are under the age of 18 and 10.5% are
65 or older.
History
The town of Burlington (comprising what are now the cities of Burlington and
South Burlington) was chartered in 1763, but settlement did not commence
until the 1770s when the Allen brothers built a fort at the falls of the
Winooski. After the Revolutionary War a few settlers cleared land and began
farming, and in 1787, Ethan Allen settled in the bottomland near the mouth
of the Winooski River and built his home, which stands today. The first town
meeting was held in 1787. The University of Vermont was established in
Burlington in 1791 as the Agricultural College of Vermont on land donated by
Ira Allen. Soon after the town common was set aside as public land and has
survived as City Hall Park. By 1812, Burlington had become one of the
leading ports in the nation, primarily as the main point for importing
Canadian lumber, and had a population of 2000.
During the War of 1812 Burlington was the site of an army base and major
military hospital, but did not play as important a role as other Lake
Champlain cities such as Vergennes, Vermont and Plattsburgh, New York
despite being so close to the Canadian border. Burlington was, however, the
home of the United States fleet on Lake Champlain.
In 1823 the Lake Champlain Canal was opened and provided a continuous water
route from New York City to Montreal via the Hudson River and Lake Champlain.
With the opening of the canal, Burlington and Plattsburg became important
ports, shipping lumber and farm products south to Albany and New York City
and manufactured goods to the farmlands of Vermont and northeast New York
State. By 1830, Burlington had begun to grow rapidly, and soon became the
state's preeminent city. The large number of potential mill sites and its
location on Lake Champlain at the western end of the main east-west travel
route in northern Vermont meant that it was a natural site for the state's
major industrial and commercial center and international commerce with
Canada.
With the coming of the Rutland and Burlington railroad up from Rutland in
1849, Burlington's lumber industry continued to grow, and in 1862, when the
Central Vermont Railroad reached Winooski, the dairy industry began in the
area as farmers could now sell milk to other parts of New England and to
Quebec. In 1864 the northwestern portion of the town became the City of
Burlington -- the state's first incorporated city -- and the more rural
portion of the original town was established as the new town of South
Burlington. In 1885, the Winooski & Burlington Horse Railroad Company began
the first streetcar service in the city, traveling from downtown across the
river into Winooski, where there was access to the major railroad line
traveling east.
In 1929, the end of streetcar service in Burlington was marked by an unusual
"Abandonment Celebration", culminating in a trolley car being burned in the
center of downtown. In 1997 The Philadelphia, one of Benedict Arnold's
gunboats, was discovered after resting on the bottom of the lake since 1776.
In the 1990s, Burlington began to reclaim its waterfront, which was
dominated by underused and abandoned industrial buildings, but building into
parks, trails, and other recreational resources, and returning the focus of
the city to its beautiful waterfront with its stunning views of the
Adirondacks.
Law and government
The city has a city council-mayor form of government, which is generally in
a state of tension between right-of-center moderate Republicans and the
left-of-center Progressive Party. U.S. Congressman Bernard Sanders was mayor
of Burlington from 1981 to 1989; the precursor of the Progessive Party was
formed to elect Sanders and then win sufficient seats on the city council to
ensure passage of Sanders' agenda. The current mayor, serving his seventh
term (2003-2005), is Progressive Peter Clavelle.
Climate
Burlington's climate is moderate for Vermont. There are four frost-free
months in the summer and three months of almost entirely below-freezing
weather in the winter. Annual precipitation is around 1 meter of rainfall
equivalent distributed fairly equally over the year. Total annual snowfall
is generally slightly over 2 meters (78.8 inches).
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