Alburgh, Vermont, New England USA

About Alburgh, Vermont

Grand Isle County
Chartered: February 23, 1781 (Vermont Charter)
Area: 30,410 Acres = 47.52 Square Miles [ Size Rank: 45* ]
Coordinates (Geographic Center): N 44° 58′ W 73°17′
Altitude: 124 feet ASL
Population (US Census, 2010): 1,998 [ Population Rank: 87* ]
Population Density (persons per square mile): 42 [ Density Rank: 107* ]
Full Census Info: Town County State

*Area, Population and Density rankings refer to Alburgh’s relative position among Vermont’s 255 civic entities (9 cities, 242 towns, 4 gores and grants). Complete rankings are here.

Pronunciation: The “Al” is pronounced as in “Allen.”

Originally Alburgh, the name was changed to Alburg in 1891 on recommendation of the United States Board on Geographic Names, which had decided that all municipality names ending in ”-burgh” were to be changed to end in ”-burg” for the sake of standardization. On Town Meeting Day, 2006, a sizable majority voted that the spelling should revert to Alburgh. And it was so.

Ira Allen and 64 associates are named on the charter, but it was Allen who paid the fees and it was always considered “his” town, so it is reasonable to accept that the name is a contraction of Allenburgh or Allensburgh.

Later in the year in which it was chartered, Ira was one of the commissioners appointed to negotiate the boundary between the Republic of Vermont and State of New York. An easy agreement was reached that Alburgh was part of Vermont. That was not to be the end of it, however.

Way back in 1734, a considerable portion of the land had been granted by the French in Canada. After the English conquest, those titles passed to one Henry Caldwell and then to his son, which led to Vermont, the United States and Canada getting into a protracted wrangle over the rights of the various claimants. Ownership was eventually confirmed to the settlers actually in possession.

A considerable amount of traffic passes through Alburgh, US Route 2 being the only land route (i.e., via bridge) between New York and Vermont north of Fair Haven, 112 miles by road*. It has managed to resist the commercial development typically associated with high traffic volume along Routes 2 and 78, remaining a primarily agricultural town. Unlike the other four towns in the county (Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, North Hero and South Hero) which are islands, Alburgh is a peninsula projecting southward from Canada into Lake Champlain. Like the other four, it has a considerably higher percentage of lakeshore property than other towns on the Lake, making it popular for summer homes and camps.

*It was only 85 miles to the Crown Point Bridge at Addison until transportation officials determined the 90-year-old bridge to be unsafe. It was closed to traffic in October, 2009 and demolished that December; a new bridge is under construction and is expected to open in October of 2011

Activities & Points of Interest

Goings-on in and near Alburgh
Calendar of Events provided by the Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing.

Alburg Dunes State Park

Alburgh Historical Society

Contact Info

Emergency Services (Statewide): 911
Hospital: Northwestern Medical Center (St. Albans) 802-524-5911
Town Clerk: Carol Cleland 1 North Main Street Alburgh, VT 05440
802-796-3468
M-F 9-5

Churches, Ministries, Charitables

Episcopal : St. Luke ((Summer Only))
Nondenominational : Union Bible Church 802-796-3055
Roman Catholic : St. Amadeus

Schools

Grand Isle Supervisory Union 802-372-6921
Alburg Community Education Center 802-796-3573

Neighboring Towns

This is a basic geographic reference, intended to show relative location of adjacent towns. Directional accuracy is limited to 16 compass points. There isn’t even the slightest suggestion that one can necessarily travel directly from one town to the next (as in “You can’t get there from here”).

Quebec, Canada

Lake Champlain

Alburgh

Swanton

Isle La Motte

North Hero

 

Businesses & Services

Rocheleau Appraisal
Fast Friendly Residential and General Appraisal Service for Northwestern Vermont

Utilities

Notes about utilities:

  • One electric or phone company indicates that company serves the entire town. More than one of either indicates each serves different areas of town.
  • A listed cable company MIGHT mean the entire town is covered, but not necessarily. More than one listed indicates each serves different areas of town.
  • Unless your area is one served by Vermont’s only gas utility, your only option is bottled gas (any dealer).
    Electric Vermont Electric Co-op 800-832-2667
    Telephone Fairpoint 866-984-2001

c1914 Real Photo Postcard ~ Camps at Center Bay Alburg Alburgh Vermont picture

c1914 Real Photo Postcard ~ Camps at Center Bay Alburg Alburgh Vermont

$8.00



Vermont VT - Greetings from Alburgh - National Parks - Vintage Postcard - Posted picture

Vermont VT - Greetings from Alburgh - National Parks - Vintage Postcard - Posted

$5.94



1937 Vermont VT Postcard ~ Alburgh,

1937 Vermont VT Postcard ~ Alburgh, "New Bridge to Rouses Point NY"

$3.92



POSTCARD UNPOSTED VERMONT, LAKE CHAMPLAIN ISLAND- MAIN STREET ALBURGH  -REPRO picture

POSTCARD UNPOSTED VERMONT, LAKE CHAMPLAIN ISLAND- MAIN STREET ALBURGH -REPRO

$5.00



Alburgh Vermont Union Depot Train Station Vintage Postcard AA29560 picture

Alburgh Vermont Union Depot Train Station Vintage Postcard AA29560

$30.75



Named Man w/ Horse-Alburg-now Alburgh-Vermont-Vintage RPPC Real Photo Postcard picture

Named Man w/ Horse-Alburg-now Alburgh-Vermont-Vintage RPPC Real Photo Postcard

$9.99



POSTCARD UNUSED VERMONT, LAKE CHAMPLAIN ISLAND- NORTH HERO ALBURGH BRIDGE -REPRO picture

POSTCARD UNUSED VERMONT, LAKE CHAMPLAIN ISLAND- NORTH HERO ALBURGH BRIDGE -REPRO

$5.00



1938 New Bridge Across Lake Champlain Ruses Point NY, Alburgh VT Posted Postcard picture

1938 New Bridge Across Lake Champlain Ruses Point NY, Alburgh VT Posted Postcard

$6.47



SEPTEMBER 1908 RUTLAND RAILROAD B&M TRAIN #505 ALBURGH & BOSTON RPO POST CARD picture

SEPTEMBER 1908 RUTLAND RAILROAD B&M TRAIN #505 ALBURGH & BOSTON RPO POST CARD

$30.00



1949 RUTLAND RAILROAD ALBURGH & OGDENSBURG TRAIN #6 RPO HANDLED ENVELOPE picture

1949 RUTLAND RAILROAD ALBURGH & OGDENSBURG TRAIN #6 RPO HANDLED ENVELOPE

$25.00