About Orwell, Vermont
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Addison County
Chartered: August 18, 1763 (New Hampshire Grant)
Area: 31,824 Acres = 49.73 Square Miles [ Size Rank: 29* ]
Coordinates (Geographic Center): 73°18''W 43°48'N
Altitude: 385 feet ASL
Population (US Census, 2000): 1,185 [ Population Rank: 134* ]
Population Density (persons per square mile): 23.8 [ Density Rank: 170* ]
Tax Rates (2006): Homestead $1.2149; NonResidential $1.47

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

The date of the grant for Orwell, and what must have been Benning Wentworth's growing uncertainty over his position in the land-granting dispute with New York, give credence to the theory that the town was named for Francis Vernon (1715-83) the first Baron Orwell. Something of a lightweight in government, the Baron nevertheless had some influence. For years he was clerk of the privy council and a commissioner of the victualing office. It was at the urging of Lord Halifax that he was elevated to the peerage in 1762. Then he offered his support to the controversial Earl of Bute in return for "some favour." The favor turned out to be a spot on the board for trade and plantations, an office he held until 1765. This office was the one that would have brought him to Wentworth's attention.

Material excerpted or adapted from Esther Munroe Swift's
Vermont Place-Names: Footprints of History
(Used with permission)

Activities & Points of Interest
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Goings-on in and near Orwell
Calendar of Events provided by the Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing.

Mount Independence State Historic Site
Revolutionary War fortification; modern museum displays extensive archaeological material from site. Three hundred feet above Lake Champlain and opposite Fort Ticonderoga in New York state. The fort was being built at the direction of Continental generals Schuyler and Gates when word came that the Declaration of Independence had been signed, so it was named Fort Mount Independence in honor of that fact. Despite General Washington's skepticism over the fort's value, it was garrisoned by troops from NewJersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. For a time it served as the headquarters of the Army of the North, and was more heavily fortified than Fort Ticonderoga. A complex floating bridge, made of wood and chains, linked the two forts, and some historians lay the blame for the American defeat at Hubbardton on the bridge. When the Americans left Fort Ticonderoga so hastily in 1777, they fled across the bridge and did not destroy it. Hence, the British followed and were able to overtake them with little delay. Off Route 22A. Daily, 9:30-5 pm, Admission. 802-759-2412.

Orwell Historical Society

Contact Info
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Emergency Services (Statewide): 911
Hospital: Porter Medical Center (Middlebury) 802-388-7901
Town Clerk: Susan Ann Arnebold, 802-948-2032, PO Box 32 Orwell, VT 05760

Churches, Ministries, Charitables
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Roman Catholic : St. Paul

Schools
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Addison Rutland Supervisory Union 802-265-4905
Orwell Village School 802-948-2871

Neighboring Towns
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Utilities
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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	Central Vermont Public Service 800-451-2877
  Telephone	Shoreham Telephone 802-897-9911

  

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