Searsburg, Vermont, New England USA
About Searsburg, Vermont
Bennington County
Chartered: February 23, 1781 (Vermont Charter)
Area: 13,702 Acres = 21.41 Square Miles [ Size Rank: 222* ]
Coordinates (Geographic Center): N 42° 53′ W 72°57′
Altitude: 1,734 feet ASL
Population (US Census, 2010): 109 [ Population Rank: 245* ]
Population Density (persons per square mile): 5.1 [ Density Rank: 240* ]
Full Census Info: Town County State
*Area, Population and Density rankings refer to Searsburg’s relative position among Vermont’s 255 civic entities (9 cities, 242 towns, 4 gores and grants). Complete rankings are here.
Named Searsburgh in the charter, the final h dropped through custom.
The town was created from the northern part of Readsboro, though it is not at all clear why. There were no residents in that part of Readsboro at the time, and some twenty years passed before anyone settled there.
Equally unclear is why the town was named as it was. One possibility is Isaac Sears, a New York City merchant and ship owner who seized the New York Arsenal and Customs House upon hearing of the battles at Lexington and Concord, and whose vessels preyed on British shipping during the Revolutionary War. His name is found on several Vermont town charters, but this one is not among them; the Legislature could have been seeking to honor Sears in this manner.
With only nine residents in the 1820 Census, the population grew to over 200 over the next fifty years, but has declined ever since. The town contains over a dozen mountains of over 2,000 feet, none of which are identified by name.
Activities
Goings-on in and near Searsburg
Calendar of Events provided by the Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing.
Contact Info
Emergency Services (Statewide): 911
Hospital: Southwestern Medical Center (Bennington) 802-442-6361
Town Clerk: Josephine Kilbride PO Box 157 Wilmington, VT 05363
802-464-8081
M 8-4; T F 8-12
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”).
Searsburg
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 Green Mountain Power 888-835-4672
Telephone Fairpoint 866-984-2001