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Vergennes Past And Present

Tuesday July 29, 2008

By M. Stuart Parks

    Vergennes was a very busy place until the end of the 1800s.  There was a booming shipping industry because of the Champlain Canal and thriving wood finishing  businesses which were related to lumber imported from Canada.  However, as the railways took over the transportation of goods, manufacturing declined.  A railroad spur was laid from Ferrisburgh to the base of the falls but was not useful because of the steep grades.  The twentieth century saw a marked commercial decline, leaving only a few surviving companies.

    This is not to say that nothing interesting happened in Vergennes during the 20th century.  There is, for instance, the building of the Bixby Library.  William Bixby, a Vergennes businessman left money to build a library.  G. Frederick Frost of New York City designed the building in the neo-classical style that was currently in use for banks, schools, museums and other public buildings at the time.  It was built in 1911 of buff colored brick with Indiana limestone columns.  The cost was eighty-eight thousand dollars.

    Most adult Addison County residents are familiar with the Weeks School.  Started in 1874 as the Vermont Reform School, it was a better solution for children who broke the law.  Prior to that time all children were treated as adults.  In 1900 it was renamed the Vermont Industrial School and in 1937 it was named Weeks School in honor of Governor John  E. Weeks.  Throughout its history the School struggled with meeting the needs of a mixed population. A child could be sent there for a major infraction or a very minor one.

    The school served as a refuge for children from poor families who could not properly care for them along with juveniles who had been convicted of a crime.  In 1915 juvenile delinquency legally included such offenses as school truancy, associating with disreputable persons, using vulgar language and wandering around the streets at night.  

    Charles W. Wilson served a Superintendent from 1917 to 1931.  He advocated rehabilitation of youthful offenders through vocational rehabilitation, supervised parole programs and eliminating the “reform school” stigma.  Weeks School closed in 1979 when Vermont adopted the more community oriented group home model.  This allowed juveniles to live a more normal lifestyle while staying in a closely supervised living situation.   The Benson Wilderness Camp came into existence at about the same time along with the Detention Center which is now at Woodside.  Soon after the closing the facility was leased to the Job Corps which continues to provide services to Vermont youth and others.

    Although Vergennes has never become the metropolis that was envisioned by the early residents it has held its own over the years.  As of the census of 2000 there were 2,741 people in the town.  There were 979 households of which 34% had children under the age of 18.  Of these 11% were single mothers.  Looking at the population by age:  28% were under the age of 18; 13% were from 18 to 24;  28% were from 25 to 44; 19% from 45 to 64;  and 11% were 65 or older.  The average age was 33 years and the ratio of males to females was just about even.  The per capita income for the city was $15, 465 and 17% of the population was below the poverty line.  It will be interesting to see what the figures will be in 2010.

    In the past ten or more years Vergennes has done a spectacular job of sprucing up the main street and bringing in new businesses along with revitalizing the once forlorn stage of the Opera House.  The shops on the south side of the main street are now accessible to everyone with attractive stone and concrete ramps.  There is a very nice selection of shops and restaurants and the park is more attractive than ever.   Vergennes may not be the biggest city but it is certainly a city full of community pride and spirit.

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