Rutland (city), Vermont

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City of Rutland
City
none Downtown Rutland Historic District
Downtown Rutland Historic District
Country United States
State Vermont
City Rutland
Population 17,292 (2000)
Incorporated November 19, 1892
Mayor Chris Louras
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 - summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 05701, 05702
Area code 802
Rutland City, Vermont
Rutland City, Vermont
Location of Vermont in the United States
Location of Vermont in the United States
Website : http://rutland.govoffice.com/

Rutland is a city in and the shire town[1] (county seat)[2] of Rutland County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 17,292. Rutland is located approximately 70 miles (110 km) north of Massachusetts and 30 miles (48 km) east of New York state. Rutland is the second largest city in Vermont. It is completely surrounded by the town of Rutland, Vermont, which is a separate municipality.

Contents

[edit] Historic Sites

Rutland has the following entries on the National Register of Historic Places:

[edit] Geography

Rutland is located at 43°36′N, 72°59′W, elevation 164.6 m (540 ft).[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.67 square miles (19.87 km²), of which, 7.6 square miles (19.8 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.52%) is water.

[edit] Transportation

Rutland is the terminal city for Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express, which provides daily service to and from New York City.[4]

Rutland has "The Bus," run by Marble Valley Regional Transit Disrict, an inter-city bus system costing 50 cents per person, with other expenses covered largely by taxpayers. "The Bus" was free prior to 2007, when the 50 cents fare was added to control the added gas expenses. MVRTD is housed in the downtown Transit Center, along with Vermont Transit Lines, Inc., a subsidary of Greyhound Bus Lines, Inc.

The Rutland-Southern Vermont Regional Airport is located just south of the city, in North Clarendon. The airport offers daily flights to and from Boston.

Rutland is the largest city in Vermont that is not located on, or near, either of the state's two major Interstate highways. U.S. Route 4 and U.S. Route 7 intersect in Rutland and are the two main routes into the city. U.S. 7 connects Rutland with Manchester and Bennington to the south, and with Middlebury and Burlington to the north. To the east of Rutland, U.S. 4 travels through Killington and Woodstock on its way toward New Hampshire. To the west, U.S. 4 has been rebuilt as a 4-lane freeway to the New York state line. It is currently the only limited-access freeway to serve Rutland. The former route of U.S. 4 is now signed as Vermont Route 4A.

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.  %±
1900 11,499
—
1910 13,456 17%
1920 14,954 11.1%
1930 17,315 15.8%
1940 17,082 −1.3%
1950 17,659 3.4%
1960 18,325 3.8%
1970 19,293 5.3%
1980 18,436 −4.4%
1990 18,230 −1.1%
2000 17,292 −5.1%
Est. 2006 16,964 −1.9%

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 17,292 people, 7,452 households, and 4209 families residing in the city. The population density was 2254.5 people per square mile (870.3/km²). There were 7,452 housing units at an average density of 94.49/sq mi (289.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.6% White, 0.7% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. 0.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,452 households out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.3 years. For every 100 females there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

[edit] History

The city began as a small hamlet called Mill Village on Otter Creek in the town of Rutland in the early part of the Nineteenth century. In the early 1800s, small high-quality marble deposits were discovered in Rutland, and in the 1830s a large deposit of nearly solid marble of high quality was found in what is now West Rutland. By the 1840s small firms had begun operations, but marble quarries only became profitable when the railroad came to Rutland in 1851. The famous quarries of Carrara in Tuscany, Italy became largely unworkable because of their extreme depth at the same time; Rutland quickly became one of the leading producers of marble in the world

This fueled enough growth and investment that in 1886 the marble companies saw to it[citation needed] that the center of town was incorporated as Rutland village, and most of the town was split off as West Rutland and Proctor, which contained the bulk of the marble quarries. Rutland City was incorporated as Vermont's third city on November 18, 1892. The new city's first mayor was John A. Mead, who served only one term in 1893[6].

In 1894, the nation's first polio outbreak was identified in the Rutland area. 132 people from the Rutland area were affected. Seven died. 110 others suffered some paralysis for life. 55 were from the city itself.[7]

The closing of the marble quarries in the area in the 1980s and 1990s cost the area jobs.

In the early 1970s, the Rutland Halloween Parade was used as the setting of a number of superhero comic books, including Batman #237, Justice League of America #103, Freedom Fighters #6, Amazing Adventures #16, Avengers #83, and The Mighty Thor #207.

The Summer Concert Series once featured the punk rock and metal music festival Punk In The Park. This was discontinued after five years by the city because of alleged unruly behavior by attendees in the Main Street Park, though no official reports of any sort were ever filed.

[edit] Economy

[edit] Personal income

The median income for a household in the city was $30,478, and the median income for a family was $41,561. Males had a median income of $29,457 versus $23,688 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,075. 15.4% of the population and 10.3% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 30.1% are under the age of 18 and 10.5% are 65 or older.

[edit] Industry

Major area employers are General Electric, OMYA and Central Vermont Public Service.

Recently, a one acre area of land downtown known as "the pit", is slated for development. The new office building is planned to hold offices, education and civic space.

A judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit holds the Vermont seat here.

[edit] Culture

Rutland contains the Vermont State Fairgrounds. Downtown is the Rutland Free Library[8], the Paramount Theater[9] and Merchant's Row, a restored street of dating back to the mid 1800s. One hundred and eight buildings in downtown Rutland are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Rutland also has a 275-acre (1.11 km²) Pine Hill Park[10] offering mountain biking, hiking, and other outdoor recreation. At the park's entrance is the FlipSide Skate Park[11], municipally operated in an open-sided closed roof arena at the Giorgetti Athletic Complex. Rutland is also home to the Diamond Run Mall, which is Vermont's third largest shopping center.[citation needed]

Rutland is host to summer events: Art In The Park and Friday Night Live, a Farmer's Market in downtown Rutland's Depot Park, and the Summer Concert Series.

Rutland has hosted the annual Rutland Halloween Parade since 1960. The event celebrated its 48th anniversary in 2007.

[edit] Media

Rutland's news comes from the Rutland Herald. There are six radio stations in the broadcast area: 94.5 WDVT, 98.1 WJJR, 105.3 WJEN, 101.5 The FOX, 97.1 Z97, and 1380AM WSYB.

[edit] Hospital

Rutland Regional Medical Center is Vermont's second-largest health care facility, with 188 inpatient beds and 120 physicians.

[edit] Sister cities

Rutland has one sister city:

Rutland hosts an exchange every year called the Rutland Ishidoriya Student Exchange (R.I.S.E) Each year Rutland sends 4-5 8th or 9th grade students to Ishidoriya Japan. R.I.S.E. Has been going on since 1986 and is still active today. Interviews are held to find the Ambassadors each year and money is raised through fundraising for 6 months. Also each year 5 students from Ishidoriya come to Rutland about a month after the Rutland Ambassadors return. Which completes the exchange.

[edit] Notable inhabitants

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Title 24, Part I, Chapter 1, §12, Vermont Statutes. Accessed 2007-11-01.
  2. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ http://www.amtrak.com/timetable/june07/P55.pdf accessed October 15, 2007
  5. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ 109th Annual Report Fiscal Year July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2001 City of Rutland, Vermont
  7. ^ Remsen, Nancy (September 29, 2007). Polio marker moved to public spot. Burlington Free Press. 
  8. ^ Rutland Free Library
  9. ^ Paramount Theater
  10. ^ Pine Hill Park
  11. ^ Flipside Skate Park

[edit] External links

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