Bennington

Formed March 17, 1778 (1^st county)

Bennington County (37,344), Bennington* (15,333), Manchester (769), North Bennington (1,718)

The 2012 red brick Modern building is located on North Street and Veterans Memorial Drive in Bennington.  United States Highway 7 is North Street in Bennington.  The building replaced a 1936 courthouse in Bennington.  The Bennington courthouse was designed by William Maclay Architects and Ricci Greene Associates.  The 1822 Manchester Classical Revival courthouse is located on Main and Union streets.  Vermont State Highway 7 Alternate is Main Street.  Bennington had 1846 and 1870 courthouses as well.  Manchester’s courthouse designer is unknown.  The building was enlarged in 1849.  The county was formed on March 17, 1778 as an original county (1^st county) with both Bennington and Manchester as the county seats.  Bennington County and its county seat are named for New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth.  Manchester was named for Manchester, Massachusetts.  Bennington County is the birthplace of 2 Vermont Governors, John S. Robinson and Hiland Hall. 

Bennington County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk but doesn’t have a unified government as each township governs.  Three Superior Court Judges serve Bennington County.  The county is situated in the southwest corner of Vermont.  It borders both New York and Massachusetts.  Burlington, Vermont is north and Albany, New York is southwest of the county.  The county center is 16.6 miles North-Northeast of Bennington nearer East Arlington.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Rutland, Windsor, and Windham counties and Massachusetts and New York. 

The area of the county is 676 square miles.  It is 8 out of 14 in the state.  It is 8 out of 14 in population in the state.  It has a density of 55.2 persons per square mile making it 9 out of 14 in the state.  Bennington County has 7.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 7 passes north to south through the county from Rutland County to Massachusetts.  The county looks like a fat capital letter C.  Bennington is located in the southwest quarter of the county.  Manchester is in the northern quarter of the county.  North Bennington is near the southwest border of the county.  Bennington and Manchester are both county seats and North Bennington is the largest city.  Bennington is 41.4% of the county population although it is unincorporated.  Manchester is 2.1% of the county population while North Bennington is 4.6% of the county population.  This county is in the Bennington Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Bennington (unincorporated)