Washington

Formed January 1, 1810 (13^th county)

Washington County (59,804), Montpelier (8,082), Barre (8,491)

The classic red brick Greek Revival structure was erected in 1880.  It is located on State Street near Elm Street.  United States Highway 2 is State Street in this part of the town.  B. F. Walker provided the designs.  The building was renovated in 1969.  A previous courthouse was built in 1844.  A 1982 supporting District Courthouse is in Barre.  The county was formed on January 1, 1810 from parts of Orange, Caledonia, and Chittenden counties as the 13^th county with Montpelier as the only county seat.  The county is named for American Revolutionary General George Washington.  Montpelier is named for Montpelier, France.  Washington County is the birthplace of 3 Vermont Governors, William P. Dillingham, Deane C. Davis, and Phillip B. Scott. 

Washington 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 Washington County.  The county is in the central part of Vermont.  The geographical center of Vermont is 3 miles east of Roxbury in the county.  Burlington, Vermont is northwest and Manchester, New Hampshire is southeast of the county.  The county center is 3.7 miles Southwest of Montpelier nearer Berlin.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Caledonia, Orange, Addison, Chittenden, and Lamoille counties. 

The area of the county is 690 square miles.  It is 6 out of 14 in the state.  It ranks 3 out of 14 in population in the state.  It has a density of 86.7 persons per square mile making it 3 out of 14 in the state.  Washington County has 28.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 89 crosses east to west in the county from Orange County to Chittenden County.  United States Highway 2 passes from Caledonia County, east, to Chittenden County, west.  United States Highway 302 enters from Orange County, southeast, and terminates.  The Vermont state capitol is located in this county.  The county resembles a caterpillar crawling northeast.  Montpelier is located near the center of the county.  Barre is near the eastern border of the county.  Montpelier is the county seat and Barre is the largest city.  Montpelier is 13.5% of the county population while Barre is 14.2% of the county population.  The largest city is pronounced BAER.  This county is in the Barre Micropolitan Statistical Area.