Essex, VT
Information Courtesy Virtual Vermont
Essex, Vermont Real Estate Information
- Chittenden County
- Chartered: June 7, 1763 (New Hampshire Grant)
- Area: 25,214 Acres / 39.4 Square Miles [ 134* ]
- Coordinates (Geographic Center): 73°04'W 44°31'N
- Altitude ASL: 492 feet
- Population (US Census, 2000): 18,626 [ 2* ]
- Population Density (persons per square mile): 472.7 [ 10* ]
- Tax Rate: $2.7986 (town), $3.1319 (vil) ('06)
Essex can be a bit confusing in the same way as the town of Chittenden and Washington: neither is in the county of the same name.
The name could derive from any of a number of sources, back to Essex, England; Benning Wentworth's specific intent is not known. The Earl of Essex at the time was William Anne Holles Capel, Lord of the Bedchamber and Master of the Royal Staghounds, not exactly highly placed in the peerage. Nor was he a friend of the Colonies: he voted against repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766.
Well watered by several streams and not too hilly, the land attracted settlers early.