History

During the 1760s and 1770s the territory now known as Vermont was in dispute between New York and New Hampshire, the result of conflicting interpretations of each colony's charter. People moving into the territory, then known as New Connecticut or the New Hampshire Grants, generally settled after purchasing land grants from New Hampshire governor Benning Wentworth.
When the British government resolved the dispute in New York's favor, the colonial government attempted to assert control over the grants and force residents who had purchased land grants from Wentworth to pay a fee and confirm their titles. Many Vermonters resisted, leading to creation of the Green Mountain Boys.
As part of New York's effort to demonstrate control over the grants, in 1770 it chartered the town of Kingsland far from New York in what was then remote Gloucester County. Kingsland had no record of any residents, but was designated as one of two county seats. A log jail and courthouse were constructed at the head of a stream named subsequently named the Jail Branch.
In 1781 the government of Vermont, by then an independent republic, re-chartered Kingsland and named it Washington. The town was uninhabited until 1785, when David Morse obtained title to 100 acres.
By 1792 the town was completely organized, and records for 1794 indicate that there were 32 freemen on its voter checklist.
Centered on the hilltop near the Jail Branch, the town consisted mainly of small sheep farms that produced wool. Between 1820 and 1829 there were two fulling mills and one carding mill in operation, and sheep raising peaked circa 1830. Washington's population peaked at 1400 in 1840, after which there was a steady decline, as wool production decreased due to increasing tariffs and other factors. Most farms and homes around the center of town on the hilltop were abandoned, and the center of town relocated downhill and further north, along the Jail Branch and what is now Vermont Route 110.
With the arrival of the railroad in the 1850s, the dairy industry expanded as urban markets became accessible. By 1895, Washington had enough dairy farms to make the operation of a creamery possible. As the granite industry grew in nearby towns, both it and the railroad bypassed Washington, which remained a low-population rural community centered on agriculture.
By the twentieth century dairy farms were increasingly competitive, and by the 1950s many small farms had ceased operation. By 1960 Washington's population had declined to 565.
Although Washington remains a rural community, most farms are no longer in operation, and the town has become a "bedroom community" whose residents commute to work in Barre, Montpelier, Burlington and other cities.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 38.9 square miles (100.7 km²), of which 38.9 square miles (100.6 km²) is land and 0.03% is water.
The town is south of U.S. Route 302.