Cambridge

History

Granted on November 7, 1780, Cambridge was chartered on August 13, 1781, to Samuel Robinson, John Fassett Jr., Jonathan Frost and 64 others. It was first settled in 1783 by John Safford from Piermont, New Hampshire. The valleys proved good but rough, best for grazing livestock. By 1839, the town had about 7,000 sheep. The Lamoille River offered water power for watermills. Industries included one woolen factory, one tannery, and one gristmill, plus several sawmills and cabinet shops. Cambridge and neighboring Johnson were together known as the King's College Tract, being created by Lieutenant Governor Cadwallader Colden by authority of King George III in 1764. The King's College Tract was reserved for the eventual establishment of a university on the site. The place name "Cambridge" suggests the University of Cambridge in England. Johnson, the other town in the King's College Grant, was named for William Samuel Johnson. Both the St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain Railroad and the Burlington & Lamoille Railroad passed through the town. The former is now the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail.

Geography

Cambridge is in western Lamoille County, bordered to the northwest by Franklin County and to the southwest by Chittenden County. The village of Jeffersonville is in the center of the town, and the village of Cambridge is in the west. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.78%, are water. Cambridge is drained by the Lamoille River, which flows from east to west across the center of the town, passing through the north sides of Jeffersonville and Cambridge villages. Two main tributaries of the Lamoille drain the southern part of the town: the Brewster River originates in Smugglers Notch at the crest of the Green Mountains in the southernmost part of the town and flows north to Jeffersonville, while the Seymour River originates in Underhill and flows north to Cambridge village. The town is crossed by Vermont Route 15, Vermont Route 104, Vermont Route 108 and Vermont Route 109. VT-15 leads southwest to Winooski, next to Burlington, and southeast to Morrisville. VT-104 leads northwest to St. Albans, while VT-108 leads north to Enosburg Falls and south through Smugglers Notch to Stowe. VT-109 leads northeast to Belvidere. (All distances are measured from Jeffersonville.)

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,890
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,643
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  7,539
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  7,039
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,670
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,996
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  5,953
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  5,495

Largest nearby schools

• Cambridge Elementary School
  Elementary · Jeffersonville · 336 students · 11.2:1 ratio
• Waterville Elementary School
  Elementary · Waterville · 81 students · 7.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2025-10-14
  4 km NNW of Chazy, New York
• M 2.8 — 2024-07-29
  11 km SSW of Sainte-Martine, Canada
• M 2.6 — 2024-06-18
  3 km SE of Haverhill, New Hampshire
• M 2.5 — 2024-06-05
  10 km S of Franklin, Canada
• M 3.1 — 2020-05-06
  9 km SE of Bedford, Canada
• M 3.4 — 2020-01-13
  5 km SW of Franklin, Canada