White River Junction

History

The village has long had a role in transportation, primarily as a railroad junction. From the arrival of the first railroads in the late 1840s until rail diminished in importance in the 1950s and 1960s, White River Junction was the most important railroad community in Vermont. Its original importance was due to its location at the confluence of the White River with the Connecticut River. In 1803 Elias Lyman built a bridge across the Connecticut from the north bank of the White River to West Lebanon, New Hampshire. The local population remained quite low until the arrival of the railroad in the 1840s. Five different railroad lines were laid through the village site between 1847 and 1863 (the Vermont Central Railway and Connecticut River Railroad in 1847, the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad in 1848, the Northern New Hampshire Railroad in 1849, and the Woodstock Railroad in 1863), creating an eight-track crossing that was served by 50 passenger trains daily. In 1849, the village's first railroad depot was built, and local farmer Samuel Nutt arranged to buy and dismantle a hotel in Enfield, New Hampshire, and move it to his farm on the other side of the railroad tracks from the depot. His hotel, named the Junction House, was the first of three hotels to occupy the site, which now is home to the Coolidge Hotel, built in 1924. White River Junction hosted the annual Vermont State Fair from the mid-19th century until the mid-20th century. A special rail spur carried visitors uphill from the station to the fairgrounds.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km2), of which 1.6 square miles (4.3 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km2) (2.94%) is water. The village takes its name from the White River, which joins with the Connecticut River there. The village is only a five-minute drive from Hanover, New Hampshire, which hosts Dartmouth College and nearly equidistant from major cities and towns such as Rutland, Montpelier, St. Johnsbury, Brattleboro, Keene, and Concord.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  26,058
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  25,550
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,623
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,095
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,733
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  16,631
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  15,835
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  15,206

Largest nearby schools

• Hartford High School
  High · White River Junction · 518 students · 10.2:1 ratio
• Marion W. Cross School
  Elementary · Norwich · 351 students · 11:1 ratio
• Hartford Memorial Middle School
  Middle · White River Junction · 294 students · 9.5:1 ratio
• Hartland Elementary School
  Elementary · Hartland · 281 students · 12.2:1 ratio
• Woodstock Elementary School
  Elementary · Woodstock · 269 students · 12.2:1 ratio
• Dothan Brook School
  Elementary · White River Junction · 246 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Ottauquechee School
  Elementary · Quechee · 203 students · 10.2:1 ratio
• White River School
  Elementary · White River Junction · 198 students · 9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2024-06-18
  3 km SE of Haverhill, New Hampshire
• M 2.7 — 2023-12-23
  5 km SW of Chichester, New Hampshire
• M 2.9 — 2023-04-25
  4 km SW of Center Sandwich, New Hampshire
• M 2.8 — 2016-03-21
  4 km ESE of Warner, New Hampshire
• M 2.61 — 2013-10-11
  New Hampshire
• M 2.51 — 2011-07-08
  4 km NE of Newbury, Vermont