Talk:Swanton, Vermont (town)

copyvio on history information?
Moving this here since it's copied from the historical site page. if it's reprinted as free content, that's ok, but otherwise it's a copyvio and shoudl be linked to, not posted in wikipedia.

A massive glacier covered all of New England 15,000 years ago and more than a mile of ice capped portions of northwestern Vermont. These millions upon millions of tons of ice depressed the earth's crust, bringing it below sea level. Some 12,500 years ago the glacier retreated north of the St. Lawrence lowland. Salt water flowed in from the Atlantic Ocean to fill the depression in the St. Lawrence basin, thus creating the Champlain Sea. An arm of the sea extended into the Champlain Valley where it remained for the next 2,300 years. During this period, the land encompassed by the town of Swanton underwent significant changes. Eventually the Champlain Sea disappeared. Lake Champlain was born, and the Missisquoi River flowed out across the extensive deposits of sand and silt that once covered the bottom of the sea. Few people, if any, witnessed these changes. However, people were not far behind.

The Abenaki Indians call themselves the People of the Dawn. They were the major Indian group in Vermont, and they are believed to be the original peoples of Vermont, New Hampshire, northern Massachusetts, and southern Quebec below the St. Lawrence River. The Abenaki nation was in Vermont long before Champlain came in 1609. Abenaki is the name for a language group that included the tribes of Maine, the Penacooks of New Hampshire and Sokwakis of Vermont. The Penacooks and Sokwakis were the principal inhabitants of the Champlain Valley. Native peoples have lived here for at 10,000 years and some archaeologists believe the ancestors of the present day Abenakis were here as early as 1500 BC. The Missiquoi Village, located in the towns of Swanton and Highgate, was the nerve center for Indians seeking refuge in the Champlain Valley during the 18th century. The Abenakis were the major inhabitants of the village but many Indians driven out of southern New England, such as the Sokokis, lived here as well. These original Vermonters lived off the land and fought fiercely to defend their territory. When, finally, they were overpowered by sheer numbers and technical advantages some moved on while others faded in the background.

The French were the earliest European settlers in this region. In order to secure their grip on the strategic Champlain waterway, the French established colonies under grants that were given chiefly to military and naval officers. The grants carried with them certain obligations, one being that the territory had to be settled within a certain length of time. A grant covering the Swanton area was given to Sieur Philippe-Rene le Gardeur de Beauvais, Jr. on July 20, 1734. The French occupied Swanton Falls at this time. On May 10, 1741 the above grant reverted back to the Crown Domain because improvements were not made to the land. Nicholas-Rene Levasseur, a naval constructor, was sent to New France (Canada) in May, 1739 to build ships for the King. In searching for ship timber, he visited the settlement at Missisquoi. In 1748 Levasseur was granted the Seigniory of St. Armand. After New France surrendered to Great Britain in 1759, most of the French withdrew from this region.

After Canada was ceded to England, Levasseur sold his Seigniroy of St. Armand to Henry Guyand, a London merchant. In 1763 Benning Wentworth, Royal Governor of New Hampshire, issued a grant for 23,040 acres (93 km²) of land to be called Swanton. The village was named for Captain William Swanton, an officer in the British army who visited the area during the French and Indian War. Henry Guyand sold his title to the Seigniory to Benjamin Pierce. James Moore and George Fulton in 1766. In 1784 Ira Allen purchased 59 to 64 shares of Swanton at a sheriff's sale and employed William Colt to survey the town. Swanton's town government was organized in 179; however, Swanton Village was not incorporated as a town until 1888. Since then, the town has functioned as one of Vermont's most important industrial centers, providing the state with marble, limestone, ammunition and timber. While industry has moved away from the village, Swanton continues to thrive as a friendly, livable community, while engaging in efforts to promote its heritage.

(Historical information provided by the Swanton Historical Society http://www.swantonhistoricalsociety.org.)

External link for public library "of interest"?
I posted to the article's External Links section a link for the Town of Swanton Public Library (http://www.swantonlibrary.org/) which was removed by another editor with the comment "good faith addition. Not really of general interest to town." I'm confused how the Town's public library might not be of general interest to people interested in the Town of Swanton. I could see how maybe a lengthy section in the main article might be too much (though I could see a brief history), but I personally would find a link to the public library of any municipality of interest if I'm interested in that municipality. A town's public library is usually funded by the town (in this case it is), it's often a public gathering place, and is often a significant part of town life. In this case I was thinking of moving to Swanton and was curious to see from the library's website what kind of services and facilities it offers. After locating it I added it to the article so other people could find it more easily. I doubt anyone would need a link to the water department if it's not of particular note, but the public library seems at least to me a significant part of a town's daily life and character. By way of comparison, the following Vermont municipalities have links to their public libraries, added by editors other than me: St. Albans, Burlington, Bennington, Montpelier, Middlebury, Wilmington, Waterbury, Pierson, St. Johnsbury (under See Also), and Vergennes (mentioned under "Culture" and linked under "References" for that section). About 80% of those I checked had their public libraries listed. There are certainly others, but 10 seems enough to suggest a general principle. Witherpshins (talk) 15:38, 31 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks for discussing this.
 * Nearly all towns have libraries. We're supposed to be including differences. All right to include in "culture" the fact that there is a library, I suppose; and to support that claim with a footnote! Having a separate external link to the library seems WP:UNDUE. Probably the CofC link shouldn't be there either because it suggests WP:SPAM. Small towns are going to have small articles except for history, and then only if they are "lucky." That is why they are small towns! Having said that, even larger places (small cities) don't have pointers to their library and the library isn't mentioned, unless it is a National Historical Monument, or something equivalent.
 * The "Abenaki Nation" subsection is also WP:UNDUE. Article needs a bit of attention, but at least this meets the criteria of "different." Just written WP:POV and WP:PEACOCK. Student7 (talk) 23:32, 8 September 2013 (UTC)
 * St. J., Newport, and Derby have notably historic libraries with their own articles. Montpelier kind of historic for having copy of Elgin Marbles. Burlington library is a major library. Size counts. Having it as an "external link" would be unnecessary, however. In all these cases. Can be in town/city article. External link is redundant. Student7 (talk) 00:10, 9 September 2013 (UTC)

combine with Swanton (village)?
I came across this page while trying to correct a disambiguation page link concerning a late 19th century missionary school, and can't seem to solve the issue quickly. Frankly, I'm not sure why there are pages for both Swanton (town) and Swanton (village) since the village is within the town, and neither is extensive. Is the town really a county, with rivalry between the Native Americans outside the village? The French missionary order whose page I was trying to correct arrived circa 1890, so presumably there was some industrialization or something else going on in the area around then, but neither page's history section mentions it. I was fascinated that the village embraces the fraudster Lou Blonger, whose family left the village before the civil war, seeking a better life mining lead in Wisconsin! But I have other things to do today, so I'll just post a corresponding note on the village page.Jweaver28 (talk) 18:31, 7 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Swanton village is a separate municipality within the town of Swanton. The village has a board of trustees and other officials who are separate from the town selectboard and other town officials.  Because the village is in the town, people who live in the village can run for town office, but not the other way around.  Both Swanton town and village are in Franklin County, Vermont.


 * I supposed the articles on the village and town could be combined if there was value in it, but I don't know that leaving the pages as is is a problem, either.


 * Billmckern (talk) 01:34, 14 November 2015 (UTC)