Washington County

Montpelier became the state capital in 1805, and it has been the smallest state capital in the nation ever since — a distinction its 8,000 residents wear with some pride. Washington County, organized in 1811 and named for George Washington, wraps around the capital and extends into the heart of the Green Mountains. The gold-domed State House, completed in 1859 after its predecessor burned, overlooks the confluence of the Winooski River and the North Branch.

Granite is the county's other defining story. The quarries of Barre, just southeast of Montpelier, have been producing gray granite since the 1810s. Italian and Scottish stonecutters arrived in waves through the late 1800s, and by 1900, Barre was one of the most ethnically diverse small cities in New England. Hope Cemetery, where the stonecutters carved their own monuments, is an open-air gallery of sculptural artistry — a soccer ball, a biplane, a life-size armchair, all in granite.

The county's 20 towns are home to roughly 60,000 people. Barre City and Montpelier form a twin urban core, while Waterbury — headquarters of Ben & Jerry's and Green Mountain Coffee — anchors the western corridor along Interstate 89. State government is the county's largest employer, but manufacturing, insurance, and food production all contribute. The Washington County Courthouse in Montpelier serves the Superior Court, and the sheriff's department and state's attorney manage a county that sits at the geographic and political center of Vermont.