Barnet

Perched above the Connecticut River in Caledonia County, Barnet was settled in the 1770s by a group of Scottish immigrants -- one of the few organized Scottish settlements in Vermont. The town was chartered in 1763 and carries its Scottish heritage in its name, taken from the town of Barnet in Hertfordshire, England, though the founding families came from Caledonia in Scotland, which also gave the county its name.

Barnet Center and Passumpsic are the town's two principal villages, and the landscape is dominated by the Connecticut River floodplain to the east and wooded hills to the west. Harvey's Lake, a deep glacial lake in the western part of town, has been a summer gathering place for generations. The Karme Choling Buddhist meditation center, located on a former farm, has been an unexpected but accepted part of the community since the 1970s.

With about 1,700 residents, Barnet maintains a strong tradition of civic engagement. Town meeting draws a reliable turnout, and the selectboard system keeps governance close to the people. The town's Scottish founders would recognize the principle, if not the particulars, of neighbors gathering to manage their common affairs.