Chittenden

Named for Thomas Chittenden, Vermont's first governor, this Rutland County town was chartered in 1780 and settled in the years following the Revolution. The terrain is mountainous — the town sits on the western slopes of the Green Mountains — and early settlers found logging and charcoal production more practical than farming. The Chittenden Reservoir, built in the early 1900s, remains one of the largest bodies of water in the region and supplies power and drinking water.

With about 1,240 residents, Chittenden is one of Rutland County's smaller and more remote communities. Much of the town's land falls within the Green Mountain National Forest, making it popular with hikers, hunters, and snowmobilers. Mountain Top Inn, located on the reservoir's shore, has operated as a year-round resort for decades. Town governance is managed by a selectboard, and each March residents convene for Town Meeting to vote on local budgets and community matters in the direct-democracy tradition that Vermont has practiced since statehood.