Hubbardton

On July 7, 1777, the only Revolutionary War battle fought entirely on Vermont soil took place in Hubbardton. A British rear guard caught up with retreating American forces at dawn, and the fierce engagement that followed delayed the British advance long enough to help the American cause at the decisive Battle of Saratoga. The Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site commemorates this event today.

Chartered in 1764 in Rutland County, Hubbardton has a population of about 700. The town's rolling terrain includes portions of Lake Hortonia and Lake Bomoseen's watershed, and the landscape is a mix of forest, farmland, and seasonal homes along the waterways. The town is rural and quiet — a far cry from the gunfire and chaos of that July morning in 1777.

Hubbardton governs itself through a selectboard and annual town meeting. In a town whose name is synonymous with Vermont's fight for independence, the annual exercise of democratic self-governance carries a particular historical weight.