Marshfield

Situated along the Winooski River in Washington County, Marshfield was chartered in 1782 and settled shortly after by families moving into the central Vermont hills. The town takes its name from Isaac Marsh, one of the original grantees. By the mid-1800s, Marshfield had developed a compact village center with mills powered by the river and its tributaries.

The Marshfield Village Store, a community-owned cooperative, has become something of a model for rural Vermont towns trying to keep a general store alive. The town also sits along the old Montpelier and Wells River Railroad corridor, and while the trains stopped running long ago, the grade remains as a reminder of the era when rail connected these hill towns to the wider world.

About 1,300 people call Marshfield home today. The town conducts its business through annual town meeting and a selectboard, carrying on the tradition of direct participation that defines Vermont's smallest communities.