New Haven

Flat by Vermont standards, New Haven spreads across the fertile Champlain Valley floor in Addison County, its fields producing some of the state's best dairy and crop harvests. The town was chartered in 1761 and settled primarily after the Revolutionary War, when families from Connecticut — many from the original New Haven — moved north to claim grants in the new republic.

New Haven Mills, the town's small village center, sits along the New Haven River, which descends from the Green Mountains to the east. The river's gorge section, upstream near Lincoln, is famous, but even within New Haven the waterway supports trout populations and scenic swimming holes. About 1,820 people live in town.

Agriculture remains central to New Haven's identity and economy. The town's relatively large farm parcels and productive soils have helped it resist the subdivision pressure that has transformed other Champlain Valley communities. Residents govern through town meeting and a selectboard, maintaining the civic traditions that have shaped Vermont's rural towns for centuries.