Richmond

The Old Round Church — actually sixteen-sided — is Richmond's most famous landmark, built in 1812-1813 as a community meetinghouse shared by five denominations. It's one of the most distinctive structures in Vermont and is listed as a National Historic Landmark. The building speaks to a time when a small town couldn't afford five churches, so it built one and shared.

Richmond sits along the Winooski River in Chittenden County, about twelve miles east of Burlington. Chartered in 1775 during the upheaval of the Revolution, the town developed as a farming and milling community. Today, with roughly 4,080 residents, Richmond functions partly as a bedroom community for Burlington while maintaining its own village identity — a walkable center with shops, a library, and restaurants.

Cochran's Ski Area, a family-run hill in Richmond that has produced Olympic skiers, embodies the town's unpretentious approach to recreation. Town meeting and a selectboard govern Richmond, and the annual meeting draws residents who value having a direct say in how their community spends its money and sets its course.