Stannard

With a population of roughly 208, Stannard is one of the least populated organized towns in Vermont. Chartered in 1867 — remarkably late by Vermont standards — the town sits in the hills of Caledonia County between Wheelock and Walden. The terrain is steep and heavily wooded, and the town has never had a paved state highway running through it.

Stannard's isolation is its defining characteristic. There is no store, no post office, no school within the town limits. Residents handle their own affairs with a directness born of necessity. The selectboard form of government and annual town meeting serve a community small enough that every voter knows every line of the budget personally. In a state that prides itself on local self-governance, Stannard represents the concept at its most essential.