Westminster

The Westminster Massacre of March 13, 1775 — when New York colonial authorities fired on a group of Vermonters occupying the Cumberland County courthouse — was one of the sparks that ignited the Vermont independence movement. William French, killed in the confrontation, is sometimes called the first martyr of the American Revolution, though the dispute was as much about New York versus Vermont as about British authority. Westminster's place in Vermont history is foundational.

Chartered under New York authority in 1752 and later regranted by New Hampshire, Westminster sits along the Connecticut River in Windham County. The town's population of about 2,967 includes the villages of Westminster, Westminster West, and Westminster Station. The Kurn Hattin Homes for Children, a residential school founded in 1894, has been part of the community for over a century. The selectboard governs, and town meeting each March continues a tradition of self-governance that began, in a very real sense, with those shots fired in the courthouse in 1775.