Wolcott

Chartered in 1781, Wolcott is a Lamoille County town that sits along the Lamoille River between Hardwick and Morrisville. The river valley provided good farmland, and the town developed as a small agricultural community with a compact village center. The Wolcott village, with its church, school, and handful of buildings along Route 15, retains the look of a classic Vermont crossroads settlement.

With a population of about 1,576, Wolcott has grown modestly as people seek affordable housing within reach of the Stowe and Morrisville area. The town maintains a working landscape of dairy farms and hayfields, though the number of active farms has declined over the decades. The selectboard governs local affairs, and town meeting each March brings residents together to set the budget and make decisions — the annual exercise in direct democracy that is the backbone of Vermont municipal governance.