Rutland, Vermont, United States

🇺🇸 Rutland is the only city in and the seat of Rutland County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 15,807. It is located approximately 65 miles (105 km) north of the Massachusetts state line, 35 miles (56 km) west of New Hampshire state line, and 20 miles (32 km) east of the New York state line. Rutland is the third largest city in the state of Vermont after Burlington and South Burlington. Rutland City is completely surrounded by Rutland Town, which is a separate municipality. The downtown area of the city is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

History The town of Rutland was chartered in 1761 and named after John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland. It was settled in 1770 and served as one of the capitals of the Republic of Vermont. In the early 19th century, small high-quality marble deposits were discovered in Rutland, and in the 1830s a large deposit of nearly solid marble was found in what is now West Rutland. By the 1840s, small firms had begun excavations, but marble quarries proved profitable only after the railroad arrived in 1851. Rutland eventually became one of the world's leading marble producers. A large number of Italians with experience in the industry immigrated and brought their families to Rutland.

This fueled enough growth and investment that in 1886 the centre of town incorporated as Rutland village. Most of the town was split off as West Rutland and Proctor, which contained the bulk of the marble quarries. Rutland City was incorporated as Vermont's third city on November 18, 1892. The new city's first mayor was John A. Mead.

The closing of the marble quarries in the area in the 1980s and 1990s led to a loss of jobs in the area.

Geography Rutland has a total area of 7.67 square miles (19.9 km²), of which 7.6 square miles (20 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²), or 0.52%, is water. Rutland is drained by Otter Creek, Moon Brook, Tenney Brook, East Creek and Mussey Brook.

Sales One measure of economic activity is retail sales. Rutland stood third in the state in 2007 with $321.6 million.

Personal income The median income for a household in the city was $30,478, and the median income for a family was $41,561. Males had a median income of $29,457 versus $23,688 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,075. 15.4% of the population and 10.3% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 30.1% are under the age of 18 and 10.5% are 65 or older.

Economy: Industry Major area employers are Rutland Regional Medical Center, General Electric Aircraft Engines (GE), OMYA, Green Mountain Power and Carris Reels. GE employed 975 workers in 2010. Casella Waste Systems is the second largest private employer (behind GE Aircraft), employing 583 employees at its headquarters on Green Hill Lane.

Ann Clark Cookie Cutters is a cookie cutter manufacturing company located in Rutland.

Hospital Rutland Regional Medical Center is Vermont's second-largest health care facility, with 188 inpatient beds and 120 physicians.

Downtown Rutland Many businesses have opened in downtown Rutland since September 2013, sparking a small, but very vibrant revitalization. These businesses include; The Bakery, Cape Air, Raw Honey Apparel Yogurt City, and Hop'n Moose Brewing, a brewpub which features hand-crafted beer.

The city's former shopping centres were the Rutland Mall and Diamond Run Mall.

Culture and entertainment The downtown section contains the Rutland Free Library, the Paramount Theater and Merchant's Row, a restored street dating back to the mid-19th century. 108 buildings in downtown Rutland are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Rutland also has the 275-acre (111 ha) Pine Hill Park offering mountain biking, hiking, and other outdoor recreation. At the park's entrance is the Flip Side Skatepark, municipally operated in an open-sided closed roof arena at the Giorgetti Athletic Complex.

Events in Rutland • Art in the Park • Friday Night Live • A Summer Farmers' Market in downtown Rutland's Depot Park • A Winter Farmers' Market in the Vermont Farmers Food Center • Downtown Street Party & Sidewalk Sales • Downtown Sip and Shops • The Summer Concert Series in Main Street Park • The Vermont State Fair • Rutland Winter Fest • Green Mountain Open Bowling Tournament

The Rutland Halloween Parade has taken place annually since 1960. In the early 1970s, the Rutland Halloween Parade was used as the setting of a number of superhero comic books, including Batman #237, Justice League of America #103, Freedom Fighters #6, Amazing Adventures #16, Avengers #83, and The Mighty Thor #207. The parade celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.

Historic sites (Date indicates inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places) • Arthur Perkins House – 242 South Main Street (added October 27, 1988) • Chaffee-Moloney Houses – 194 & 196-98 Columbian Avenue (added December 19, 2001) • Clementwood – Clement Road (added October 27, 1980) • H. H. Baxter Memorial Library – 96 Grove Street (added September 24, 1978) • Longfellow School – 6 Church Street (added 1976) • Proctor-Clement House – 85 Field Avenue (added July 17, 1982) • Rutland Courthouse Historic District – U.S. 7 (added October 8, 1976) • Rutland Downtown Historic District – roughly bounded by Strong Avenue, State, Wales, Washington, Pine and Cottage streets (added September 22, 1980) • Rutland Free Library – the 1859 former post office and courthouse designed by Ammi B. Young • St. Peter's Church and Mount St. Joseph Convent Complex – Convent Avenue, Meadow and River streets (added November 3, 1980)

College The city is also home to two colleges, the College of St. Joseph in Vermont (now closed), and Community College of Vermont (CCV). Many Rutland residents will commute to nearby Castleton University, whose hockey teams practice in nearby Rutland Town.

Media: Print The city's print news comes from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Rutland Herald, which publishes five days a week. "Sam's Good News" is a local weekly shopper/local-interest newspaper which is circulated throughout Central Vermont and upstate New York. "The Mountain Times" is also circulated in Rutland.

Media: Radio There are eight radio stations licensed to Rutland: • 88.7 FM WRVT (public radio) • 90.9 WFTF • 94.5 WDVT (classic rock) • 95.7 WMTZ-LP (3ABN Radio) • 97.1 WZRT (Top 40) • 98.1 WJJR (Adult Contemporary hits) • 105.3 WJEN (country music) • 1380 AM WSYB

Media: Television Rutland is part of the Burlington / Plattsburgh television market. Comcast offers most major in-market channels, including local Vermont PBS outlet WVER, channel 28, as well as Albany, New York stations WRGB (CBS), WTEN (ABC), and WMHT (PBS). PEGTV broadcasts local government programming on Comcast channels 15, 20, and 21.