page_title: Randolph, Vermont
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Randolph, Vermont / History
caption_attribution_description: Zoom into this map at maps.bpl.org. Author: Burleigh, L. R. Publisher: L.R. Burleigh Date: 1886 Location: Randolph (Vt.) Scale: Not drawn to scale. Call Number: G3754.W43A3 1886.B8
context_page_description: Randolph is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,778 at the 2010 census, making Randolph the largest town in Orange County. The town is a commercial center for many of the smaller, rural farming communities that surround it.
  When the area was originally settled there were three villages—Randolph Center, East Randolph and West Randolph—the current locations of the three fire departments. What is now the central village of the current town had previously been the village of West Randolph.
context_section_description: Vermont granted the town on November 2, 1780, when the New Hampshire settlers could not locate the original grantees, whose patents were issued by New York. It was chartered on June 29, 1781 to Aaron Storrs and 70 others, and was originally named "Middlesex".
  The town was first settled circa 1778, when Vermont was an unrecognized state whose government existed in defiance of the government of New York, which claimed Vermont was a part of New York. To encourage recognition of the state by the United States, the town was renamed in honor of Edmund Randolph.
  With productive soil for cultivation, farming became an intensive industry. By 1830, when the population reached 2,743, between twelve and thirteen thousand sheep grazed its pastures. Randolph was noted for its good butter, cheese and mutton.
  Two branches of the White River provided water power for watermills. By 1859, the town had three gristmills, one oil mill, and one carding mill. In 1848, the Vermont Central Railroad opened service through the town. Randolph's prosperity during the Victorian era endowed it with some fine architecture, including the Second Empire Randolph Railroad Depot and Renaissance Revival Kimball Public Library.
  In 1921, Randolph was the setting for, and provided some of the cast of, a silent movie called The Offenders. In 1922 the same was true for the film Insinuation.
  Today, Randolph is a thriving meeting-spot and shopping center for the surrounding area. The town is home to attractions such as the Porter Music Box Museum and the Chandler Music Hall. Also located in Randolph are the Gifford Medical Center, a hospital; Dubois & King, a civil and structural engineering firm; and Randolph Union High School, which also serves students from the neighboring towns of Braintree and Brookfield. Downtown Randolph hosts the Amtrak station, shops, restaurants, a movie theater, and several gas stations.
caption: Print of West Randolph from 1886 by L.R. Burleigh with listing of landmarks
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