Skip to primary sidebar Fayston VT Official Municipal Website 802-496-2454 JOIN MENU Fayston History FROM THE FAYSTON TOWN PLAN Fayston has a unique and diversified topography. Its history seems to have been molded more by rugged terrain than any other single factor. Said to have the highest average elevation of any town in Vermont, the high lateral ridge along the west border of Town is a barrier that directed the business of the north to Moretown and the business of the south to Waitsfield. Fayston was charted in 1788 and was among the many towns sold to proprietors, most of whom were speculators. At the time, these speculators were heralded as “patriots” helping to defend the independent republic which had to raise money to support its government, pay its soldiers and defend its frontiers, in particular Lake Champlain, which was threatened by invasion from the British. Within twenty years, large acreage, through tax sales, swapping and some purchasing, became vested in a few landowners. The Town was organized in 1805. Its first schoolhouse costing $159.75 opened in 1812 with 25 scholars. The population gradually increased from ten families in 1800 to a peak of 800 in 1860. In 1844, the Town had ten school districts and educated 262 pupils. One hundred and fifty years later, when the present elementary school opened, the school population was 24. The soil was thin, the hillsides steep and completely unsuitable for anything more than subsistence farming. Sheep raising further ravaged the land. Industry was limited to lumbering and a negligible amount of talc mining. Then the west opened up. Had it not been for the unrest and privations in Ireland, it is likely that the Town’s economic deterioration would have arrived at an earlier date. By 1860, about one-third of Fayston’s “heads of household” were people born in Ireland. Farms were relatively cheap and those hardworking people, born in privation, were happy to subsist for the privilege of freedom and opportunity. Eventually, many of them were forced to abandon their farms or were lured away by brighter prospects. The economy and the population continued to decline until shortly after World War II, when Roland Palmedo, one of the founders of Mt. Mansfield Ski Area, determined that Fayston’s Stark Mountain was ideally suited for a second major Vermont ski resort. The land that had long since ceased to sustain an agricultural economy seemed ideally suited for recreation. With two major ski areas in the Town, Mad River Glen and Sugarbush, land speculation continues to be a major business. Now, the ability of the land to sustain a booming recreational economy will be the major factor influencing the future of the Town. See Also: Burnt Rock Mountain Primary Sidebar LATEST NOTICES Fayston 2021 Reapportionment 2021 Notice of Grievance Green Up Day – Saturday, May 1, 2021 Town Audit year ending December 31, 2020 Town Report year ending December 31, 2020 Town Officers List NEWS CATEGORIES Conservation Commission (3) Elections (15) Fayston Happenings (2) Listers Office (8) Personal and Professional Highlights (3) Planning Commission (15) Roads (6) Selectboard (16) Town Business (52) Town Clerk Activities (1) Uncategorized (1) ARCHIVES Archives Select Month October 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 September 2019 May 2019 February 2019 January 2019 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 February 2017 October 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 May 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 August 2014 September 2013 October 2012 May 2011 January 2011 April 2009 Search 866 North Fayston Rd · Fayston VT 05660 · Phone: 802-496-2454 © 2007–2021 Town of Fayston Vermont · All Rights Reserved · Website Design and Maintenance by MadRiverWeb.com