1779
A petition for a grant was drawn up and submitted to the General Assembly of Vermont on April 20, 1779. A majority of the petitioners were residents of Vermont and the petition was granted by the Assembly on October 27, 1779 for a parcel of land estimated to be 25,214 acres. Prior to requesting a grant, the petitioners sent a committee to Albany, NY to meet with Egbert Benson, Attorney General of New York, to determine if New York would contest a charter issued for this parcel of land by the Vermont Assembly. He assured them that New York would not dispute such a charter and the petitioners named the town “Benson” after him.
Geography
The bedrock of the land owned by the proprietors developed in a shallow tropical ocean 500 million years ago. A collision of continents more than 400 million years ago pushed the Taconic rock hundreds of miles and made a complex mix of the bedrock in Benson. The last ice age, around 10,000 years ago, created a huge lake and most of Benson was under water, which helps explain Benson’s landscape today.
Location
The town of Benson lies in the northwest part of Rutland County, Vermont, and is bounded on the north by Orwell; east by Sudbury, Hubbardton and Castleton; south by Fair Haven and West Haven; on the west by Lake Champlain. The town contains nearly 45.6 square miles.
Population
The population of the town of Benson has hovered around 1,000 persons since the 2000 census, and sits at 974 in the 2022 census.
The Benson Museum
Located in the same building as the Town Clerk’s office (the old school), the Benson Museum is open by appointment and on Benson Family Day in August.
More History
The Town Clerk has available two booklets, “Remembering Benson” and “Benson Vermont Souvenir”, both of them filled with historical information and photos.