Is It Really A Town?

In my early travels, I was blissfully unaware of the complexities of the 251 Club. Well, that might be a slight overstatement. Let's just say that I was under the impression that every “Entering _____ville” sign I saw meant that I was heading into a new town.

Not so.

I was quickly made aware of the fact that many towns were composed of a number of villages, which constituted different community clusters within the town border. So, for instance, Jonesville, VT... which I had always thought of as being a town in its own right... is actually a villiage, located in Richmond.

Well, as if that weren't complicated enough, villages can either be 'incorporated' or 'unincorporated'. As far as I can tell, the main distinction between the two is that incorporated villages have their own governments, which are subordinate to that of the town, while unincorporated villages are subject, directly, to the town government and services. In this way, these incorporated villages provide certain services (police, fire, etc.), while the town provides any additional services, necessary. source

Using my trusty Vermont Atlas & Gazeteer, it's not always clear where these villages are. It uses a small black diamond (♦) to show where different town centers are, although it's not always clear whether these are villages or just population clusters. From my travels, some of these diamonds are nothing more than a group of houses, at a crossroads. So, I've dug a little deeper to try and locate a more comprehensive list of these places. Wikipedia has a list of incorporated villages and another list of unincorporated communities in the state. Just keep in mind that these are Wikipedia pages and may not be completely accurate.

Now, just when you thought you'd gotten it all figured out... There are also unincorporated towns! These towns had once been considered incorporated, but had their town charters taken away, due to a lack of residents. So, like unincorporated villages unincorporated towns are subject to the authority of the state. source

Luckily, there appear to be only five of these towns: Averill, Ferdinand, Glastenbury, Lewis, and Somerset. Amen.

So, what does this mean to my travels? Well, if the few villages that I've visited are any indication, each has its own personality and culture that is important in understanding the town in which it exists. So, you can expect me to try and spend at least a little time in each of these places, as I move toward my goal of all 251!