Poultney Map
Poultney is a town in Rutland County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. New York state is on its western border. Castleton, Vermont is on its northern border. Poultney is home to Green Mountain College, a private liberal arts college with about 820 students. The Village of Poultney is entirely within the town. The population was 3,633 at the 2000 census.
One of the New Hampshire grants, Poultney was charted on September 21, 1761 by Benning Wentworth, Royal Governor of New Hampshire, and named for William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, a British politician and orator.
Poultney was first settled by Thomas Ashley and Ebenezer Allen. Ashley married Zeruiah Richards, and Allen married Lydia Richards, both daughters of Zebulon Richards of Windham County, Connecticut. Ashley and Allen established themselves in a cabin near the Poultney River on February 15, 1771. Allen brought his family with him, and a son born to his wife Lydia in 1772 was the first white child born in Poultney. Ashley built a shanty and planted corn before bringing his family to Poultney—he returned with his family in the fall of 1771. Six of Ashley’s brothers followed him to Poultney during the next two years, and several members of the Richards family were also early settlers.
Nearby cities include West Rutland, Wallingford, Benson, Rutland, Fort Ann.